Aspects on the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) 2020 Guidelines on Radiofrequency Radiation

Abstract: The International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) published 2020 updated guidelines on radiofrequency (RF) radiation in the frequency range 100 kHz to 300 GHz. Harmful effects on human health and the environment at levels below the guidelines are downplayed although evidence is steadily increasing. Only thermal (heating) effects are acknowledged and therefore form the basis for the guidelines. Despite the increasing scientific evidence of non-thermal effects, the new ICNIRP guidelines are not lower compared with the previous levels. Expert groups from the WHO, the EU Commission and Sweden are to a large extent made up of members from ICNIRP, with no representative from the many scientists who are critical of the ICNIRP standpoint.

This article is relevant for the implementation of 5G. The full article is free to download and can be found here.

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ICNIRP, guidelines, conflicts of interest and EU

Two members of the EU Parliament, Claus Buchner and Michèle Rivasi, published on June 19, 2020 a document on ICNIRP. It shows the many conflicts of interest that exist among the ICNIRP members.

It clearly also shows that the ICNIRP guidelines should not be used for radiofrequency radiation. At pages 48-49 this is concluded:

“We think that the call for more independent scientific assessment in this area is, for all the arguments mentioned above and in what follows, fully justified. 49 That is the most important conclusion of this report: for really independent scientific advice we cannot rely on ICNIRP. The European Commission and national governments, from countries like Germany, should stop funding ICNIRP. It is high time that the European Commission creates a new, public and fully independent advisory council on non-ionizing radiation. The funds currently allocated to ICNIRP could be used to set up this new organisation. And given the overall rise in R&D funding via Horizon Europe, with a foreseen budget (for 2021-2027) of between 75 and 100 billion euros, funding should in no way constitute an insurmountable hurdle to setting up this new, truly independent, body.”

Radiofrequency radiation, 5G, ICNIRP and conflicts of interest

In a new article the outdated guidelines for radiofrequency radiation by ICNIRP are discussed.

These guidelines are used by many countries. The recent publication by ICNIRP gives even higher levels for exposure compared with the previous ones. Only heating (thermal) effects are considered.

The conclusion in the article is that:

“..the ICNIRP has failed to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of health risks associated with RF radiation. The latest ICNIRP publication cannot be used for guidelines on this exposure.”

Electromagnetic Radiation due to Cellular, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth technologies: How safe are we?

This article by Naren et al informs about electromagnetic radiation from different devices. It is important reading for all concerned. The results are also shown in illustrative figures. The whole article is free to download from internet. A summary by the authors follows here:

“In this work, we determine the radiation concern levels in several scenarios using a handheld radiation meter by correlating the findings with several international standards, which are determined based on thorough scientific evidence. This study also analyzes the EMR from common devices used in day to day life such as smartphones, laptops, Wi-Fi routers, hotspots, wireless earphones, smartwatches, Bluetooth speakers and other wireless accessories using a handheld radio frequency radiation measurement device. The procedure followed in this paper is so presented that it can also be utilized by the general public as a tutorial to evaluate their own safety with respect to EMR exposure. We present a summary of the most prominent health hazards which have been known to occur due to EMR exposure.”

Cell phone radiation and DNA damage

An important part of the NTP study was recently published. The full article can be found here.

Summary:

“Results of the comet assay showed significant increases in DNA damage in the frontal cortex of male mice (both modulations), leukocytes of female mice (CDMA only), and hippocampus of male rats (CDMA only). Increases in DNA damage judged to be equivocal were observed in several other tissues of rats and mice….these results suggest that exposure to RFR is associated with an increase in DNA damage.”

No doubt these results add to the knowledge on the mechanism of radiofrequency radiation carcinogenesis. By now similar tumor types have been found in human and animal studies supported by laboratory studies on DNA damage for RF radiation. These results show that RF radiation should be classified as carcinogenic to humans, Group 1 according to the IARC classification.

New article: Appeals that matter or not on a moratorium on the deployment of the fifth generation, 5G, for microwave radiation

In a new article the history of an appeal sent to EU on a moratorium on the deployment of 5G is described. The full article can be found here.

Excerpt:

In an appeal sent to the EU in September, 2017 currently >260 scientists and medical doctors requested for a moratorium on the deployment of 5G until the health risks associated with this new technology have been fully investigated by industry‑independent scientists. The appeal and four rebuttals to the EU over a period of >2 years, have not achieved any positive response from the EU to date. Unfortunately, decision makers seem to be uninformed or even misinformed about the risks. EU officials rely on the opinions of individuals within the ICNIRP and the Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks (SCENIHR), most of whom have ties to the industry……In this article, the warnings on the health risks associated with RF presented in the 5G appeal and the letters to the EU Health Commissioner since September, 2017 and the authors’ rebuttals are summarized. The responses from the EU seem to have thus far prioritized industry profits to the detriment of human health and the environment.

ICNIRP draft on new radiofrequency guidelines is flawed

At a meeting in Paris on 17 April 2019 Eric van Rongen, the present ICNIRP chairman presented a draft on new ICNIRP guidelines for radiofrequency radiation (RFR) exposure. The presentation is freely available at the web although labeled as a ’draft – do not cite or quote’.

Most remarkable is that the science on health effects is still based on thermal (heating) effect from RFR just as the evaluations published 1998 and updated in 2009.

In the draft only thermal effects are considered for health effects (page 7). Van Rongen states there is ’No evidence that RF-EMF causes such diseases as cancer’ (page 8).

These comments are based on the power point presentation. However, there is no evidence that non-thermal effects are considered and thus a large majority of scientific evidence on human health effects, not to mention hazards to the environment. Thus the basis for new guidelines is flawed and the whole presentation should be dismissed as scientifically flawed.

If this draft represents the final version on ICNIRP guidelines it is time to close down ICNIRP since their evaluation is not based on science but on selective data such as only thermal effects from RFR, see also www.emfcall.org.

The draft represents a worst-case scenario for public health and represents wishful thinking.

Deployment of 5G stopped in Switzerland

The implementation of the fifth generation, 5G, for wireless communication has been stopped in three cantons in Switzerland (Jura, Geneva and Vaud) until effects on health and environment have been investigated. This is in line with what we have asked for in the 5G appeal, see www.5gappeal.eu.

Thus, we asked for a moratorium until investigations on adverse effects have been studied by independent scientists. The appeal has been signed by more than 230 scientists and medical doctors.

In the article “World Health Organization, radiofrequency radiation and health – a hard nut to crack (Review)” published in 2017 we showed low levels of radiofrequency radiation in the investigated part of the WHO Geneva building. The conclusion was: Ironically enough, whether knowingly or not, the WHO staff seems to protect themselves from high involuntary RF radiation levels at least in the measured areas within the Geneva building.

Those employed at the WHO office in Geneva will now be protected from 5G radiation. The question is if this is justified since people in most parts of the world are not protected and WHO seems not to take action for prevention. As discussed in the article WHO seems to rely on a small group of scientists in the biased ICNIRP group.

5G Deployment – State of Play in Europe, USA and Asia

5G Deployment, April 2019, EU – State of Play in Europe, USA and Asia

The report is available here.

Authors: Colin BLACKMAN and Simon FORGE

PE 631.060 – April 2019

5G will be three times more expensive
5G is driven by the telecom supply industry
Campaign to convince governments
Marketing hype is widespread
Get policy makers to believe that there is a race between nations

This is because the technologies involved with 5G are much more complex. One aspect, for example, that is not well understood today is the unpredictable propagation patterns that could result in unacceptable levels of human exposure to electromagnetic radiation.

Increasing long-term R&D efforts on 5G is essential to understand multiple propagation unknowns (e.g. measuring and controlling RF EMF exposure with MIMO at mmWave frequencies).

Focused beams: Rather than transmitting a wide area broadcast spread over a segment of the cell around a base station, an “active antenna” technique is used to form a set of steerable radio beams with power focused on a small area – the receiving handset.

Range declines with the square of frequency

 

 

 

 

 

 

Interference from weather (rain, snow, fog)
Trees, foliage, walls, buildings

Typical range 20-150 meter
Cell radius of 20 meter gives 800 base stations per square kilometer
Needs battery back-up

This dense network rollout will be costly, not just in terms of installations, but, also in the costs and delays in obtaining planning permission and any authorisation. So, for urban coverage with 5G small cells, it would be sensible for the EU member states to simplify and harmonise their authorisation permits and planning permission processes, to enable a standard EU approach to densification:

• Small cell standards are needed to give the EU a way forward for high quality outdoor and indoor cellular connectivity to support a light-touch regulatory regime, essential to ensure rapid rollout of perhaps hundreds of small cells per square kilometre.

5G Electromagnetic Radiation and Safety

Significant concern is emerging over the possible impact on health and safety arising from potentially much higher exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic radiation arising from 5G. Increased exposure may result not only from the use of much higher frequencies in 5G but also from the potential for the aggregation of different signals, their dynamic nature, and the complex interference effects that may result, especially in dense urban areas.

The 5G radio emission fields are quite different to those of previous generations because of their complex beamformed transmissions in both directions – from base station to handset and for the return. Although fields are highly focused by beams, they vary rapidly with time and movement and so are unpredictable, as the signal levels and patterns interact as a closed loop system. This has yet to be mapped reliably for real situations, outside the laboratory.

EU member states are subject to Council Recommendation 1999/519/EC which follows ICNIRP guidelines, the problem is that currently it is not possible to accurately simulate or measure 5G emissions in the real world.

After technology capability, the key factor will be the ease with which a large number of small cells can be deployed in densifying the network.

In response, in line with EECC Article 57, the EU is crafting a regime for SAWAP deployment, aiming for permit-free installation from 2020 (small area wireless access points = SAWAP).

The level of marketing activity is key, with intense lobbying of governments by equipment suppliers and operators – and also of the public by governments.

Recommendation No 1:

Long-term technology research to solve multiple propagation unknowns with the new technology (e.g. measuring and controlling RF EMF exposure with MIMO at mmWave frequencies).

5G stopped in Brussels

Plans for a pilot project to provide high-speed 5G wireless internet in Brussels have been halted due to fears for the health of citizens.

Most European countries have radiofrequency radiation guideline on 61 V/m based on recommendation by ICNIRP. Belgium has lower limit of 6 V/m. That guideline may be too low for 5G. In fact, proper dosimetry had not been done for 5G under real outdoor conditions.

Environmental Minister Céline Fremault explains: “If since July (when a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between Region and operators in order to make Brussels the first Belgian city to welcome 5G by 2020, Ed) I never stopped working on the file, with a whole series of essential health indicators, today it is clear that it is unthinkable for me to allow the arrival of this technology if I can not ensure the respect of the standards protecting the citizens, 5G or not. The people of Brussels are not laboratory mice whose health I can sell at the cost of profit, we can not leave any doubt.“