Eric van Rongen:

“Contrary to many 5G conspiracy theories, phone radiation heats the human body the equivalent of having a cup of hot tea every two hours.”

“The science is really straightforward — there’s simply no solid evidence that anything other than a small amount of body heating may result from exposure to 5G radiofrequency fields.”

Andrew Goldsworthy (Biologist) responds to ICNIRP’s Eric van Rongen’s post featured above:

There are two main mechanisms by which non-ionising radiation such as that from cell-phones can damage living organisms. One is the heating effect and the other is the effect of low-frequency modulation.

1 The heating effect.

We cannot assume that the heating effect is uniformly distributed through living cells. The cells themselves are highly conductive, whereas the cell membranes have a very high resistance. Therefore, for any given current flowing through a tissue, nearly all of the heat will be generated in the cell membranes. Since these membranes constitute only about one thousandth of the total diameter of a typical cell and virtually all of the heat is being generated in them, the ICNIRP Guidelines, which are based on the assumption that cells and tissues are uniformly conductive, are approximately one thousand times too high.

2 The effect of modulation.

Living cell membranes are electrically non-linear and have a voltage across them of approximately 70mV. They are pierced by countless ion channels that behave like electrically biased Schottky diodes capable of rectifying and so demodulating any alternating signal (including microwave frequencies) with the demodulated low frequency components appearing between the inside and outside of the cell. This is what does most of the damage and here is why:

The cell membrane is mainly made of a lipid bilayer only about 10nM thick, with proteins such as ion channels “floating” in it. The membrane itself is negatively charged because it has outwardly directed negatively charged phosphate groups and is normally stabilised by divalent positive calcium and magnesium ions that cross-link them. But the demodulated cell-phone signal makes the negative membrane and its protective divalent ions move in opposite directions. This destabilizes the membrane and makes it more likely to perforate and collapse the voltage gradient across it. This, in turn, opens voltage-gated calcium ion channels in the membrane that let huge numbers of calcium ions into the cell down a massive 10,000:1 electrochemical gradient.

In nature, this increase in the internal calcium concentration is taken as an indicator to the cell that its membrane (and by implication, the whole cell) has been damaged and sets in train a series of repair mechanisms, which uses a great deal of metabolic energy. If it succeeds, the cell is repaired, if not, the cell dies, but either way a great deal of energy is used. This may in large part explain the chronic fatigue syndrome that was found in early mobile phone users (Yuppie flu) and is now much more widespread in the community due to our constant exposure to cordless phones, their base stations, WiFi and all the other wireless devices that current ICNIRP guidelines regard as safe.

Lastly, the relationship between 5G and COVID-19.

We cannot assume that because the 5G radiation is mainly absorbed by the skin that it cannot damage the rest of our bodies. If the energy of the radiation is disproportionately absorbed by the skin, then the damage to the skin and the blood and lymph circulating through it will also be disproportionately large. The effects of 5G on lymphocytes could be particularly damaging. They too will have their energy drained by the calcium influx caused by the radiation, have less to spare to generate their protective antibodies and so make the immune system less efficient. So, I guess you could say that 5G can promote the spread of COVID-19. That said, most other forms of information carrying (i.e.modulated) frequencies may be even more dangerous, particularly WiFi with its extremely low frequency (10Hz) beacon signal being possibly the most dangerous.

Dr Andrew Goldsworthy, Lecturer and Biological Safety Officer (retired) Imperial College London.

The post Andrew Goldsworthy (Biologist) responds to Eric van Rongen’s (ICNIRP) statements about 5G appeared first on EMFSA.

IMT-2020 (5G) and the electromagnetic field – ITU shares the latest global information

The workshop took place in the framework of ITU’s Telecommunication Development Sector (ITU-D) Study Group 2 Question 7/2 during the ITU-D Study Group 2 meetings. Question 7/2 refers to the study on strategies and policies concerning human exposure to electromagnetic fields. ITU has developed several recommendations on the issue and Member States are encouraged to utilize them at the national level.

International experts from various organizations, including the World Health Organization (WHO), the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP), International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), Mobile & Wireless Forum (MWF), and representatives from administrations and other organizations, presented the latest information on exposure to electromagnetic fields and health, policies, updated guidelines and regulations.

The workshop presented the latest information on the review of the 1998 ICNIRP EMF human exposure guidelines, which serves as a global reference for setting levels of electromagnetic field exposure, and testing of EMF in the context of International Mobile Telecommunications for 2020 (IMT-2020)/5G.

ITU’s approach to 5G

Testing of EMF standards is undertaken in various settings around the world and initial results show that EMF levels for mobile technologies, including 5G, are generally below the existing ICNIRP guidelines. The revised draft ICNIRP guidelines, targeted to protect people exposed to radio-frequency electromagnetic fields, were open for public consultation and comments until 9 October 2018, the eve of the workshop.

Key outcomes from the workshop include:
• Both ITU and WHO encouraged the adoption of harmonized EMF exposure limits based on the Guidelines of ICNIRP.
• With regards to the review of the existing ICNIRP Guidelines, a thorough review of the scientific literature has taken place. While some changes are likely to be recommended, the essential basis for the exposure limits will remain the same and the conservative nature of the guidelines was reaffirmed by ICNIRP.
• It was noted that in the past few years ITU’s Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T) and International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) have delivered standards and recommendations for EMF assessments of IMT-2020 (5G).
• It was noted that adoption of lower EMF exposure limits is likely to stifle innovation and deployment of networks and may impact on proven social, security and economic benefits that the technology provides to the community.
• Countries reaffirmed that they continue to invest in research in the area of EMF and are moving towards international harmonization of EMF exposure limits.

The workshop report and presentations are available here.

The archived webcast of the workshop is available here.

Pictures from the workshop are available here.

This article has been prepared in collaboration with workshop speakers.

The image below is from a presentation by Mr Eric Van Rongen, Chairman of ICNIRP  D07160000020001PDFE(2)

Comment by EMFSA:

The post 10 October 2018, ITU Workshop: Policies, guidelines, regulations and assessments of human exposure to RF-EMF appeared first on EMFSA.