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One woman's recent illness highlights the issue of only considering
radiofrequency
radiation's thermal effects...
After a 5G base station was installed within 60 meters of her second-floor apartment, a middle-aged, otherwise healthy, Swedish woman developed debilitating symptoms corresponding with radiofrequency (RF)/microwave syndrome, researchers at the Environment and Cancer Research Foundation (ECRF) in Sweden reported this month.
This was the third such case the researchers had documented.
According to their case study, published in Annals of Clinical and Medical Case Reports, fifth generation (5G) wireless technology is being rolled out worldwide,
As a result, exposure to pulse-modulated microwave radiation has "increased dramatically on a world-wide basis."
Microwave radiation are frequencies in the range of 300 MHz to 300 GHz within the radiofrequency (RF) spectrum. In city environments, frequencies used for 5G are currently in the 3.5 GHz band.
Studies on possible health effects from exposure to 5G frequencies were all but non-existent until recently.
In a study published in October 2022, animals were exposed to the 5G frequency of 3.5 GHz for 2 hours a day, 5 days a week for one month.
The exposure caused oxidative stress and an increase of degenerated neurons in the hippocampus region of the brain, in addition to decreased irisin levels, a hormone positively correlated with weight loss and healthy cognitive function.
In the case study, the woman quickly developed a large array of debilitating symptoms after the installation.
These symptoms included,
The 5G antenna was installed on the roof of a three-floor adjacent building and projected towards her apartment on the second floor.
There was previously a 4G base station antenna at the same spot, but it was only after it was replaced by the 5G antenna that the woman quickly developed severe symptoms of microwave syndrome.
The 4G antenna was removed shortly after the 5G deployment.
The woman reported that when she relocated to another apartment not near a 5G base station, all her symptoms quickly resolved, only to return within 24 hours of her return to her own apartment.
The woman's dog also showed signs of ill health after the 5G installation.
The researchers point out that,
The researchers measured microwatts per square meter within one foot of the woman's living room window over the course of one minute, and found significant spikes.
High radiation was also found in the bathroom, highest in the bathtub closest to the window.
Considerably lower RF radiation was measured in the bedroom which was not directly in the line of transmission from the base station.
Despite maxing out the commercial meter (Safe and Sound, Pro II) used by the researchers, the level of exposure was non-thermal and well below the guidelines recommended by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation (ICNIRP).
A History of Exposure Disorders
RF sickness or illness resulting from microwave exposure, was first reported in the 1960s and 1970s in East European countries.
International investigations of exposed workers, including American military personnel, showed that microwave exposure at non-thermal levels caused symptoms such as,
A review of multiple human and animal studies also concluded that,
The condition has been variously termed radiofrequency sickness syndrome or microwave syndrome.
The non-thermal effects - effects unrelated to a build-up of heat - depend primarily on the modulation and/or pulsation of the signal as well as on the peak and average intensity.
The Problem with Current RF Safety Standards
There are significant problems with how health effects from RF radiation are weighed, according to James Lin, a professor emeritus in the department of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Illinois Chicago.
In an article (Incongruities in recently revised Radiofrequency Exposure Guidelines and Standards - PDF) published in Environmental Research in April, 2023, Lin details how safety limits for exposure to RF radiation applied by most countries around the world are still based on acute heat or thermal effects that appear within a short time from exposure,
The guidelines for reference values based on heating are set by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP), a self-appointed private organization based in Germany.
ICNIRP has positioned itself with industry support to be the dominant international authority in the evaluation of scientific evidence of negative health effects from RF radiation.
In his recent Environmental Research article, Lin, a former long-time member of ICNIRP concluded,
In 2019, 258 EMF scientists from 58 countries appealed to the 'United Nations' to,
In the appeal, the scientists said:
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