5G network technology is being heralded as a huge leap forward in how we communicate and will change how we live in many ways. From home internet use, to how we drive on our roadways, it will permeate our lives in more ways than what we see at first glance.
The question is why would a patient advocacy organization look at it and wonder about those unseen effects? The answer is that we are concerned everyday for the well being of those that depend on us not only to create awareness of Huntington's Disease and to support programs and research for those people affected but also to be a watchdog of sorts.
5G technology is expected to generate literally trillions of dollars in economic activity. Just building the infrastructure needed to make it work is gigantic so we are not speaking against implementing it.. From what we are seeing, the positives of 5G outweigh the negatives but that might depend on where you are standing and the view you see.
As a content creator and influencer I tend to look around the web to find items of interest that directly or even indirectly affect the HD community. I stumbled across an article that spoke about health concerns regarding 5G that mainly dealt with body temperatures. As most of you know, the part of the brain that is affected by HD also controls body temperature, and for many people suffering with HD know, this can be very difficult for medical professionals since they constantly have to check if the temperature rise is from HD or if it is indeed viral or from an infection that might require an antibiotic. Body temperature is important to all of us, but our young ones with Juvenile Huntington's Disease are particularly vulnerable as they are susceptible to seizures due to a rise in body temperature. And that's just the beginning.
The affects of a bombardment of radiation from 5G cell sites have not gone unnoticed. A recent article from Fortune magazine explains how governments at home and around the world are reacting to these health concerns. Some have enacted legislation for an outright ban to other governments enacting laws such as Florida and Maine, to roll out the 5G red carpet and get it rolling even faster.
Fortune magazine states:
As the wireless industry races to install thousands of new cellular sites to create super-fast 5G networks, questions about the impact of the new technology on human health may delay its arrival, one Wall Street analyst warns.
In the U.S., both the Food and Drug Administration and the Federal Communications Commission say there is nothing to worry about. Most studies have not linked radio signals from mobile phones and cell towers to disease, the agencies say.
But some researchers have found heightened risks from cellular networks, and additional research will be coming over the next few years, HSBC Securities analyst Sunil Rajgopal said in a new report on Tuesday. The World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer classified cellular radio waves as a possible carcinogen in 2011 and is undertaking a “high priority” study seeking a more definitive answer, he added.
The race to 5G could be slowed by alleged health concerns related to radio frequency,” Rajgopal writes. “These concerns have been around as long as mobile phones, but there have been a number of recent regulatory/public initiatives demanding delays or outright bans on the rollout of 5G.”
Rajgopal’s report cited a number of countries and U.S. states that have slowed or stopped 5G deployments due to health risks. In Belgium last month, for example, the government halted a 5G test in Brussels over difficulty in measuring radiation emissions. Switzerland has also started to delay 5G rollouts and will create a radiation monitoring system. In New Hampshire, lawmakers are considering establishing a commission to study the health impacts of 5G networks. And Mill Valley, Calif., near San Francisco, last year banned new 5G wireless cells
But many more states, including Florida, Maine, and Ohio, are following the lead of the FCC and have adopted or are considering legislation to speed the installation of 5G cell sites.
Right now, having a cell tower in your back yard can lower your property value. According to CNET:
5G will require up to five times the amount of infrastructure as 3G or 4G deployments. Not only will there be more 5G radios transmitting signals, but the radios will have to be closer to you.
The sheer volume of devices transmitting signals so close to people is what concerns activists and lawmakers like Rep. Thomas Suozzi, a Democrat from New York.
"Small cell towers are being installed in residential neighborhoods in close proximity to houses throughout my district," he said in a letter to the FCC earlier this year. "I have heard instances of these antennae being installed on light poles directly outside the window of a young child's bedroom. Rightly so, my constituents are worried that should this technology be proven hazardous in the future, the health of their families and value of their properties would be at serious risk."
This article is not about property values, but rather real health concerns. The concerns range from heightened body temperatures due to these signals being attractive to human skin, to cancer and at least 13 psychiatric conditions including depression for which a number of studies have only added to the concerns. Can you imagine for instance, having a child with Juvenile Huntington's Disease, fighting constantly to keep his/her temperature normal only to find that 5G is being built next to your home and the fight just became more difficult?
According to many articles about 5G, it will require a cell site to be built for every 10 to 20 homes for it to work efficiently. Some have described these sites as approximately the size of refrigerators and some talk about them being installed in street lights. We are used to cell towers servicing a large geographical area and we know that some radiation is emitted from them, but this technology has to be closer to us, much closer. One observer described it as leaving your microwave oven on all day with the door open.
I will be monitoring this as it unfolds and more information becomes available. For now, Environmental Health Trust has published the Top 5 Facts concerning 5G technology.
Comments