Third Swedish study on 5G and development of the microwave syndrome

A new case study from Sweden shows that a 5G base station caused very high radiation in an apartment at a distance of 60 meters and development of symptoms typical of the microwave syndrome. Two previous studies by the same authors published in 2023 have also shown that 5G deployment led to the development of the microwave syndrome within a short period of time.

The new study was published on April 10, 2023 in the scientific journal Annals of Clinical and Medical Case Reports with the title ”A 52-Year Healthy Woman Developed Severe Microwave Syndrome Shortly After Installation of a 5G Base Station Close to Her Apartment”.

Oncologist and epidemiologist Dr Lennart Hardell from the Swedish Research Foundation for Environment and Cancer and Mona Nilsson from the Swedish Radiation Protection Foundation conducted this third case study, as well as the two previous ones, on the health effects of exposure to real 5G radiation. Since the 1970s, Lennart Hardell has conducted epidemiological research, primarily on the health risks of various environmental toxins. He was first in the world to publish results on increased cancer risks from mobile phone use and is a leading researcher in the field. Hardell was one of 30 world-leading scientists who in 2011 assessed the cancer risks of radio frequency and microwave radiation from mobile phones, when this kind of radiation was classified as ”possibly carcinogenic”, Group 2B by the IARC (International Agency for Research on Cancer).

No previous research on 5G

5G has been deployed during the last three years without any prior research examining the possible health effects of commonly occurring exposure to 5G, nor so-called ’worst case scenarios’, i.e. for those cases where people may be exposed to levels close to those allowed by the thermal basesd limits adopted by most governments. In particular, there are no studies showing that 5G is not harmful to human health or the environment. However, many scientists and doctors have warned early on about serious health consequences from the roll-out of 5G, for instance in the 5G Appeal, today signed by 430 scientists and phycisians.

This total lack of available health impact studies has been a driving factor behind the case studies now being conducted in Sweden. Amazingly, they appear to be the first in the world on the health effects of exposure to microwave radiation from 5G base stations.

Earlier in the fall of 2022, the first animal study of the effects of radiation from the 5G frequency 3.5 GHz was published. However the signal was not 5G but GSM-modulated. Despite the exposure being significantly lower than the limits from ICNIRP adopted by most governements and recommended by the WHO and the EU Commission and those applied by the FCC in the USA, serious effects on the brain were observed that can ultimately lead to degenerative diseases, according to the researchers.

The new study

The new study examined the radiation from a 5G base station placed at a distance of 60 meters from an apartment where a 52-year-old woman and her dog live. The base station is located on the roof of a three-floor building and projected towards her apartment on the second floor with a balcony. Very high levels of microwave radiation from the 5G antennas were measured on the balcony, over 2,5000,000 μW/m2 (microwatts per square meter) in peak value,  equal to the maximum value that the meter used can measure. Thus, the levels on the balcony 60 meters from the 5G antennas are likely to be even higher in reality.

Inside the home, 758,000 μW/m2 was measured at its peak near the window facing the 5G base station. In the living room sofa, a maximum of 222,000 μW/m2 was measured. Significantly lower levels were measured in the kitchen and in the bedroom. These two rooms face the other side of the  building where no 5G or 4G base stations were within sight. The peak measurements were obtained at each location during 10-20 measurements each during 1 minute, using the Safe & Sound Pro II meter.

The diagram below shows the sharp variations (pulses) in the measured maximum (peak) radiation over 1 minute from the 5G base station in the living room.

The drawing below shows the location of the base station (A) in relation to the home (B).

Symptoms of the microwave syndrome

The 5G equipment was installed on 25 November 2022. Previously, there was 4G and 3G equipment in the same location but it was only after switching to 5G that the woman in the apartment 60 meters away experienced severe health problems typical of exposure to elevated microwave radiation. However, the woman had only lived in the apartment for less than two months.

After November 25, the woman began to suffer from the following symptoms:  headache, dizziness and balance
problems, concentration problems, loss of immediate memory, confusion, fatigue, anxiety, emotive, cough, nose bleeding, symptoms from lungs, stomach, urinary system, and the skin.

For a couple of weeks during Christmas and New Year 2022/23, the woman and her dog lived in another home with much lower radiation and no 5G within sight. Almost all symptoms disappeared, but returned when she returned to her own apartment.

The dog also had symptoms in the form of diarrhea. After walks, the dog showed a clear reluctance to go back to the radiation-exposed home.

Previous case studies

The first case study was published in January 2023 and the second case study by Lennart Hardell and Mona Nilsson in February. Unlike the new study, the first two studied cases where 5G base stations were placed directly above the study persons homes or offices. In the first case, a large increase in microwave radiation was measured in the bedroom directly below the 5G antennas, compared to the pre-5G situation when 3G/4G equipment was in the same location. In both cases, the radiation after 5G installation was extremely high directly below the 5G antennas, more than 2 500 000 μW/m2 and 1 180 000 million μW/m2 in the second case. The extreme increase in microwave radiation caused severe microwave syndrome symptoms within a few days in a  man and a woman in the the first case and clear microwave syndrome in two men symptoms in the second case study. In both cases, the four study subjects had no health problems from the previous 3G/4G base station in place at the same spot before the installation of 5G on the roof directly above them. In both cases, the roof was covered only with roofing felt, which likely contributed to the high radiation levels below the antennas.

After moving to dwellings with much lower radiation all four study persons experienced that the symptoms gradually disappeared.

5G can cause serious health effects

-This study and the two previous studies show that 5G can cause serious health problems in previously healthy persons. It is notable that the health is seriously affected in persons that have previously tolerated 3G and 4G. Our results indicate that the high, repetitive pulses of 5G radiation are especially biologically active. It is unreasonable that individuals that are affected by health problems after deployment of 5G are forced to leave their homes and move to another place for living. Involuntary radiation exposure is not consistent with a democratic society. The deployment of 5G must be stopped, already installed 5G base stations should be dismantled, and studies on risks for human health and the environment must be urgently done, says Lennart Hardell in a comment.

Microwave syndrome described 50 years ago

The microwave syndrome or microwave illness was already described in the 1960s and 1970s as an effect of prolonged exposure to microwave radiation at non-thermal levels lower than the limits, based only on heating effects (thermal effects), applied by most governments around the world and recommended by organisations such as ICNIRP, the WHO and the EU Commission.

According to Karel Marha, former Director at the Czechoslovakian Institute of Industrial Hygiene, and Occupational Diseases, it was observed that people exposed in their occupation often developed a group of symptoms that in the 1970s was named the microwave syndrome: difficulty sleeping, daytime fatigue, memory problems, anxiety, headaches. A research review concluded that ’a surprisingly wide range of neurological and physiological responses can be expected to occur’. The effects are mainly due to the impact on the functioning of the central nervous system.

These effects, observed over 50 years ago at levels below the ICNIRP och FCC limits, were mainly due to the modulation and pulse characteristics of the signal, which were considered more harmful than an unmodulated not pulsed signal. It appears that the effects of radiation on the living organism are largely reversible and that the the effects of repeated irradiation are cumulative. It can be said that over time the organism becomes more aware of the effects of radiation.

The biological activity is directly dependent on the intensity of the radiation; not only the average power but also the maximum power. A pulsed signal is therefore more biologically active than a continuous signal despite the same average power and the same frequency. The results obtained so far indicate that exposure to several frequencies simultaneously is biologically more effective and therefore more dangerous.” It appears that the effects of the HF field upon the organism are reversible to a considerable extent and the effects of repeated irradiation are cumulative. We may say that in the course of time the organism becomes more perceptive of the effects of the field. The biological activity depends directly upon the field intensity; not only the average power but the peak power as well. A pulsed output generator is therefore biologically more effective than a con- tinuous wave generator of equal average output of the same frequency. Results obtained to date tend to indicate that poly-frequency radiation is biologically more effective and therefore more hazardous” (Marha, 1969, page 188)

These factors are also not taken into account by the thermal based limits from ICNIRP and the FCC, which in the case of ICNIRP are based solely on the ability of the radiation to heat up tissue in a short time (within 30 minutes) and is verified by measuring the average value over a 6-minute or 30-minute (ICNIRP2020) period, regardless of whether the signal is modulated, pulsed or if there are many different frequencies at the same time. These limits thus lacks protection against these health effects that have been described for decades, but also against harmful long-term effects such as cancer and degenerative diseases.

The microwave syndrome has also been observed over the past 20 years in the vicinity of 2G or 3G base stations in numerous studies of health among the inhabitants in the vicinity of base stations and mobile phone masts.  A research review published in 2022 reported that a clear majority of all studies on health effects from mobile phone masts showed negative health impact on people living in the vicinity of mobile phone masts.

Sources and more info on the same topic:

Hardell L, Nilsson M, Case Report: A 52-Year Healthy Woman Developed Severe Microwave Syndrome Shortly After Installation of a 5G Base Station Close to Her Apartment. Ann Clin Med Case Rep. 2023; V10(16): 1-10 Link

Nilsson M, Hardell L. Development of the Microwave Syndrome in Two Men Shortly after Installation of 5G on the Roof above their Office. Ann Clin Case Rep. 2023; 8: 2378 Link

Hardell L and Nilsson M (2023) Case Report: The Microwave Syndrome after Installation of 5G Emphasizes the Need for Protection from Radiofrequency Radiation. Ann Case Report. 8: 1112. DOI: 10.29011/2574-7754.101112 Link

5G Towers can make people sick, two studies show. Link

9 Leading Experts: RF Radiation Can Lead to Brain Damage, Alzheimer’s Link

Lennart Hardell, Mona Nilsson, Tarmo Koppel, Michael Carlberg. Aspects on the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) 2020 Guidelines on Radiofrequency Radiation. Journal of Cancer Science and Clinical Therapeutics 5 (2021): 250-285. Link