If you've ever been through a city you might have noticed tiny cell towers for 5G on the poles of street lights. They appear like tiny boxes however they're actually sending wireless signals from cell phone providers to your phone.
These smaller towers are replacing the larger specially-designed cell towers. While they're less noticeable however, they could create problems for those who live nearby.
The FCC's Radiation Exposure Thresholds
The FCC's Radiation Exposure Thresholds define the safe distance that a person can be exposed to electromagnetic energy from wireless devices. The exposure limits are based upon scientific research that prove that electromagnetic energy can be harmful to human health.
The rate of absorption called the specific absorption rate (SAR) is an indication of the radiofrequency energy absorbed by tissue. It's typically 1.6 milliwatts per kilogram spread over a Gram of tissue.
Since 5g is able to transmit at higher frequencies, it has the potential to increase the intensity of energy on the skin and other directly-exposed body parts. This could result in various potential harms, including exacerbated development of skin diseases such as dermatitis and cataracts, and skin cancer.
Because of the potentially negative effects of 5G radiation, PSU has chosen to establish a general, localized maximum power density of four mW/cm2 based on the average across 1 centimeter, and not to exceed 30 minutes for all 5G services running at 3000 GHz. This limit for localization is in line with the peak SAR that is spatially averaged at 1.6 W/kg, averaged over one g of tissue at 6 GHz.
The FCC's Maximum Exposure Thresholds for Maximum Exposure
If you've ever used a mobile phone, then you're aware that the safest location from the tower is at least 400 meters away. This is due to the power of the transmission of cell towers increases drastically the further away your location from the tower.
While how to block electromagnetic waves sounds like something that's good but the truth is that people living in close proximity to towers could be more vulnerable to health issues. For example, a study from 2014 in India discovered that people who lived within 50 meters from cell towers suffered significant more health issues than those living further away from the antennas.
However, this study also found that people who moved into areas farther away from cell towers noticed their symptoms improve within a couple of days. Studies have also revealed that exposure to high levels of radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (EMFs) can lead to brain tumors, cancers as well as other health issues.
This is because RF radiation, which is used in wireless communications, may be absorbed by the body's outer layer of skin. This is important to understand because the skin acts as a shield against injury to the body, infection by pathogenic microorganisms, and entry of toxic substances. Additionally, it is the most important organ in the human body and is responsible for protecting other organs.
The FCC's Minimum Exposure Thresholds for the Minimum Exposure
The FCC's Minimum Exposure Thresholds rely on a variety of assumptions that are not supported by scientific research. They include the false belief that exposures of a short duration to RF radiation are safe because of the minimal penetration into the body (i.e., tissue heating).
This assumption does not take into account the greater penetration of ELF components of modulated RF signals as well as the effects on the body of short bursts from pulsed RF waves. These assumptions are not in line with current understanding of the biological consequences of RF radiation. As such they shouldn't be relied upon for health-protection exposure standards.
Furthermore, the ICNIRP and FCC restrict their radiation limits for local peak SARs, based on the maximum speed of spatial absorption (psSAR) that is not a sufficient dosimetric tool to assess the amount of exposure to RF radiation. In particular, psSAR is inaccurate for frequencies above 6 GHz. Furthermore, psSAR has not been tested for how to block magnetic field with co-exposure to other environmental agents such as sunlight. In the event of interactions, RF radiations with different environmental agents may produce synergistic or antagonistic impacts. This would result in an increased risk of negative health consequences. For instance, exposure to RF radiation along with exposure to sunlight can raise the chance of developing skin cancer, and may also exacerbate other skin disorders, such as acne.