Letter: Local rally joins 5G Global Day of Protest

Graphic by Lori Deaton

Many residents of Asheville are concerned about the impending small-cell wireless antennas planned for deployment in our community. These powerful antennas, part of the next generation of wireless technology (5G), piggyback higher-frequency millimeter microwaves on top of existing 3G and 4G wireless radiation.

Due to the limited capability of these millimeter waves to transmit long distances or through solid objects, these small cells require removal of street trees and canopy and will be placed in close proximity to our homes, schools and other places where we engage in the activities of our daily lives, even though there is no science that assures their safety. This is an undeniable risk.

The FCC’s human exposure guidelines for the radio frequency microwave radiation used for this technology are decades out of date, and the agency has dismissed the results of decadelong research on RF microwave radiation and human health completed last year by the National Toxicology Program that showed “clear evidence of carcinogenicity.”

Because the health and safety of our families is at stake, we have formed a group, Stop 5G Asheville, which will be joining the 5G Global Day of Protest on Saturday, Jan. 25, to demand a moratorium on deployment of 5G until it can be proven safe.

Our event will take place at Vance Monument, Pack Square, downtown Asheville, noon-2 p.m. Interested individuals concerned about their health, privacy, security and home values can learn more by visiting Stop 5G Asheville on Facebook or Meetup.com.

— Jamie-Lee Nix
Asheville

Editor’s note: For another local view on the topic, see “Russian 5G Disinformation Campaign Taking Hold in Asheville,” which contains a link to an article by The New York Times on the issue.

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