  The deployment of 5G wireless communication services requires the
installation of 5G next-generation Node-B Base Stations (gNBs) over the
territory and the wide adoption of 5G User Equipment (UE). In this context, the
population is concerned about the potential health risks associated with the
Radio Frequency (RF) emissions from 5G equipment, with several communities
actively working toward stopping the 5G deployment. To face these concerns, in
this work, we analyze the health risks associated with 5G exposure by adopting
a new and comprehensive viewpoint, based on the communications engineering
perspective. By exploiting our background, we analyze the alleged health
effects of 5G exposure and critically review the latest works that are often
referenced to support the health concerns from 5G. We then precisely examine
the up-to-date metrics, regulations, and assessment of compliance procedures
for 5G exposure, by evaluating the latest guidelines from IEEE, ICNIRP, ITU,
IEC, and FCC, as well as the national regulations in more than 220 countries.
We also thoroughly analyze the main health risks that are frequently associated
with specific 5G features (e.g., MIMO, beamforming, cell densification,
adoption of millimeter waves, and connection of millions of devices). Finally,
we examine the risk mitigation techniques based on communications engineering
that can be implemented to reduce the exposure from 5G gNB and UE. Overall, we
argue that the widely perceived health risks that are attributed to 5G are not
supported by scientific evidence from communications engineering. In addition,
we explain how the solutions to minimize the health risks from 5G are already
mature and ready to be implemented. Finally, future works, e.g., aimed at
evaluating long-term impacts of 5G exposure, as well as innovative solutions to
further reduce the RF emissions, are suggested.
