5G Wireless Rekindles Decades-Old Fight Over Cellular Health Risks

Mill Valley (CA), a city just outside of San Francisco, has unanimously voted to ban fifth-generation (5G) cellular towers, claiming that they pose a significant threat to public health. In an urgency ordinance, Mill Valley city council voted earlier in Sept to block deployments of 5G towers and small cells (smaller, lower powered cellular radios used to expand cellular coverage) in residential areas. The city council says it was motivated, in part, by locals who expressed concern about the “serious adverse health and environmental impacts caused by the microwave radiation emitted from these 4G and 5G Small Cell Towers.”  The ordinance was in response to recent Federal Communications Commission efforts to speed up 5G network deployments at the behest of wireless carriers looking to modernize their networks. While the importance of these upgrades has at times been overhyped by industry, the upgrades should ultimately provide consumers with faster, more resilient wireless networks. 

But a contentious debate over the width and breadth of cellular radiation on human health has raged since the 1980s. And while the internet is full of claims of significant risk caused by cellular radiation, numerous organizations continue to insist the scientific evidence supporting a link between cellular radiation and cancer remains unproven. “There is no scientific evidence that provides a definite answer to that question,” the CDC website states. “Some organizations recommend caution in cell phone use. More research is needed before we know if using cell phones causes health effects.”