Telecom industries have already rolled out 5G to many countries including Australia despite the apprehensions courted by scientists, researchers, communities, politicians etc about the carcinogenic effects of being exposed to radiation. Countries like India hesitate to roll out the new technology despite myriad benefits such as faster internet speed leading to business efficiency, economic growth and faster development of the nation because these fear foreign interference which could lead to privacy threats, cyber security risks and chronic diseases which will cause a 2.3 trillion dollars loss even if the identified new diseases gets treated with the right medicines and preventive measures established.
I am confused like other citizens of the country ever since I heard the concerned authorities emphasize the perfect safety of 5G and the repetitive reassurance about the new technology not having health hazards. Having pointed out this unreal optimism, I recall reading articles from Science Direct, PubMed etc in which military personnel stationed near radar stations and exposed to high radio frequency electromagnetic radiation suffered from many diseases such as fear, nervous tension, mental depression, pain in muscles, etc. Not only is the evidence of 5G’s harm to trees, wildlife and other bio-systems ignored with convenience, but radiation’s absorption by human skin, in particular by children and pregnant women, already reported symptoms such as headaches, dizziness, nausea, lack of concentration, heart palpitations, the lack of extensive research and investigation on the hazards caused on the biological, physiological and psychological level do not get enough significance.
One cannot deny that an increase in frequency leads to an increased exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields. With 1G’s arrival in the 1980s, telecom industry offered Advanced Mobile Phone services with Voice only access using a frequency of 800 MHz. 2G systems introduced in the 1990s used frequencies’ combination such as 830 and 1900 or 900 and 1800 MHz offering to its mobile phone users text messaging, multimedia messaging and internet access. 3G, introduced broadband features in 1998 providing its users data transfer, mobile internet and video calling for which frequencies ranged between 1700 -2100 MHz. 2008 saw 4G’s introduction which offered faster web access, gaming, video conferencing and HD mobile TV using 2500 -2690 MHz frequency range. 5G believed to usher in an era of change is Internet of Things (IoT)’s expansion on a millimetre wave spectrum between 30 to 300 GHz enables device to device connection.
Scientific literature shows that while researchers are trying to establish the health hazards of 2G, 3G and 4G with certainty 5G is being rolled out, which is likely to cause damages to Melatonin production, fertility and immune systems besides DNA integrity and protein synthesis.
Acknowledging the source of ideas mentioned in this blog, which are from the articles titled, ‘Towards 5G communication systems: Are there health implications’ ( International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health Volume 221, Issue 3, April 2018, pages 367-375), ‘5G Wireless telecommunications expansion: Public health and environmental implications’ (Environmental Research, Volume 165, August 2018, pages 484-495) and ‘A new look at three potential mechanisms proposed for the carcinogenesis of 5G radiation’ (Journal of Biomedical Physics Engineering, 2020 Dec 10(6): 675-678), I leave you to ponder about the consequences of violating nature’s laws.
A Writer's Exposé 