Washington, DC Advisory Neighborhood Commissions Concerned About Health Opposes 5G in New Resolution

By B.N. Frank

Activist Post continues to report about now-passed federal legislation, continued opposition, and health concerns regarding the “Race for 5G” which allows Telecom companies to install 5G small cell towers and other wireless infrastructure – above ground and below – basically wherever they want including in front of homes:

“With the transition from 4G to 5G underway, the FCC needed to take bold action,” Carr said. “Winning the global race to 5G, seeing this new platform deployed in the U.S. first is about economic leadership for the next decade. Those are the stakes.”

Apparently “bold action” and “economic leadership” take precedence over public and environmental health in the U.S., because that’s also at stake when telecom companies are allowed and encouraged to install wireless-emitting infrastructure everywhere.

Last week, EHTrust.org reported about the Washington DC Advisory Commissions taking action against 5G. It’s worth sharing:

In Washington DC, the Advisory Neighborhood Commissions are taking notice of the push to install 5G Small Cells in their neighborhoods. Washington DC has issued draft guidelines on small cells that would fast track small cell deployment. In response, the DC Advisory Neighborhood Commissions have begun deliberating on the issue and we now have the first resolution issued by ANC3/4G that brings health concerns to the forefront. We expect more ANC’s to follow calling for more protective regulations as citizens learn about health issues, property devaluations and aesthetic issues posed by unfettered 5G small cell deployment.

In regard to health concerns:

Concerns have been raised about the health risks of 5G technology, which includes these small cell installations. See, e.g., “EMF Scientist Appeal Advisors Call For Moratorium On Policies For 5G “Small Cell” Antennas,” https://ehtrust.org/key-issues/cell-phoneswireless/emf-scientist-appeal-advisors-call-moratorium-5g/, and Doctors Letters on Cell Towers Near Schools –https://ehtrust.org/wp-content/uploads/Doctors-Letters-on-Cell-Towers-and-Cell-Towers-at-Schools.pdf Additionally, many studies have linked low-level wireless radio frequency radiation exposures to a long list of adverse biological effects, including: DNA single and double strand breaks; oxidative damage; disruption of cell metabolism; increased blood brain barrier permeability; melatonin reduction disruption to brain glucose metabolism; and, generation of stress proteins. This list certainly warrants additional scientific studies before District residents are put at risk.
The health hazards of 5G technology have been intensely debated at the federal level, before Congress and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). There does not appear to be any widely accepted definitive scientific study, however, that proves one way or the other whether small cell installations — emitting extremely high or “millimeter wave” frequencies above 24 GHz — may have an adverse health impact, although in 2011 the World Health Organization classified radio frequency radiation as a possible 2B carcinogen. Moreover, the only applicable FCC standards for radio-frequency radiation emissions were set in 1996, and did not consider the use of modern wireless equipment like small cells that will be located close to residences. Mere compliance with the FCC’s outdated standards does not assure safety.
Rather than “winning the global race to 5G,” ANC 3/4G considers the protection of residents’ health and welfare to be the District’s highest priority — not simply making installations cheaper and easier. Instead of racing pell-mell to authorize small cell installations without any reliable basis for finding that they are safe, the District should oppose this federal imposition until scientific data shows that it will have no serious adverse consequences for District residents. We should not willingly participate in this population-wide experiment that could have catastrophic consequences.
The FCC’s action and DDOT’s draft guidelines will give private cell providers the right to put antennas and transmission control boxes on District-owned streetlight poles and privately-owned utility wood poles subject to only minimal limitations. This means that a 5G antenna could be mounted on the streetlight or utility pole in front of a resident’s home, and there would be little the resident could do about it. Given the health concerns described above, the ANC believes this should cause great concern for all District residents.
Because of these concerns, ANC 3/4G urges the Mayor, the Council, and the Attorney General to oppose the imposition of small cell wireless and 5G technology on the District unless scientifically reliable studies demonstrate that they pose no undue health risks for residents or their pets and that those installations will have no damaging consequences for people or the natural environment. This opposition should include, but is not limited to, adoption of legislation or initiation of lawsuits that will protect District residents and our environment from untested and unproven 5G technology.

For more information, visit the following websites: