Why Are so Many Concerned About the Potential Health Dangers of the 5G Cell Phone Network That Is Going up Nationwide?

Michael Snyder is the publisher of The Economic Collapse Blog, The American Dream Blog and The Truth. You can follow him on Twitter right here

When we went from 3G to 4G, it didn’t seem like that big of a deal, and so many people are wondering what the big fuss is over 5G.

But this isn’t just another step up in technology.

This is a completely different ballgame.

According to CBS News, this new network is supposed to be “up to 100 times faster”, but it will also require that antennas be installed “closer to users than before”…

The wireless industry is in a race to roll out 5G service. The network is supposed to be up to 100 times faster than current data speeds, but it requires cellphone tower equipment to be closer to users than before. Wireless companies in the U.S. say they’ll have to install about 300,000 new antennas – roughly equal to the total number of cell towers built over the past three decades. That’s causing outrage and alarm in some neighborhoods, as antennas go up around homes.

Once all of these new antennas are up, it is going to seem like they are everywhere, and that is because they will be.

They are called “small cell” sites, and the big phone giants are spending hundreds of billions of dollars to put them in…

The consulting firm Accenture, in a report commissioned by the wireless industry, estimated last year that telecom companies will invest as much as $275 billion over seven years building out 5G networks.

Other estimates have placed the price tag for 5G infrastructure at about $200 billion annually for at least the first few years of service.

Cell phone antennas will be closer together and closer to the ground than ever before, and the giant telecom companies are appealing to Congress to make it easier for them to bypass local zoning laws…

Wireless companies are asking Congress and state lawmakers to make it easier to install the poles by preempting local zoning laws that often restrict them, particularly near homes. The lobbying efforts have alarmed local officials across the country. They say they need to ensure that their communities do not end up with unsightly poles cluttering sidewalks, roadsides and the edges of front yards.

They also are hearing from residents worried about possible long-term health risks. Until now, much of the cell equipment that emits radio-frequency energy has been housed on large towers typically kept hundreds of feet from homes. The new “small cell” technology uses far more antennas and transmitters that are smaller and lower-powered, but clustered closer together and lower to the ground.

It sure would be nice if we had some good people in Congress to sound the alarm about this.

Unfortunately, very few people are talking about the potential danger that this nationwide network could pose, and those that do are often marginalized.

That is why it was very surprising to find the following in a recent mainstream news article…

“The cell towers are called small cell towers, but they are not so small when they are in your front yard,” said Donna Barron. She is protesting plans to convert light poles in her Montgomery County, Maryland, neighborhood into small cell sites.

“This will cause cancer,” Barron said. She was one of several people who raised health concerns about the radiation emitted by the equipment at a government hearing last month.

So is there scientific evidence that actually shows a link between cell phones and major diseases such as cancer?

Well, a group of over 230 scientists has signed a document that is entitled “the International EMF Scientist Appeal”…

More than 230 scientists from 41 nations — who have published over 2,000 peer-reviewed papers on electromagnetic fields and biology and health — have signed the International EMF Scientist Appeal.

They cite “serious concerns” about “increasing exposure to EMF” based on “numerous recent scientific publications” linking low levels of wireless radiation to health effects.

In that document, we are told that scientific research has shown that exposure to EMF can cause a whole host of health problems…

Numerous recent scientific publications have shown that EMF affects living organisms at levels well below most international and national guidelines. Effects include increased cancer risk, cellular stress, increase in harmful free radicals, genetic damages, structural and functional changes of the reproductive system, learning and memory deficits, neurological disorders, and negative impacts on general well-being in humans. Damage goes well beyond the human race, as there is growing evidence of harmful effects to both plant and animal life.

These findings justify our appeal to the United Nations (UN) and, all member States in the world, to encourage the World Health Organization (WHO) to exert strong leadership in fostering the development of more protective EMF guidelines, encouraging precautionary measures, and educating the public about health risks, particularly risk to children and fetal development. By not taking action, the WHO is failing to fulfill its role as the preeminent international public health agency.

Of course the cell phone industry disputes these claims and will fight against them to their dying breath.

And according to federal law, local communities cannot even consider health concerns when deciding whether or not to put in cell phone antennas…

However, according to federal law the city simply can’t consider health concerns. It’s outlined in a small section of the Telecommunications Act, based on science from 1996, back when we were still talking on cellphones that looked like bricks.

“I find it really unfair,” said Hiestand.

If cities do consider health, cell companies can sue them.

Wow.

This is another example that shows that it really does matter who we send to Congress.

Some have compared the coming 5G network to being locked in a low level microwave oven 24 hours a day.

If you don’t like the idea of that, unfortunately you don’t have a choice.  The 5G network is being rolled out nationwide right now, and the big phone companies have vastly more money and power than you and I do.

Michael Snyder is a nationally syndicated writer, media personality and political activist.  He is the author of four books including The Beginning Of The End and Living A Life That Really Matters.