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Letter: 5G legislation sounds like history of industry influence repeating itself
USA Created: 6 Jul 2017
Regarding “House bill could give faster 5G wireless networks green light” (5/31): I am a radiologist specializing for 30 years in MRI, which creates amazing pictures of the body using the non-thermal effects of radiofrequencies and electromagnetic fields. As a former member of the National Safety Committee for MRI and the Bioelectromagnetic Society, I investigated potential health effects and determined that there is no evidence for hazard from short-term exposures of patients in MRI to these frequencies and fields.

However, the same cannot be said for long-term exposure from 5G, as proposed on a massive scale with the HB310 bill. There is now scientific evidence for hazard from cellphones and 5G millimeter wave technology resulting in its classification as a 2B possible carcinogen by the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer due to increased risk of malignant brain tumors. Children are most sensitive to the effects of such radiation.

I’m afraid we are in danger of making a mistake with regard to millimeter wave long-term exposure safety. Children with brain tumors will not care if they can download videos faster. Scientific studies funded by industry are less likely to find evidence for hazard than those funded by public agencies. North Carolina is no stranger to the concept of such influence in its tobacco science legacy. Cigarette executives were aware of risks and covered them up, and I think there is reason to believe that the same holds true for this industry. Let’s make a responsible choice this time and evaluate the health implications of the H310 bill.

Larry Burk, MD, CEHP
Durham
Click here to view the source article.
Source: The News & Observer, Larry Burk, 30 Jun 2017

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