Even in airports and train stations, where the number of mobile device users is very high, exposure to non-ionizing radiation (NIR) is clearly below the immission limit value, and protection of the health is assured. This is what the 2023 annual report of the Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) concludes on the radiation emitted by telephone antennas and even wireless computer networks.
Published Thursday, this report, whose measurements were carried out in 300 microenvironments in Switzerland, affirms that in two years “exposure has increased somewhat in places where mobile devices are widely used”, which “can be explained mainly through the use of 5G. But not everyone is so optimistic about these results.
“I note an increase in radiation of 30% in two years in public transport, that’s a lot,” reacted Pierre Dubochet, expert in electromagnetic fields. We must reason about the needs for mobile telephony. If we continue like this, the influence will increase significantly in the years to come.” This report has also not convinced the fervent opponents of 5G.
The Stop 5G Glâne association and the German-speaking association for radiation protection Verein Schutz vor Strahlung consider “this development to be worrying and negative”. Based on data from the Federal Statistical Office and a study by the University of Zurich in 2020, they point out that “around 23% of the population feels bothered by the radiation of mobile telephone installations and high voltage lines and more than 10% say they are affected in their well-being or health.
The FOEN also indicates that exposure in schools is low. But on this point the criticisms, which have already been heard in the past, remain the same. “There is still a lack of measures in classrooms, where pollution is extremely high,” insist the two associations. To “not disrupt the functioning of the school”, the measurements are taken in the corridors”. However, it is in class that “the students use tablets and a WLAN hotspot is used”, the opponents grumble.
