Nigeria will become the first country in West Africa to use 5G mobile technology and applications after MTN conducted a test in Abuja. The telecoms giants, in partnership with Huawei, plans another round of tests in Lagos and Calabar. While the move to 5G technology is a great feat, what are the health risks to it?
5G networks, the next generation of mobile internet connectivity, will officially launch across the world by 2020. It offers unlimited potential to vastly improve our lives. This cutting edge technology also provides faster speeds and more reliable connections on smartphones and other devices.
The electromagnetic radiation mobile phone technology uses makes some people worry about increased health risks. This includes developing certain types of cancer.
World Health Organisation (WHO) says “mobile phone use has no adverse effects on health”. However, the organisation, together with the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), has classified all radiofrequency radiation (of which mobile signals are a part) as “possibly carcinogenic”.
It’s classified thus because “there is evidence that falls short of being conclusive that exposure may cause cancer in humans”.
Eating pickled vegetables and using talcum powder are classed in the same category. Alcoholic drinks and processed meat are in a higher category because the evidence is stronger.
A toxicology report released in 2018 by the US Department of Health found that male rats exposed to high doses of radiofrequency radiation developed a type of cancerous tumour in the heart.
In this research, rats’ whole bodies were exposed to radiation from mobile phones for nine hours a day every day for two years, starting before they were born.
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Statistical possibility of a health risk
The research finds no cancer link for the female rats or the mice studied. The rats that faced exposure to the radiation lived longer than those in the control group.
Scientists on the research say that exposures in the studies are not comparable directly to the exposure that humans experience when using a cell phone. This is even for heavy users.
“Although some of the research suggests a statistical possibility of increased cancer risks for heavy users, the evidence to date for a causal relation is not sufficiently convincing to suggest the need for precautionary action”, Dr Frank De Vocht, a government adviser on mobile phone safety says.
Nevertheless, a group of scientists and doctors wants the EU to halt the rollout of 5G.
What’s your take on 5G technology and the possible health risks attached to it? Should the rollout be halted or will it bring more use than harm to Nigerians?
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