A team of Melbourne scientists measuring the electromagnetic output from phone towers across the city are confident controversial cellular upgrades do not pose a risk to health.
Key points:
- A scientist involved in the study says he hopes the results help to take some of the emotion out of the 5G debate.
- An engineering professor says the evidence suggests the technology is harmless, but experts should always be open to other possibilities
- Mount Dandenong tops the list for the towers with the highest output
Experts from the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA) hope to counter misinformation about the continued rollout of 5G.
The fifth generation of Australia’s mobile cellular network has been dogged by protests across most major cities in recent years, with critics warning the technology is untested.
The team from ARPANSA has surveyed the output from 50 tower locations, from Hurstbridge in the city’s north-east to Hoppers Crossing in the west and Skye, near Frankston.
It is the first time the output from 5G has been comprehensively measured by ARPANSA anywhere in Australia.
While the output of radio waves varies according to frequency, Australian standards based on the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection, allow for between 2 and 10 watts per square meter, on average.
ARPANSA scientist Stuart Henderson said the highest readings so far were 1,000 times lower than that.
Towers at Mount Dandenong were identified for being the biggest emitters.
“The highest measured value we reported was around 700 times below the allowed limit, and that was from a tower for radio broadcasting — not the cellular network,” Dr Henderson said.
He said the highest levels of output from other sites across the city were more than 2,000 times below the limit.
The average microwave uses about 1,000 watts of electromagnetic energy.
Mobile phones used less than two watts, and not at sustained levels.
In Australia 5G transmissions top out at 3.7GHz, well below radio altimeter frequencies.
‘Emotional issue’
Dr. Henderson said he hoped the survey results, due to be published before the end of the year, would help the most hardened critics understand the science.
“The issue is a lot of people don’t approach it rationally — it becomes an emotional issue,” he said.
“People get angry because there is a sense that they don’t get to have a say in this new technology or that they are losing control.
“There is a lot of scaremongering out there about 5G and radio waves in general, but it’s misplaced.”
Dr. Henderson said levels of output from some sites surveyed in 2011 and 2013 had not changed much.
“I think each generation of cellular technology has actually become more efficient at being able to transmit data and use far less electromagnetic energy to do that,” he said.
In January the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) urged pilots to report anomalies with radio altimeters near 5G towers after concerns were raised in the US.
CASA and the Australian Transport Safety Bureau said there had not been any reports since the technology started rolling out two years ago.
University of Melbourne electrical engineering professor Stan Skafidas said there was no evidence that low-level electromagnetic energy caused health problems, but that was not necessarily a guarantee.
“All the evidence and studies suggest there are no ill effects,” he said.
“But that doesn’t guarantee there may be some effects that we aren’t yet aware of.
“All the evidence suggests it’s safe, but as a scientist you always have to keep an open mind.”
The Australian Communication and Media Authority (ACMA) has made it easier for people to check the electromagnetic energy levels emitted from a selection of mobile base stations across Victoria and New South Wales.
The EME Checker uses data from measurements taken by the ACMA during 2021 and 2022.
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