5G Networks and COVID-19: Any link? - The Nation Nigeria

Idowu Farai

I have followed with keen interest, the public concern on possible health hazards posed by electromagnetic (EM) radiation ever since its development in the Global System for Mobile communication (GSM) over 20 years ago. Attracting my attention presently, is the debate on possible link of the Fifth-Generation Communication Networks (5G) to the Corona Virus Disease (COVID-19). Given the magnitude of the pandemic and the attendant global anxiety, it is quite natural for people to express diverse opinions and theories for as long as the origin, nature and cure of COVID-19 are unknown. However, the characteristics of the EM spectrum, to which all communication frequency bands belong, are well understood. I feel therefore obliged to explain some basic facts about EM radiations vis-à-vis the potential of each band to produce health effects in man. Hopefully, this may answer some of the questions my friends have been asking me on the subject.

Radiation means propagation of energy from a source into space. As a matter of fact, life on earth is sustained by energy propagated from the sun in form of solar radiation. Generally, EM radiations are composed of oscillating electric and magnetic fields. The number of oscillations per second is called the frequency in hertz (Hz), which determines the energy of the radiation, expressed in electron volts (eV). We have EM radiation of about the lowest frequency (50 Hz) around a PHCN power transmission line. We have cosmic rays (trillions of Hz) at the other extreme and thank God for the earth’s atmosphere, which shields us from this very high energy and hazardous radiation. Next to cosmic radiation in the EM spectrum, we have x-and gamma rays, which are also very energetic and hazardous but mankind has been able to harness their high penetrating power in extensive uses, especially in medicine and industry under very strict international and national control measures.

The high energy radiations like the three above, with far more than enough energy to dissociate water molecules that make up most of the human cells, are called ionising radiation. Exposure to them in sufficient doses has significant risks of causing undesirable health effects. For example, a single exposure during x-ray chest carries a lifetime cancer risk of about 40 in one million. A good radiologist will therefore recommend x-rays only if the benefits outweigh the risk. The Nigerian Nuclear Regulatory Authority has the responsibility to ensure safe application of ionising radiations in Nigeria. Next to x-and gamma rays, we have ultra violet (UV) radiation, which is the non-visible part of solar radiation. The energy of UV radiation is up to 8 eV whereas the established threshold for DNA damage is about 12 eV. Opinions are still divided on whether UV radiation from the sun can cause skin cancer, especially when the protective layer of the skin has been compromised.

Radiations below UV rays are generally termed non-ionising because their energies are much less than what can dissociate water molecules and cause health issues in humans. In order of decreasing energy, they include: visible light, with just enough energy to stimulate our organ of vision, infrared used in remote-control and many other appliances. At the lower energy end of the non-ionising radiation, we have microwaves and radio waves used in radio and TV broadcasting, satellite communications, security locks and wireless communication networks, including the presently controversial 5G. The uses of EM radiations in this frequency band are so many throughout the world today that frequency allocation has to be supervised in order to avoid jamming of one signal transmission with another. You have to switch off your phone in an air craft to avoid jamming the more important signals between the control tower and the pilot. The Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC), established in 2003, is the authorized agency for regulating the telecommunications industry in Nigeria. It allocates signal frequencies to service providers in Nigeria.

From the First Generation (1G) network at about at a frequency of 150 MHz around 1980, 2G (GSM) at 1.9 GHz in 1991 and on to 3G and 4G years later with increasing frequencies, wireless communication technology has witnessed a tremendous growth in the last 40 years. Today, 5G technologies have emerged at two frequency bands; one in the existing LTE frequency range (600 MHz – 6 GHz) and another in the millimeter wave band (24–86 GHz), which is obviously at a far higher frequency than 4G. With capacities for faster browsing, streaming, and download speeds, as well as better connectivity, the evolution of 5G is quite natural in our increasingly technology dependent society. Man has never been static at any point in his technological evolution.

So far, there is no basis to believe that non-ionising radiations can produce any more effects than thermal effects in human tissue. The energy is just not sufficient to disrupt the atomic or molecular structure at cellular level.  When absorbed, they dissipate their energy as heat in the skin and in the tissues directly beneath the skin at a rate which depends on the intensity (or power per unit area) of the radiation. A simple example will illustrate the radiation intensity we are dealing with in a communication network, including 5G. A 60 W bulb fixed to the ceiling will produce visible light radiation intensity of about 0.5 W/m2 on the floor in the room whereas what we have from a typical Base Transceiver Station (BTS) communication antenna at the point of maximum radiation intensity is below 0.2 W/m2.

Solar radiation intensity on the earth surface is about 1,300 W/m² and we can actually feel the heat produced in our body tissues when we are under the sun. This means that, at a good conversion efficiency, a solar panel of area 1 m2 will easily operate a boiling ring. If therefore solar radiation has not killed us over the years, EM radiation at the frequency and intensity of 5G cannot. It is particularly unthinkable that radiation, at the energy and intensity from 5G antennas, can transform to corona virus, as being peddled currently. It is true that Einstein established that radiation and matter are interchangeable but only under certain conditions. These conditions are however, far from being met in the case of 5G and the organised aggregate of molecules that constitute a virus.

Before any technological innovation is deployed for public consumption, there are always years of rigorous scientific research on its benefits and costs, especially on human health and environmental implications. The scientific community is always ever ready to accept new findings based on accepted norm in research methodology but certainly not on unsubstantiated rumours. We have global institutions such as the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) founded way back in 1865, the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE), the International Committee on Non-Ionization Radiation Protection (ICNIRP), the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), an agency of the World Health Organization (WHO), etc., which are constantly engaged in studies on radiation and human health. The respective positions of these institutions are consistent on the absence of a link between 5G communication technology and COVID-19 pandemic.

In Nigeria, we have the NCC, which receives information and guidelines on international best practices from the international bodies. At this point, it may be instructive to remind NCC that high frequency signals get attenuated faster than low frequency signals, which will imply more booster antennas at closer ranges for 5G than we have for 3G and 4G presently. This requirement calls for stringent engineering supervision in order to avoid high density clusters of BTS masts all over our cities. Also, given the furore already generated by the proposed development of 5G in Nigeria and elsewhere on the globe, NCC has the onerous responsibility to sensitise the public and assure the citizenry on public and occupational health safety before the technology is deployed. I have no doubts that the body is well positioned for these challenges.

Farai is Professor of Radiation and Health Physics, University of Ibadan and Fellow of the Nigerian Institute of Physics (FNIP).