by Bennett Davis
As of 23 April, more than 251,000 people – including tens of thousands of physicians, physicists, medical researchers, and public health officials, as well as officials of several thousand scientific and health-related organizations – have signed an international appeal titled “Stop 5G on Earth and in Space.”
The appeal “urgently call[s] for a halt to the deployment of the 5G wireless network, including 5G from space satellites. 5G will massively increase exposure to radio frequency (RF) radiation [which] has been proven harmful for humans and the environment. The deployment of 5G constitutes an experiment on humanity and the environment that is defined as a crime under international law.”
The appeal is addressed to “the UN, WHO, EU, Council of Europe, and governments of all nations.”
This appeal is not the only one.
As of 19 April, 353 scientists and public health officers have signed the “5G Appeal,” which calls for a moratorium of the rollout and lays out scientific evidence that 5G radio waves can harm human health.
The appeal is directed to the governing bodies of the European Union, calling on them to halt all 5G deployment on the continent.
Rolling out 5G commercially as planned “will substantially increase exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF) on top of the 2G, 3G, 4G, Wi-Fi, [and other frequencies] for telecommunications already in place,” the appeal says. “RF-EMF have been proven to be harmful for humans and the environment.”
As evidence, the appeal cites a variety of studies:
A report from the U.S. National Institutes of Health found a significant rise in instances of brain cancer and a rare kind of cancer that grows in the nerves around the heart among rats under prolonged EMF exposure.
- Researchers at Egypt’s Menoufiya University found that “inhabitants living near mobile phone base stations are at risk of developing neuropsychiatric problems and some changes in the performance of neurobehavioral functions.”
- A study from Turkey’s Marmara University shows that exposure to EMFs can reduce the body’s production of nitric oxide, a key compound that lets cells communicate with each other.
- Lengthy exposure to EMFs before birth can lead to a greater chance of children being born with autism-spectrum disorders, scientists at Arabian Gulf University report.
- Radio frequency radiation damages trees close to mobile phone base stations, according to a study involving scientists at the Spanish National Research Council and Pompeu Fabra University.
The appeal claims “an increasing part of the European population is affected by ill health symptoms that have for many years been linked to exposure to EMF and wireless radiation in the scientific literature.”
The appeal’s authors invoke the “Precautionary Principle” adopted by the United Nations: “When human activities may lead to morally unacceptable harm that is scientifically plausible but uncertain, actions shall be taken to avoid or diminish that harm.”
They also point to the European Environment Agency’s warning that “there are many examples of the failure to use the Precautionary Principle in the past, which have resulted in serious and often irreversible damage to health and environments… harmful exposures can be widespread before there is both ‘convincing’ evidence of harm from long-term exposures and biological understanding of how that harm is caused.”
The appeal’s supporters point out that the European Union’s safety standards for electromagnetic exposure were drafted before many of the concerning studies were carried out. Some of these studies point to EMF damage at exposure levels lower than current “safe” standards permit.
The appeal’s signers call on the EU to halt 5G deployment, convene an independent study group to review and conduct research, to revise EMF safety standards based on the newest science, and to educate the public about EMF’s dangers.
The appeal resembles the “EMF Scientist Appeal” to the United Nations that has been signed by more than 230 scientists in more than 40 countries. The scientists have studied EMF’s effects on living organisms and express “serious concerns regarding the ubiquitous and increasing exposure to EMFs” because of “growing scientific evidence” of their harm.
The group calls for tighter safety guidelines based on new science, safer technologies, public education around EMFs’ hazards, and the establishment of public radiation-free “white zones.”