By Philip Yatai
Kaduna – The Nigerian Institute of Physics (NIP), says on Tuesday, that there is no link between 5G (Fifth Generation) communication technology and Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
The President of the institute, Prof. Hycienth Aboh stated this at a news conference in Kaduna, organised to end the ongoing debate, linking COVID-19 to 5G communication technology.
Aboh said: “The NIP does not believe that wireless communication of whatsoever generation, now or in the future, is exposing mankind to more radiation energy than we already have in our environment.
“We do not particularly believe that the low energy packets and intensity of 5G antennas will transform to an organised aggregate of DNA molecules that constitute the Coronavirus as being peddled.”
He noted that energy of about 14 electron volts and above, called ionising radiation, like x-ray and gamma ray, could disassociate water molecules that made up most human cells.
This, according to him, could eventually lead to undesirable health effect.
He, however, said that on the contrary, all communication networks, including 5G operate in frequencies of Giga Hertz (GHz or 1012 Hz) and below.
“This corresponds to energy packets thousands of times smaller than what can dissociate water molecules and cause health issues in humans.
“Radiation in this category are referred to as a non-ionizing radiation, which dissipate their energy as heat in the skin and the tissue directly beneath the skin when absorbed.
“For example, 90 GHz frequency band in 5G technology correspond to energy less than 0.0004 electron volt compared with X-rays used in medical diagnostic which has energy in thousands of electron volts.
“As such, electromagnetic radiation used for communication are very low energy end of the spectrum but many people linking 5G technology to COVID-19 are not aware of this fundamental fact,” he said.
The president insisted that it had not been substantiated by any research that wireless communication had any potential for health effects on humans at their present transmission intensity, particularly 5G.
He stressed that technological innovation was a product of rigorous scientific research.
Aboh added that short and long-term health and environment effect must be established before any technology would be deployed for public consumption.
He, therefore, called for a robust enlightenment campaign to disabuse people’s mind, misconception and the anxiety created over the erroneous linkage of 5G technology to COVID-19 pandemic.
(NAN)