The NZ Ministry of Health’s “fact” sheet about 5G says “exposures to 5G signals are similar to, or lower than, those from existing cell sites, and small fractions of the public limit in the standard”. This statement is not supported by the graphs in a thesis from the electrical engineering department at Georgia Southern University in the USA which show that even the high exposure guidelines are exceeded within six metres of a 5G access point (aka base stations) for Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) and within two metres of the access point for power density.  (https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3088&context=etd)

This means that the concentrated, directed beams emitted by 5G antennae positioned within six metres of a dwelling will exceed even the industry-stacked exposure guidelines currently in place in New Zealand — which permit exposure of the public to 10 million microwatts of microwaves per square metre, when the Austrian Medical Association regards exposure to 1000 microwatts per square metre as “very far above normal” (www.vagbrytaren.org/Guideline%20%20AG-EMF.pdf) and the Building Biology Standard calls 1000 microwatts per square metre cause for “extreme concern”.

The NZ Ministry of Health justifies our high exposure limits by saying “The New Zealand exposure standard’s limits are recommended by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP), which the World Health Organisation recognises for its independence and expertise in this area.” The truth is that both ICNIRP and its parent agency the WHO are widely recognised as being far from independent of the military-industrial complex (www.saferemr.com/2018/07/icnirps-exposure-guidelines-for-radio.html and https://bit.ly/icnirpCOIreport), and the NZ Ministry of Health is reported to be one of the agencies that provide financial support to ICNIRP (https://microwavenews.com/short-takes-archive/bfs-support-icnirp).

A group of Ontario doctors have recently warned their state government of a steep rise in healthcare costs predicted to result from the 5G “roll-out” in Ontario (www.newswire.ca/news-releases/ontario-doctors-warn-of-rising-health-care-costs-after-5g-roll-out–845905505.html).

Could this be related in some way to our own government’s support for amalgamating district health boards? Is centralised control the only way in which the introduction of this harmful technology to Aotearoa can be whitewashed?

Robin Kelly (GP, Auckland) and Susan Pockett (scientist, University of Auckland psychology department)

http://www.gisborneherald.co.nz/letter/opinion/20200704/nz-exposure-limits-for-5g-signals-too-high/