Mobile and Health

THE recent move of the government to bring down the emission levels of mobile phone towers by 10 times has brought the issue pertaining to radiation back into focus. People living near cellphone towers are wary of the possible side-effects of the radiation. The question being asked is: Can radiation from these towers cause cancer? Although experts are divided over the issue, people are building pressure and want telecom operators to remove towers from the areas where they are living or even working.

On September 1, the government brought in new radiation norms that will put India in the group of a few countries to have established stringent electromagnetic frequency (EMF) radiation standards in the interest of public health. The standards would be for both the mobile towers as well as mobile handsets.

Indian standards would now be 10 times more stringent than over 90 per cent countries, with the EMF exposure limit for base station or cell tower 1/10th of the existing International Commission on Non-Ionising Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) exposure level.

The Telecom Enforcement Resource and Monitoring (TERM) cell has been entrusted with the job of conducting an audit on self-certification furnished by the service providers. The cell will carry out test audit of 10 per cent of the base transceiver station (BTS) site randomly and in cases where there is a public complaint. For non-compliance of EMF standards, a penalty of Rs 5 lakh is liable to be levied per BTS per service provider.

Norms for handsets

New norms have also been brought in for mobile handsets. All the new designs of mobile handsets shall comply with the specific absorption rate (SAR) values of 1.6 W/kg (watt per kg) averaged over 1 gram of human tissue.

The mobile handsets with existing designs that are compliant with 2.0 W/kg averaged over 10 gram of human tissue will continue to co-exist up to August 31, 2013. From September 1, 2013, only handsets with revised SAR value of 1.6 W/kg would be permitted to be manufactured or imported in India. Also, the minimum distance of a cellphone

tower would have to be at least 35 metres from residential areas.

While bringing in new norms, the government has stressed that there was no evidence relating health risks to radiation from cellphone towers. However, experts don’t agree. They say that being exposed to a mobile tower located within 50 metre of home or workplace is like being in a microwave oven for 24 hours.

While cancer may develop in extreme cases, those living close to mobile towers have been complaining of disorders like sleep disturbances, headaches, fatigue and joint pains.

WHO unsure

Experts are quick to say that no concrete evidence has emerged that can link cancer to radiation from mobile towers. But at the same time, they recommend less use of mobile phones on a daily basis. After 20 minutes of using cellphones, one feels a warm sensation near the ear, which is because the temperature of the earlobe increases by 1 degree Celsius. Everyday, a maximum of six minutes of cellphone use is suggested as a cellphone transmits one to two watts of power, which is very high and dangerous.

Incidentally, the report of the World Health Organisation’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) says radiation from cellphone handsets and towers is “possibly carcinogenic to humans” and may cause glioma, a type of brain cancer. But there is no established evidence.

Benign swelling in the brain and head, hearing disorders, headaches and anxiety neurosis are some other health-related issues that are coming out. The impact can be higher in children, who have smaller and thinner skulls.

No conclusive evidence

The industry, predictably, is in denial mode. A spokesperson for a telecom operator said there were extensive factual, scientific research and papers that show that there is no conclusive evidence that EMF, at the levels prescribed by the ICNIRP, causes any risk to health.

Telecom operators say more than 90 per cent of their towers already comply with the new radiation norms brought in by the government, a fact which Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal had also stressed upon while announcing the new limits.

However, reducing the radiation limits could affect the quality of calls. Telecom operators say reducing the power means reducing the signal strength, which could lead to call drops.

This would mean setting up more towers to reduce the gap within the towers to maintain call quality, another issue that the Department of Telecom (DoT) reviews periodically.

There are around five lakh towers across the country. The industry estimates that at least 20,000 more towers would have to be installed to maintain call quality. At Rs 25 lakh a tower, this would translate to about Rs 9,000 to Rs 10,000 crore more expenditure, which would not only increase operating costs, but also eventually lead to increase in call rates as

the profit margins of most operators, who are already under heavy debts, would decrease.

Emission factors at play

• Frequency/wavelength of RF signal being transmitted
• Operating power of transmitting stations
• Radio frequency power radiated from the antenna
• Time of exposure of RF signal at a given distance from the antenna
• Exposure from other antennas located in the area
• Over powering of amplifier for better reception quality, signal strength & more coverage
• Duration/frequency of recurrent exposure
• Age, size & portion of the body
• Temperature and humidity

Radiation limits
W/m2 (Watt per square metre) RF fields (1800 MHz)
India
9 W/m2 ICNIRP & EU recommendation 1998 adopted but now lowered to 1/10 th of it
USA, Canada & Japan
12 W/m2
Australia
9 W/m2
Belgium
2.4 W/m2
Italy & Israel
1.0 W/m2
Auckland & New Zealand
0.5 W/m2
China
0.4 W/m2
Russia (since 1970), Bulgaria
0.2 W/m2
Switzerland & Italy
0.095 W/m2

Austria
0.001 W/m2 

MYTHS & FACTS

Myth: Cellphone use causes headache

Fact: No scientific evidence to relate headache to mobile phone use

Myth: It is safer to use a mobile phone in a car as it shields radiation

Fact: Radio frequency (RF) increases to overcome shielding in a vehicle

Myth: Mobile phones cause cancer

Fact: No scientific proof

Myth: Mobile base stations are dangerous and one should keep distance from them

Fact: One should keep distance from antenna if facing it at comparable height. At ground level, the RF radiation from base station is low

Myth: No research is being carried out on the health effects of radiation

Fact: WHO, besides many national and international organisations, is studying the effects of RF radiation