If you've ever been through a city you might have noticed tiny mini 5G cell towers on the poles of street lights. They look like little boxes however they're actually sending wireless signals from cellular providers to your phone.
These smaller towers are replacing larger built cell towers. While what is a safe distance from a cell tower 're not as noticeable, they still can create issues for users.
The Federal Communications Commission's Radiation Exposure Thresholds
The FCC's Radiation Exposure Thresholds determine the safe distance that an individual can be exposed to electromagnetic radiation from wireless devices. The limits for exposure are based on scientific data that show that RF energy can be harmful to human health.
The absorption rate specific (SAR) is a measure of the radiofrequency energy that is absorption by tissues. It's usually 1.6 milliwatts per kilogram spread over a kilogram of tissue.
Since 5g is able to transmit at higher frequencies this could be able to increase the intensity of energy on the skin and other exposed body areas. This can result in various possible harms, such as an increase in the development of skin conditions like dermatitis, skin cancer and cataracts.
Due to the potential for negative effects of 5G radiation, PSU has chosen to set a general localized maximum power density of four MW/cm2 based on the average on 1cm2, and never to exceed 30 minutes, for the entire 5G spectrum at 3000 GHz. This localized limit is consistent with the highest SAR spatial-average of 1.6 W/kg, which is averaged over 1 grams of tissues at six GHz.
The FCC's Maximum Exposure Thresholds
If you've ever used a cell phone, you're probably aware that a safe range from the tower should be at least 400 meters away. This is due to the power of transmission from cell towers increases drastically the further the tower is.
Although this may sound like something that's good but the truth is that people who live close to towers may actually be more prone to health issues. For instance, a study conducted in 2014 in India discovered that people who lived within 50m of cell towers had significantly more health complaints than those who lived farther distance from them.
But, the study showed that residents who moved into areas farther away from cell towers noticed their symptoms improve within a few days. Another study has demonstrated that exposure to extreme amounts of electromagnetic field radiofrequency (EMFs) could cause brain tumors, cancer as well as other health issues.
This is because the RF radiation used in wireless communication, can penetrate the human body's exterior layer, the skin. It is crucial to know since the skin functions as a barrier to protect against mechanical injury, infection by pathogenic microorganisms, and entry of toxic substances. safe distance from cell tower is also the biggest organ in the human body and is responsible for protecting other organs.
The FCC's Minimum Exposure Thresholds for the Minimum Exposure
The FCC's Minimum Exposure Thresholds rely on various assumptions that aren't supported by scientific research. This includes the false assumption that short-term exposures to RF radiation are safe due to the limited absorption into body (i.e. the heating of tissues).
This assumption does not take into account the more extensive penetration of ELF components of modulated RF signals and the effects on the body of short bursts from pulsed RF waves. These assumptions do not correspond with current understanding of the biological effects of RF radiation. As safe distance from cell tower , they should not be used for health protective exposure standards.
Additionally there is the fact that both ICNIRP and FCC limit the maximum limits of exposure to peak local SARs that are based on the maximum frequency of absorption (psSAR) that is not a sufficient dosimetric tool to assess the amount of radiation exposure. In particular, psSAR is inaccurate for frequencies that exceed 6 GHz. In addition, psSAR is not been evaluated for RF radiation with co-exposure to other agents of the environment such as sunlight. In the event of interactions, RF radiation with other environmental agents could produce synergistic or antagonistic results. This can lead to an increased risk of negative health effects. For example, exposure to RF radiation along with exposure to sunlight can cause an increase in the incidence of developing skin cancer, as well as aggravate other skin diseases such as acne.