MAY 4 — There are many discussions about the Fifth-Generation Wireless Technology (5G) and its impact to the nation, people and industries.
Everyone has their own opinions and criticisms on 5G, based on what they know and understand. Some of them support the technology, seeing how it can change their lives.
Industry players who attended the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona last February touted 5G as the next revolution in mobile technology and will be available as early as 2020.
It is clear that 5G brings about so much benefits. Its high speed and low network latency attributes allow a lot of possibilities.
For example, farmers would be able to detect the moisture and acidity level of soil in real-time with 5G which would increase their yield.
Fishermen can maximise their catch using the right techniques. The same goes to doctors who would now be able to have consultation and pre-diagnosis sessions with their patients through video call without needing to physically be with them.
However, some people think that 5G brings a negative effect on their lives, especially when it comes to health.
An article titled The 5G race: What awaits at the finishing line caught my attention.
In a nutshell, the article touched on the writer’s apprehension about the impact of 5G on human health. At the same time, she linked the 5G health issue with the radiation issues related to Lynas and bauxite mining. She also mentioned that despite reports stating that the bauxite mining dump is not dangerous, the public are still not convinced.
Is that true?
If you surf through various websites online, there is a lot of information related to the issue everywhere. However, it is hard to determine where the information came from.
The recurring information out there may come from lack of understanding of 5G or from pure hearsay.
When people say 5G brings about health implications, are those concerns based on talks with certain quarters and not based on facts? Is it possible that the concerns stem from their reluctance to embrace 5G?
Indeed, there is no concrete evidence or conclusive findings that prove 5G could harm humans. The various research conducted thus far finds that exposure to Radio Frequency Electromagnetic Field (RF-EMF) is below the suggested limit in the International Commission on Non-Ionising Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) guidelines, covering a full frequency range between 0 and 300 GHz.
Apart from that, based on 25,000 research articles published in the last 30 years, World Health Organisation (WHO) concluded that existing evidence did not find any health impact due to low-scale EMF exposure.
Scientists and clinicians also agree that any health impact related exposure to low levels of EMF is very minute compared to other health risks faced by the public on a daily basis.
In a report by the Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks (SCENIHR) on potential health effects of exposure to Electromagnetic Fields which was released in January 2015, epidemiology research on mobile phone RF-EMF exposure does not indicate an increased risk in brain tumour and other types of cancers in the head and neck area.
I would also like to assert that public perception that headache, depression, anxiety and fatigue are caused by exposure to low-scale EMF is inaccurate, as scientific evidence did not show any relation with those symptoms.
For your information, EMF is categorised under non-ionising radiation, which means that the electromagnetic waves do not carry enough quantum that could break bonds between molecules and ionise atoms, as opposed to ionising radiation.
In this context, exposure to non-ionising radiation would only cause thermal effects, but not enough to cause long-term defect to human tissues; while ionising radiation would have an opposite effect. This means that when molecule structures change, the molecular functions may change as well.
In my opinion, any talk about 5G being unsafe is unsubstantiated. Thus, it is important to have education and awareness campaigns amplified by the relevant parties in order to inform the public on the various benefits of 5G to humanity.
This may take a while, but it is the best way to correct the public perception on this issue. It is hoped that there will be no more recurring negative perception that would cause unease among the people.
* Professor Tharek Abd Rahman works at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM).
** This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail.
