"Executive SummaryThe latest standard for mobile telecommunications (5G) is faster and more reliable and can process more data at the same time. 5G was developed to cope with the increasing demand for mobile telecommunications and to make new applications possible such as self-driving cars and remote surgery. The advent of 5G networks is, however, resulting in societal concerns about the potential influence of 5G on health. That is why the House of Representatives of the Dutch parliament has asked the Health Council of the Netherlands to analyse what is known about this from a scientific perspective. The Council’s Standing Committee on Electromagnetic Fields has looked into this issue.Effects of 5G frequencies on health not yet fully examinedTo a certain extent, 5G uses the same frequencies as previous generations of mobile telecommunication such as 3G and 4G. In addition, it will use new frequency bands. The rollout of 5G networks has only just begun. Therefore, there are no studies as yet into the health effects of (long-term) exposure to electromagnetic fields with the frequencies that are reserved for 5G. However, applications have been examined that use frequencies very close to the new 5G frequencies. These include 2G, 3G and 4G, as well as Wi-Fi and radar.No actual health risks knownThis report is a first step in the analysis of possible health effects of 5G frequencies. As yet, the committee is unable to answer the question of whether exposure to 5G frequencies actually poses risks to human health. There are two reasons for that. The first is that such a statement requires knowledge of the level of exposure that can cause health damage to humans. That requires a more detailed analysis of the scientific data than the committee was able to carry out. The World Health Organization (WHO) is currently performing such an analysis and it is anticipated that it will be completed in 2022. Secondly, it requires knowledge of what the actual exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields will be after the introduction of 5G. That is not yet known, because the use of 5G, as stated earlier, has only partially started.Relations between 5G frequencies and health damage not demonstrated but cannot be excluded for a number of conditionsTherefore, the committee has investigated whether there are indications that electromagnetic fields with the frequencies of 5G have the potential to harm health. It has reviewed whether relations are known between exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields on the one hand and the occurrence of diseases and conditions on the other. According to the committee, it cannot be excluded that the incidence of cancer, reduced male fertility, poor pregnancy outcomes and birth defects could be associated with exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields. However, the committee deems the relation between exposure and these and other diseases or conditions neither proven nor probable.The committee has also examined the possible relation between exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields and changes in biological processes. It is probable that changes in electrical activity in the brain are associated with exposure, but it is not known whether that is favourable or unfavourable in health terms. For the majority of other biological processes it has neither been demonstrated nor is it probable that changes in them are associated with exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields, although this cannot be excluded. Only for changes in the immune system and hormone levels, no relation was found. There has been almost no research into the effects of exposure to frequencies around 26 GHz.The committee’s recommendationsThe committee has made four recommendations to Parliament.1. Because the lower frequency bands for 5G (up to 3.5 GHz) have already been used for telecommunications applications and Wi-Fi for years without resulting in any proven adverse health effects, the committee sees no reason to stop or restrict the use of these frequency bands. It does however recommend that the exposure should be monitored before, during and after the rollout of the 5G systems. This will show to what extent exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields changes as a result of the introduction of 5G and any long-term health risks can then be estimated better. The WHO analysis can also be used in estimating the risks.2. The committee recommends doing more research:• epidemiological research into the relation between exposure to the 5G frequencies used and the incidence of cancer, reduced male fertility, poor pregnancy outcomes and birth defects. An ongoing international study into the use of mobile telephones, in which the Netherlands is participating, can play a role in this.• experimental research into the health effects of exposure to electromagnetic fields in the 26 GHz frequency band.• scenario studies to get a picture of the exposure of individuals as a result of wireless communications systems (3G, 4G and 5G).3. The committee recommends not to use the 26 GHz frequency band for 5G for as long as the potential health risks have not been investigated.4. Finally, the committee recommends using the latest guidelines from the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) as the basis for exposure policy in the Netherlands. Because it cannot be excluded that exposure under the latest ICNIRP standards also has the potential to affect health, the committee recommends to take a cautious approach and keep exposures as low as reasonably achievable."
Scientific & policy developments regarding the biological & health effects of electromagnetic radiation from cell phones, cell towers, Wi-Fi, Smart Meters, electric vehicles & other wireless technology, including 5G. Website curated by Joel Moskowitz, Ph.D., School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley.
Friday, November 20, 2020
5G and Health (Netherlands Health Council)
Wednesday, October 7, 2020
Berkeley Cell Phone "Right to Know" Ordinance: Media Coverage
Since July, 2014, more than 250 news stories have been published regarding the cell phone “right to know” ordinance that the Berkeley City Council unanimously adopted on May 12, 2015.
An Associated Press (AP) story published on June 11, 2015 appeared on more than 100 web sites throughout the U.S. including the New York Times, the Washington Post, and ABC News. An AP story published on September 22, 2015 appeared on more than 155 new sites in the U.S. and Canada.
News stories about the ordinance have appeared in thirteen other nations: Australia, Canada, China, India, Indonesia, Iran, Kenya, Lithuania, New Zealand, Switzerland, Taiwan, United Kingdom, and Vietnam.
ABA Journal (Sep 22, 2015)
ABC 7 News (San Francisco) (Aug 20, 2015)
ABC 7 News (San Francisco) (Sep 13, 2016)
Apple Daily (Taiwan) (Mar 23, 2016
Apple Daily (Taiwan) (Mar 23, 2016)
Ars Technica (Aug 20, 2015)
Ars Technica (Sep 21, 2015)
Ars Technica (Jan 28, 2016)
Ars Technica (Sep 13, 2016)
Ars Technica (Apr 21, 2017)
Associated Press (Jun 11, 2015) - published on more than 100 news sites
Associated Press (Sep 22, 2015) - published on more than 155 news sites in US & Canada
Associated Press (Jan 28, 2016)
Australian Mobile Telecommunications Association (Nov 13, 2014)
Bay City News (Sep 22, 2015)
Berkeley Daily Planet (Sep 21, 2015)
Berkeley Daily Planet (Sep 13, 2016)
Berkeley Daily Planet (Oct 11, 2017)
Berkeley High Jacket (Dec 20, 2014)
Berkeley High Jacket (Jan 16, 2020)
Berkeley Patch (Bay City News) (Sep 13, 2016)
Berkeleyside Op-Ed (Oct 17, 2014)
Berkeleyside (Nov 18, 2014)
Berkeleyside (Nov 26, 2014)
Berkeleyside (Dec 13, 2019)
Bloomberg Law (Jul 2, 2019)
Bloomberg BNA (Sep 22, 2015)
Bloomberg BNA (Oct 20, 2016)
California Healthline (Sep 23, 2015)
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC)--The National (Mar 23, 2017)
CBC Marketplace (Mar 24, 2017) (22 minute video)
CBS News (May 12, 2015)
CBS Sacramento (Jan 28, 2016)
City of Berkeley (press release) (Dec 13, 2019)
c|net (Jun 28, 2018)
c|net (Jul 2, 2019)
Consumer Reports (Sep 24, 2015)
Contra Costa Times (Oct 7, 2015)
Contra Costa Times (Jan 28, 2016)
Contra Costa Times (Mar 8, 2016)
Courthouse News Service (Sep 22, 2015)
Courthouse News Service (Jan 22, 2016)
Courthouse News Service (Jan 28, 2016)
Courthouse News Service (Sep 13, 2016)
Courthouse News Service (Apr 21, 2017)
Courthouse News Service (Oct 11, 2017)
Courthouse News Service (Jul 2, 2019)
Courthouse News Service (Jul 23, 2020)
Court Listener (copy of ruling) (Jul 2, 2019)
Daily Californian (Sep 22, 2015)
Daily Californian (Feb 1, 2016)
Daily Californian (Sep 14, 2016)
Daily Californian (Apr 25, 2017)
Daily Californian (Sep 22, 2018)
Daily Californian (Dec 12, 2019)
Daily Online Examiner (May 12, 2017)
Data Driven Investor (Medium.com) (Jul 2, 2019)
Digital News Daily (Oct 11, 2017)
East Bay Times (Apr 22, 2017)
East Bay Times (Oct 12, 2017)
East Bay Times (Jan 17, 2018)
FairWarning (Sep 4, 2018)
Inside Towers (Sep 30, 2016)
Inside Towers (Dec 11, 2019)
International Business Times (Dec 10, 2019)
Kim Komando podcast (Apr 6, 2017)
KIMT (Iowa, Minnesota) (May 18, 2015)
KPAX (Missoula, MT, CBS News8) (May 12, 2015)
KPFA Pacifica Evening News (42:13 - 44:30)(Sep 30, 2016)
KQED Forum (Lawrence Lessig interview: 48:00 - 50:00) (Jan 8, 2015)
KQED Forum (Joel Moskowitz & Allan Balmain, 9:30 - 10 AM) (May 18, 2015)
KRON4 (Sep 22, 2015)
KRON4 (Sep 13, 2016)
Law 360 (Nov 1, 2019)
Law 360 (Dec 9, 2019)
Law 360 (Jun 23, 2020)
Law 360 (Jul 23, 2020)
Legal Newsline (Jun 23, 2020)
Lexology (Apr 28, 2017)
Litigation Update - State Bar of California (Nov, 2017)
Los Angeles Times (Jul 2, 2019)
McClatchy Washington News Bureau (Jul 11, 2018)
Metropolitan News-Enterprise (Jul 3, 2019)
Mobile Today (Iran) (Sep 13, 2016)
Multichannel (Jun 23, 2020)
Newser (Jun 10, 2015)
Newsweek en Espanol (Nov 4, 2016)
Public News Service (Jul 22, 2020)
The Recorder (Apr 21, 2017)
The Recorder (Oct 11, 2017)
The Recorder (Jul 2, 2019)
Reuters (Apr 24, 2017)
Reuters (Dec 9, 2019)
Sacramento Bee (Apr 6, 2017)
San Francisco Chronicle (Sep 25, 2015)
San Francisco Chronicle (Mar 2, 2017)
San Francisco Chronicle (Jul 2, 2019)
San Francisco Chronicle (Dec 9, 2019)
San Francisco Chronicle (Op-ed) (Jul 21, 2020)
San Jose Mercury News (May 13, 2015)
San Jose Mercury News (Jan 17, 2018)
SF Gate / SF Chronicle (Jun 8, 2015)
SF Gate (Apr 21, 2017)
SF Gate (Jul 2, 2019)
SoundofHope.org (Beijing; in Mandarin) (Jul 15, 2014)
Telecommunications Reports (Jul 13, 2018)
WCTV News (CBS2, Tallahassee, FL) (May 12, 2015)
Yahoo! News (CBS) (Jul 16, 2014)
Yahoo! News (CBS) (May 12, 2015)
Thursday, October 1, 2020
"Radio Frequency Radiation Health Risks: Implications for 5G" (Grand Rounds, UC San Francisco)
http://bit.ly/UCSFgrandrounds |
This presentation summarizes research on the biologic and health effects from exposure to radio frequency radiation emitted by cell phones and cell towers and discusses the implications of this research for 5G, fifth generation cellular technology.
The talk was presented on September 24, 2020 by Dr. Joel Moskowitz at the Occupational and Environmental Medicine Grand Rounds, University of California, San Francisco.
Joel M. Moskowitz, Ph.D. has directed the Center for Family and Community Health in the School of Public Health at UC Berkeley since 1993. Dr. Moskowitz has published research on disease prevention programs and policies for 40 years. In 2009 he served as the senior author on a hallmark paper reviewing research on mobile phone use and tumor risk published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology Since then he has translated and disseminated research on the biologic and health effects research of wireless radiation.
He is an advisor to the International EMF Scientist Appeal signed by over 240 scientists who have published more than 2,000 papers and letters in professional journals on electromagnetic fields and biology or health. In 2017 he won a lawsuit against the California Department of Public Health for suppressing its own scientists' cell phone safety guidance for eight years. This resulted in the Department finally publishing cell phone health warnings.
In the past year, Dr. Moskowitz published two articles in popular venues: "We Have No Reason to Believe 5G Is Safe” on the Scientific American website, and “Regulators Steamroll Health Concerns as the Global Economy Embraces 5G” in The Washington Spectator.
Learning Objectives:
At the conclusion of this session,
participants will be able to…
1.
Describe what is wireless or radio frequency (RF) radiation, including 5G, and
its relationship to ionizing radiation.
2. Summarize the bioeffects and health effects caused by, or associated with, RF radiation exposure.
3. Explain why current national and international RF radiation exposure limits fail to protect the health of humans and other species.
Slides: http://bit.ly/UCSFoemSlides