MPs The Republicans are calling for the creation of a commission of inquiry into the effects of 5G on health.
“The development of 5G is not free of risks and it is the responsibility of the legislator to prevent them with accuracy”. While 5G is to be deployed in the coming years throughout France, 34 Les Républicains deputies call for the creation of a commission of inquiry on the health effects of this new communication standard in the long and medium term.
“The deployment of 5G should make it possible to prodigiously accelerate the development of industrial uses, at the crossroads of artificial intelligence and hyper-connectivity technologies”, enthuse the deputies in the preamble to the text. They nuance: “If for these reasons, we must enthusiastically welcome the arrival at technological maturity of this new standard, it is nonetheless essential to ensure that all the conditions necessary for its deployment are met.”
5G will use several types of frequencies depending on the situation. Among these frequencies, some will be very similar to those currently used for 4G, the health effects of which have already been widely studied by scientists. However, to allow even higher speeds, 5G should use millimeter sequences around 3.5 and 26 GHz. It is the latter that have MPs worried.
We still lack data
“5G will use new frequencies, 3.5 Ghz or 26 Ghz. If the first remains relatively close to the frequencies for 4G for which data is already available, no study exists to date on the 26 Ghz frequency which must be deployed around 2025 with direct penetration into the body and absorption. by the first layers of the skin”they note.
“The work of identifying the publications has highlighted a significant lack, or even an absence of data relating to the potential biological and health effects in the frequency bands considered. (…) These increased risks impose new health safety requirements on the equipment that will support future 5G networks, relating both to their intrinsic technical characteristics and to the moral obligations of having to know the health consequences of their use.they develop.
To support their argument, the deputies refer to a preliminary report by ANSES, published in January 2020, which pinpointed a lack of scientific data on certain frequencies. “In order to assess the potential health risks of 5G technology, it seems relevant to distinguish the frequency bands around 3.5 GHz from those around 26 GHz.”, indeed noted the ANSES document.
A final report in 2021
“Today, no one is able to predict with certainty how many people and when will use these 5G networks., also explained Olivier MerckelHead of the Physical Agents Risk Assessment Unit at ANSES. The level of exposure will greatly depend on the use that will be made of 5G. Until the deployment is done, we can only do simulations from different exposure scenarios”, he explained, adding that this will require the most precise information possible from the operators. As for health effects, the analyzes should range from physiological effects to cognitive, developmental or psychosocial effects. “We think about which population we will be interested in first, workers, children, adolescents, adults, etc.”, specified the expert.
Also, even without the creation of the commission of inquiry called for by Les Républicains, the effects of the 3.5 and 26 GHz bands on the body will be assessed by ANSES. The final report is expected in 2021. In the meantime, these frequencies will not be activated on a large scale.
Remember, however, that conducting studies on the subject is not an easy task. “There are many methodological biases that may suggest that there is an effect (waves on human health, Ed) whereas this area is special because it requires dual skills, in biology and electronics. However, we see teams competent in biology but not at all in electronics conducting studies on the subject. They therefore see the biology moving but do not know if it is due to the waves or to the microwave effect of their exposure system which is not at all controlled. Conversely, there are studies carried out by physicists where the exposure is well controlled but not the biology. But these papers can still be published, depending on whether the journal is specialized in biology or electronics.”, explained Yves Le Dréan, researcher for Inserm in the Irset unit (Institute for research in health, environment and work) of the University of Rennes to Why doctor in an article on the subject.
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