5G has no adverse health effects according to an ANSES report
The ANSES headquarters in Maison-Alfort near Paris in 2015 (illustrative image).
AFP - MATTHIEU ALEXANDRE
Text by: Dominique Desaunay Follow
4 min
The opinion of the National Health Security Agency, ANSES, concerning the harmfulness of 5G waves had been awaited for months.
Its conclusions are reassuring, the health effects of 5G are safe.
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The new generation of telecom network has been promising us for months to be able to view 4K videos in very high definition and in real time on our smartphones, to easily connect to billions of smart objects, to remotely control our autonomous cars, our robots, our automatic factories ... But now, barely launched at the end of 2019, the ultra-broadband mobile site was already raising concerns on the part of certain municipalities and political decision-makers, refusing until the installation of the pylons of the 5G. The High Council for the Climate had also warned in December that 5G was "
likely to significantly increase
" the carbon footprint of the digital sector, recommending to better assess the impact of future technological leaps before their implementation. .
In this somewhat tense context, the National
Health Security
Agency
issued its conclusions
: 5G does not present "
any new risks
" and even observes the absence of proven harmful effects in the short term on the waves it broadcasts. . This opinion was immediately welcomed, by the French Telecoms Federation, which brings together the operators Bouygues, Orange and SFR and by the ministers of Ecology, Economy, Health and Digital, declaring that this report "
reinforces the government's choice on the launch of 5G
”. The NGOs Act for the environment and
Priartem, the association against the risks associated with electromagnetic technologies
, who had already challenged the deployment of 5G in court, are of the opposite opinion.
“
The ANSES experts ask more questions than they provide concrete answers,
” said Stéphen Kerckhove, General Delegate of Agir pour l'Environnement.
What effects could # 5G have on the health of the population?
Today we are publishing our expert work on the subject.
Presentation of our results ⬇️ # Thread (1/10) pic.twitter.com/9pH3aOHXpL
- Anses (@Anses_fr) April 20, 2021
However, ANSES recommends continuing studies on the exposure of the population to certain 5G waves, in particular those relating to the 26 GHz band, very high frequencies which have not yet been allocated in France. ANSES underlines the lack of scientific studies in its possession on their possible health effects. But aware of this lack of expertise, the Agency concludes its report by hoping that in the future such research will be carried out "
prior to the deployment
" of these new technologies. It has also decided to conduct a
six-week online “
public consultation
” on the work carried out by its experts.
► To read also: Deployment, potential risks, Huawei ... What you need to know about 5G
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