5G Technology: Why Should We Expect a shift from RF-Induced Brain Cancers to Skin Cancers?

Abstract

*Corresponding author: S. M. J. Mortazavi Medical Physics Department, School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran E-mail: mortazavismj@ gmail.com Areport published in the New York Times “The 5G Health Hazard, That Isn’t, How one scientist and his inaccurate chart led to unwarranted fears of wireless technology” addressed the controversies over the safety of 5G technology. Unfortunately, the approach of New York Times in this report is not scientific. William J. Broad in his report published July 16, 2019 criticized Dr. Bill P Curry for not considering the so called “protective effect of human skin”. As a consultant and physicist, in 2000 Bill P Curry was invited to study the health risks associated with the use of laptops and wireless networks in 250,000 students in Broward County public schools in Florida. His graph labeled “Microwave Absorption in Brain Tissue (Grey Matter)” showed that electromagnetic fields are “likely to be a serious health hazard.” Broad blames Dr. Curry for not considering the low penetration of high frequencies and hence not paying attention to the shielding effect of the human skin “His analysis failed to recognize the protective effect of human skin. At higher radio frequencies, the skin acts as a barrier, shielding the internal organs, including the brain, from exposure. Human skin blocks the even higher frequencies of sunlight”. It seems that the author believes that as the outermost layer of our epidermis, the outer layer of our skin, is basically dead cells, therefore the living cells in our skin are not damaged by 5G radiofrequency radiation. Given this consideration, this report tries to convince the readers to accept the author’s opinion that exposure to the 5G high frequencies is not a real concern. Moving to ionizing radiation, alpha particle can be a good analogy for this claim. However, the depth of penetration in human tissue (skin, muscle and tissues with high water content) for a frequency of 10 GHz which lies in 5G frequency spectrum is about a few mm. Given this consideration, high frequency 5G radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF) easily penetrate living skin cells and can make them severely damaged. Moreover, stating “Human skin blocks the even higher frequencies of sunlight” is misleading the people because although skin blocks the sunlight, this exposure increases the risk of skin cancer. The non-ionizing 5G RF-EMF can behave like high LET ionizing radiations which have the maximum energy deposition per unit distance. Considering the low penetration and very high energy deposition per unit distance of 5G, this can lead to generation of high levels of free radicals in a short distance which in turn increases the risk of skin cancer. It’s worth noting that Yakymenko et al. have reported that among 100 peer-reviewed studies regarding the oxidative effects of low-intensity radiofrequency radiation that Editorial