Following a spate of health concerns being spread via social media I thought it would be helpful if I provided the true facts to combat the fiction....
Devon County Council has been installing, and will continue to install LED lighting on its street lighting columns as a means to reduce power consumption and its carbon footprint, which is very important in helping the environment particularly in regard to the climate change emergency which the Authority has declared.
The LED lighting uses a number of techniques to further minimised consumption and light output, by turning many residential areas out at night, and applying dimming profiles to those that remain on.
The lights are purchased from very reputable European manufacturers and are “CE” marked which indicates that:
the manufacturer has checked that these products meet EU safety, health or environmental requirements
is an indicator of a product’s compliance with EU legislation
With regard to 5G, Devon County Council have not been approached by any Telecoms company to install 5G on its street lighting columns at this stage but its professional advice regarding any health concerns is as follows:
The County Council draws on the advice and guidance provided by Public Health England (PHE) regarding the health and safety of mobile technologies including 5G. PHE continues to monitor the health-related evidence applicable to radio waves, including in relation to base stations, and is committed to updating its advice as required. The County Council has been in touch with PHE (June 2019) to ask for any further advice. PHE responded to confirm that their briefing note on 5G is still current, and PHE has also recently updated it’s website with information on 5G – this is currently dated August 2021.
Public Health England (PHE) advises the Government on appropriate public health standards for protection from exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (EMFs), or radio waves. PHE’s main advice is that the guidelines of the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) should be adopted and there is no convincing evidence that exposures below the ICNIRP guideline levels cause adverse health effects. ICNIRP is formally recognised as an official collaborating non-governmental organisation by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Labour Organization. ICNIRP is also consulted by the European Commission. Advice from PHE includes comprehensive scientific review reports and statements on topics.