A WHITLEY resident has expressed concerns over radiation levels emitted by 5G masts in Reading.
Keith Whiting, who lives in close proximity to a Three 5G mast at the southern end of Northumberland Avenue, claims to have recorded ‘dangerously high’ readings.
Inspired by a video he came across online, the 62-year-old used a handheld Trifield metre to gauge levels of radiation.
He said: “I’ve been finding that since [the mast] has been in, I wake up very regularly at night times, between midnight and 2am, and I’m sweating profusely.
“I can’t sleep at all, I can’t get out of bed. It’s only happened since [the mast] has been fired up.
“I’m a father, a grandfather and a great grandfather. All my family lives here and I felt it was my duty to check.”
Mobile phones transmit and receive radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF EMFs) to facilitate communication.
Some 5G technologies use higher frequencies than 3G and 4G standards, producing relatively superficial exposure with less power to penetrate the body.
Mr Whiting describes readings taken on his device outside his house as ‘off the charts’.
The Whitley resident observed a range value which went over the model’s upper limit.
In an attempt to understand regulation of radiation levels, Mr Whiting reached out to Reading Borough Council.
He explained: “I tried to check with the council and with Environmental Health, if we have limits, or if we have exposure times or anything else.
“Their answer was that they don’t carry out tests, they don’t know what the limits are. I found that very odd.”
In its response, the council confirmed it does not own equipment to test levels of EMF radiation, but checks that new installations requiring planning permission have the appropriate certification from the International Commission on Non-Ionising Radiation Protection (ICNIRP).
The ICNIRP’s RF EMF guidelines, published in 2020, “protect against all potential adverse health effects relating to exposure to RF EMF from 5G technologies”.
Its restrictions are set to ensure the resultant peak power will remain far lower than that required to adversely affect health.
A spokesperson for Three said: “From a health and safety perspective, 5G deployment is no different to any other mobile technology. We take our obligation to run a safe network very seriously and actively work to ensure that our network remains compliant with international guidelines.
“In line with this, all of our sites’ transmission levels are set to conform with the ICNIRP safety guidelines as adopted by the UK government.
Ofcom has stated: “All frequencies that are currently and will in future be used for 5G fall within the part of the electromagnetic spectrum that includes radiation which is classed as non-ionising. This means that these radio waves do not carry enough energy to directly damage cells.”
