Government Response

The Government responded to this petition on Thursday 11th June 2020

In relation to 5G, PHE has said that the exposure to radio waves is expected to remain low relative to international guidelines and, as such, there should be no consequences for public health.

Public Health England’s (PHE) Centre for Radiation, Chemical and Environmental Hazards (CRCE) takes the lead on public health matters associated with radiofrequency electromagnetic fields, or radio waves, used in telecommunications.

Central to PHE advice is that exposure to radio waves should comply with the guidelines published by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP). In compliance with PHE advice, mobile network operators have committed to follow the ICNIRP guidelines.  Therefore we have no plans to hold an investigation.

ICNIRP is an independent organisation which is formally recognised by the World Health Organization. It issues guidelines on human exposure to EMF, based upon the consensus view of a large amount of research carried out over many years. This includes the frequencies used by 5G and all other mobile / wireless technologies.

ICNIRP guidelines apply up to 300 GHz, well beyond the maximum (a few tens of GHz) frequencies under discussion for 5G.

Some 5G technology will use similar frequencies to existing communications systems. Other 5G technology will work at higher frequencies, where the main change would be less penetration of radio waves through materials.

PHE updated its guidance, published in October 2019, in respect of 5G and summarised its guidance as follows:

“It is possible that there may be a small increase in overall exposure to radio waves when 5G is added to an existing network or in a new area. However, the overall exposure is expected to remain low relative to the guidelines and, as such, there should be no consequences for public health.”

Ofcom undertakes measurements to confirm that transmitter base stations do not exceed
the limits set out in the ICNIRP guidelines. Over the last few months, Ofcom has measured
5G sites in 10 UK towns and cities and in all cases, the levels recorded are a small fraction
of those in the ICNIRP guidelines.

The maximum measured at any mobile site was approximately 1.5% of those levels –
including signals from other mobile technologies such as 3G and 4G. The highest level from
5G signals specifically was 0.039% of the maximum set out in the guidelines.

A summary of PHE advice on 5G can be accessed in the following links:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/5g-technologies-radio-waves-and-health/5g-technologies-radio-waves-and-health

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/mobile-phone-base-stations-radio-waves-and-health/mobile-phone-base-stations-radio-waves-and-health

ICNIRP’s guidance on 5G can be found here:
https://www.icnirp.org/en/applications/5g/5g.html

Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport