During Senate Commerce’s Friday, October 12, 2018 hearing in South Dakota on 5G wireless technology, Sioux Falls Mayor Paul TenHaken raised what he called “the wet blanket” of the coming wide-scale deployment:
TenHaken told Senate Commerce Chairman John Thune (R-SD) "I feel we also need to address . . . what health impacts micro millimeter waves have because it’s so new. I’m going to get asked this 20 times yet this evening about the health ramifications of 5G . . . I’m hearing this more and more.”
Although TenHaken considers such concern inflated, local governments will need clear direction, talking points, studies to support the wireless efforts with a clear conscience, the mayor argued.
Thune acknowledged we hear about it, too, and turned to FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr.
Although TenHaken considers such concern inflated, local governments will need clear direction, talking points, studies to support the wireless efforts with a clear conscience, the mayor argued.
Thune acknowledged we hear about it, too, and turned to FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr.
FCC Commissioner Carr then stated,
"Yeah, let me just step in real quick on that, so, The FCC, as well as other agencies that are experts in health and safety issues are always looking very closely at these issues, staying up to date on the latest science, they looked at all of the studies and all the information and they reached the determination that these are safe. And that’s the determination that is constantly undergoing review and any new information that comes up is taking into account."
TRUTH OR DARE Commissioner Carr
If this is a true statement then we dare you to provide us with documentation of the following:
1. Documentation that "agencies that are experts in health and safety issues are always looking very closely." Which agencies? How are looking? Are there any reports by these agencies on the safety issue?
2. Documentation that these agencies are "staying up to date on the latest science" needs to be shared. Where are the agenda's of meeting? The notes, the comments on these "latest science?"
3. Where is documentation that "they reached the determination that these are safe" ?
3. Where is documentation of the "constant review" ?
Want to send Mayor Tanhaken the science..
Want to send Mayor Tanhaken the science..
Mayor Paul Tenhaken
City of Sioux Falls
224 W. Ninth St.
Sioux Falls, SD 57104
605-367-8085 LM
605-367-8800
City of Sioux Falls
224 W. Ninth St.
Sioux Falls, SD 57104
605-367-8085 LM
605-367-8800
TJ Nelson tnelson@siouxfalls.org
Communications Director
Communications Director
Transcript
Hon. Tenhaken - Mr. Chairman, um, somewhat of a pivot from what Mark just talked about, but I want to make sure get this out and before the hearing ends and the one wet blanket piece of this and I feel we need to also address is what health impacts micro millimeter waves have, um, because it is so new. And as a mayor, and as a mayor whose sitting on this panel, and the media is here, I am going to get asked this twenty times yet this evening about the health ramifications of 5G and small cell deployments and MMW. You know I have been getting asked it a lot already and I know there is no documented studies because the technology is so new. And it reminds me a little bit of when microwaves came into our home and people were concerned about the microwaves and holding a cell phone to your head is going to fry your brain and these things and um I am hearing this more and more and so while the concern I think is very inflated it is something that we on as municipalities are going to need help addressing. If we want to be excited and push this forward which we are, we also need to have very clear um direction, talking points, studies that have been done that show that there is no harm to our constituents and to the taxpayers on putting these small cells on towers close to libraries, close to schools, close to their homes so I for one have been researching this and have not seen any damaging effects of this, but I do think it is something that this group um will have to just consider to look at and continue to study so that as we push the legislation forward we can do so with not only a clear conscience but also have the right answers for people who express that concern.
Hon. Thunes – Good point and that is something that um you do hear and we hear about it too and I am sure the FCC hears about it too.
FCC Com. Carr - Yeah, let me just step in real quick on that, so, The FCC, as well as other agencies that are experts in health and safety issues are always looking very closely at these issues, staying up to date on the latest science, they looked at all of the studies and all the information and they reached the determination that these are safe. And that’s the determination that is constantly undergoing review and any new information that comes up is taking into account. And in fact, given the position that the federal agencies on this, the federal law actually states that State and Local governments can’t take RF concerns into account given how much work has already gone into this issue at the federal level. That is not to say that you don’t hear about these concerns and we have community meetings that people raise the concerns, what I can say is that both the FCC and other expert health agencies in Washington they stay very much up to speed on these issues and have reached the determination that these are safe.
Honorable Thunes – And I appreciate that, and you are right mayor, there is a lot of research that has been done but it is always important that efforts be made I think to educate people, your constituents, my constituents, people across this country who have that concern and um make sure we’re fully informed and understand exactly what, if any, of those health risks are but as I studied and I haven’t read a lot about the literature that you and the FCC I think have I think most of us come to the same conclusion in terms of the impact but it is something that certainly we need to be able to explain and be aware of.
Hon. Tenhaken - Mr. Chairman, um, somewhat of a pivot from what Mark just talked about, but I want to make sure get this out and before the hearing ends and the one wet blanket piece of this and I feel we need to also address is what health impacts micro millimeter waves have, um, because it is so new. And as a mayor, and as a mayor whose sitting on this panel, and the media is here, I am going to get asked this twenty times yet this evening about the health ramifications of 5G and small cell deployments and MMW. You know I have been getting asked it a lot already and I know there is no documented studies because the technology is so new. And it reminds me a little bit of when microwaves came into our home and people were concerned about the microwaves and holding a cell phone to your head is going to fry your brain and these things and um I am hearing this more and more and so while the concern I think is very inflated it is something that we on as municipalities are going to need help addressing. If we want to be excited and push this forward which we are, we also need to have very clear um direction, talking points, studies that have been done that show that there is no harm to our constituents and to the taxpayers on putting these small cells on towers close to libraries, close to schools, close to their homes so I for one have been researching this and have not seen any damaging effects of this, but I do think it is something that this group um will have to just consider to look at and continue to study so that as we push the legislation forward we can do so with not only a clear conscience but also have the right answers for people who express that concern.
Hon. Thunes – Good point and that is something that um you do hear and we hear about it too and I am sure the FCC hears about it too.
FCC Com. Carr - Yeah, let me just step in real quick on that, so, The FCC, as well as other agencies that are experts in health and safety issues are always looking very closely at these issues, staying up to date on the latest science, they looked at all of the studies and all the information and they reached the determination that these are safe. And that’s the determination that is constantly undergoing review and any new information that comes up is taking into account. And in fact, given the position that the federal agencies on this, the federal law actually states that State and Local governments can’t take RF concerns into account given how much work has already gone into this issue at the federal level. That is not to say that you don’t hear about these concerns and we have community meetings that people raise the concerns, what I can say is that both the FCC and other expert health agencies in Washington they stay very much up to speed on these issues and have reached the determination that these are safe.
Honorable Thunes – And I appreciate that, and you are right mayor, there is a lot of research that has been done but it is always important that efforts be made I think to educate people, your constituents, my constituents, people across this country who have that concern and um make sure we’re fully informed and understand exactly what, if any, of those health risks are but as I studied and I haven’t read a lot about the literature that you and the FCC I think have I think most of us come to the same conclusion in terms of the impact but it is something that certainly we need to be able to explain and be aware of.
Russell CL. 5G wireless telecommunications expansion: Public health and environmental implications. Environmental Research. Available online 11 April 2018. in press.
- “On the horizon, a new generation of even shorter high frequency 5G wavelengths is being proposed to power the Internet of Things (IoT).”
- “It is argued that the addition of this added high frequency 5G radiation to an already complex mix of lower frequencies, will contribute to a negative public health outcome both from both physical and mental health perspectives.”
- “Like other common toxic exposures, the effects of radiofrequency electromagnetic radiation (RF EMR) will be problematic if not impossible to sort out epidemiologically as there no longer remains an unexposed control group. This is especially important considering these effects are likely magnified by synergistic toxic exposures and other common health risk behaviors. Effects can also be non-linear. Because this is the first generation to have cradle-to-grave lifespan exposure to this level of man-made microwave (RF EMR) radiofrequencies, it will be years or decades before the true health consequences are known. Precaution in the roll out of this new technology is strongly indicated.”
- “Current radiofrequency radiation wavelengths we are exposed to appear to act as a toxin to biological systems. A moratorium on the deployment of 5G is warranted, along with development of independent health and environmental advisory boards that include independent scientists who research biological effects and exposure levels of radiofrequency radiation. Sound regulatory policy regarding current and future telecommunications initiative will require more careful assessment of risks to human health, environmental health, public safety, privacy, security and social consequences. Public health regulations need to be updated to match appropriate independent science with the adoption of biologically based exposure standards prior to further deployment of 4G or 5G technology.”
Miller AB, Morgan LL, Udasin I, Davis DL. Cancer epidemiology update, following the 2011 IARC evaluation of radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (Monograph 102). Available online Sep 6, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2018.06.043
• Increased risk of brain, vestibular nerve and salivary gland tumors are associated with mobile phone use.
• Nine studies (2011–2017) report increased risk of brain cancer from mobile phone use.
• Four case-control studies (3 in 2013, 1 in 2014) report increased risk of vestibular nerve tumors.
• Concern for other cancers: breast (male & female), testis, leukemia, and thyroid.
• Based on the evidence reviewed it is our opinion that IARC’s current categorization of RFR as a possible human carcinogen (Group 2B) should be upgraded to Carcinogenic to Humans (Group 1).
• Nine studies (2011–2017) report increased risk of brain cancer from mobile phone use.
• Four case-control studies (3 in 2013, 1 in 2014) report increased risk of vestibular nerve tumors.
• Concern for other cancers: breast (male & female), testis, leukemia, and thyroid.
• Based on the evidence reviewed it is our opinion that IARC’s current categorization of RFR as a possible human carcinogen (Group 2B) should be upgraded to Carcinogenic to Humans (Group 1).
Betzalel N, Ben Ishai P, Feldman Y., The human skin as a sub-THz receiver – Does 5G pose a danger to it or not? Environ Res. 2018 May;163:208-216. doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2018.01.032. Epub 2018 Feb 22.
- Experimentally we showed that the reflectance of the human skin in the sub-THz region depends on the intensity of perspiration, i.e. sweat duct’s conductivity, and correlates with levels of human stress (physical, mental and emotional). Later on, we detected circular dichroism in the reflectance from the skin, a signature of the axial mode of a helical antenna. The full ramifications of what these findings represent in the human condition are still unclear. We also revealed correlation of electrocardiography (ECG) parameters to the sub-THz reflection coefficient of human skin. In a recent work, we developed a unique simulation tool of human skin, taking into account the skin multi-layer structure together with the helical segment of the sweat duct embedded in it. The presence of the sweat duct led to a high specific absorption rate (SAR) of the skin in extremely high frequency band. In this paper, we summarize the physical evidence for this phenomenon and consider its implication for the future exploitation of the electromagnetic spectrum by wireless communication. Starting from July 2016 the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has adopted new rules for wireless broadband operations above 24 GHz (5 G). This trend of exploitation is predicted to expand to higher frequencies in the sub-THz region. One must consider the implications of human immersion in the electromagnetic noise, caused by devices working at the very same frequencies as those, to which the sweat duct (as a helical antenna) is most attuned. We are raising a warning flag against the unrestricted use of sub-THz technologies for communication, before the possible consequences for public health are explored.
Mandl P, Pezzei P, Leitgeb E. Selected Health and Law Issues Regarding Mobile Communications with Respect to 5G. Presented at 2018 International Conference on Broadband Communications for Next Generation Networks and Multimedia Applications (CoBCom). Graz, Austria. July 11-13, 2018.
- Abstract: Over the next years the demand of wireless communication will increase tremendously. More and more mobile end devices require a high data rate connection e.g. to a smart home (Internet of Things, IoT) or to the internet. The radiation power pattern of base stations and mobile end devices will completely change for the 5G Next Generation Mobile Network technology which will use frequency bands up to 100 GHz. Therefore the electromagnetic exposure especially to human body will increase in the future, because most of the wireless connections are realized in RF technology. In this contribution two different measurement setups are presented. The first shows the electromagnetic radiation regarding a base station powered by a mobile phone provider over a timespan of a number of days. The second figures out the electromagnetic radiation of a handheld mobile end device to a human head in an area with very poor reception values. The results of those measurements where compared with legal and health limits. All measured and calculated results regarding the base stations were within the legal exposure limits. The calculated legal exposure limits of mobile devices were exceeded twice in areas within very poor reception values. Regarding the expected higher bandwidth and corresponding higher electromagnetic exposure to human bodies in future there have to be periodic measurements to comply with radiation limits.
- Excerpts: “Regarding the above mentioned circumstances it will be necessary to measure the radiation exposure of base stations in the future on a regular basis in order to ensure the legal limits and to reduce possible health hazards. It also will be necessary to develop new measurement strategies and/or technologies regarding the large frequency spectrum 5G will use up to 100 GHz. …When measuring directly on a mobile phone (simulating the use of an end device directly on the human head), it was found that the calculated SAR of 3.834 W/kg exceeds the legal limit of 2 W/ kg. This shows clearly that the legal limit values can be exceeded significantly in areas with very poor reception values …Increasing the distance between a mobile end device and the head, e.g. by using a hands-free set or a headset can significantly reduce the human exposure to electromagnetic radiation when such a device is used in badly supplied areas and transmits with maximum power.”
Nasim I, Kim S. Human Exposure to RF Fields in 5G Downlink. Submitted on 10 Nov 2017 to IEEE International Communications Conference.
- Our results show that 5G downlink RF fields generate significantly higher power density (PD) and specific absorption rate (SAR) than a current cellular system. This paper also shows that SAR should also be taken into account for determining human RF exposure in the mmW downlink.
TRIPATHI et al., Frequency of the resonance of the human sweat duct in a normal mode of operation, BIOMEDICAL OPTICS EXPRESS 130, Vol. 9, No. 3 | 1 March 2018
- This result indicates that careful consideration should be given while designing electronic and photonic devices operating in the sub-terahertz frequency region in order to avoid various effects on human health due to these waves.
Betzalel, Y. Feldman, and P. Ben Ishai, “The Modeling of the Absorbance of Sub-THz Radiation by Human Skin,” IEEE Trans. THz Sci. Tech. (Paris) 7(5), 521–528 (2017).
- In 2008, we demonstrated that the coiled portion of the sweat duct in upper skin layer could be regarded as a helical antenna in the sub-THz band. The full ramifications of what these findings represent in the human condition are still very unclear, but it is obvious that the absorption of electromagnetic energy is governed by the topology for the skin and its organelles, especially the sweat duct.
Di Ciaula, Towards 5G communication systems: Are there health implications?, Int J Hyg Environ Health. 2018 Feb 2.
- “Preliminary observations showed that MMW increase skin temperature, alter gene expression, promote cellular proliferation and synthesis of proteins linked with oxidative stress, inflammatory and metabolic processes, could generate ocular damages, affect neuro-muscular dynamics.”
- “Further studies are needed to better and independently explore the health effects of RF-EMF in general and of MMW in particular. However, available findings seem sufficient to demonstrate the existence of biomedical effects, to invoke the precautionary principle, to define exposed subjects as potentially vulnerable and to revise existing limits.
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