A city resolution demands updated research on the safety of the wireless technology
The Portland City Council has voted unanimously on a resolution demanding the Federal Communications Commission update its research on the health and environmental impacts of 5G radio frequency wireless emissions. It also calls on the FCC to make the results of that research publicly available.
The resolution, which the council passed Wednesday, March 13, notes that the last time the FCC updated its studies, in 2015, it based its conclusions on recommendations from other federal agencies after reviews of scientific literature primarily from the 1990s. The resolution also notes that there are no federally mandated radio frequency, or RF, exposure standards.
Commissioner Amanda Fritz presented the resolution, noting that she authored a similar resolution 10 years ago.
“My goal in formulating this resolution is absolutely to get the FCC to do the studies that they should have done 10 years or more ago,” Fritz said before the vote Wednesday.
Commissioner Chloe Eudaly likened telecommunication companies to tobacco and gun industries that “obfuscate health issues instead of trying to understand them. It’s an embarrassment the federal government not only won’t do the research but bans it at the local level.”
That bitterness stems from the fact that Portland, like all local governments across the country, have been hogtied when it comes to regulating the deployment of 5G technology, regardless of health or environmental concerns.
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The FCC, in its campaign to “ensure the United States wins the global race to 5G,” passed new rules in 2018 to streamline the installation of 5G, “small cell” infrastructure by overriding state and local regulatory barriers. The rules mandate shorter time limits for state and local reviews and in some cases waive fees if the FCC deems them barriers to deploying service, which includes the market rate the city of Portland would charge.
Numerous states, not including Oregon, have followed suit with the FCC, enacting legislation to further nullify local control and streamline the implementation of 5G networks.
Several people who testified Wednesday called on the city to go even further than this resolution and put up a fight against the federal rules, comparing it to the city’s stance as a sanctuary city in the face of federal immigration policy.
The resolution references several causes for alarm, including a 2017 appeal to the European Union by 180 scientists and doctors from 36 countries. The appeal calls for the European Union to place a moratorium on the 5G roll-out across Europe “until potential hazards for human health and the environment have been fully investigated by scientists independent from industry.” The signees say 5G will substantially increase exposure to radio frequency electromagnetic fields on top of the 2G, 3G, 4G, Wi-Fi, etc., for telecommunications already in place. “(Radio frequency – electromagnetic frequency) has been proven to be harmful for humans and the environment,” the doctors state in their appeal.
The resolution also specifically notes a study released in November by the National Toxicology Program that showed a link between cancer in rats and exposure to high levels of RF radiation like that used in 2G and 3G cellphones. That study did not apply to 4G and 5G technologies.
Email Executive Editor Joanne Zuhl at joanne@streetroots.org.
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