Save India- Adopt Better Cell Tower Radiation Norms

Save India- Adopt Better Cell Tower Radiation Norms

Purpose of the mail

The Indian government through department of telecommunications have invited opinion on “Effect of EMF radiation on human health” through their website “http://www.dot.gov.in/miscellaneous/imc.htm “. We want you to please be a part of this as it can not only affect you but your family and near dear ones. Please go through the following effects of cell tower radiation before mailing to them.

Summary of health effects due to cell tower radiation

1. Due to cell tower radiations, lot of people are suffering from various forms of cancer and tumor like salivary gland tumors, lymphoma, facial nerve tumors, skin, blood, testicular and breast cancer.
2. People who lived close to the cellular antennas face the highest incidences of the following disorders: fatigue, sleep disturbances, headaches, visual disruptions, irritability, hearing disruptions, skin problems, cardiovascular disorders and dizziness.
3. Cell tower radiations are causing a lot of environmental problems like disappearance of bees, drying up of fruits and plants. It creates navigational problems for many birds. Also the agricultural output has been reduced at many places where cell towers have been installed.

To avoid all these or to minimize the effects, the radiation norms should be brought down to .001 w/m2 from the present levels of 9.2w/m2. This is what we should ask the government to formalize.

For further detailed reading, information and authentication please see the following links:

http://www.dot.gov.in/miscellaneous/IMC%20Report/IMC%20Report.pdf
http://www.bioinitiative.org/report/index.htm
http://www.scribd.com/doc/44736879/Cell-Tower-Radiation-Report-sent-to-DOT-Department-of-Telecommunications

Your one e-mail will be a part of many opinions that will go as feedback to government before they finalize their report which is due by 25 February 2011.

Please send your opinions to:

1) A. K.Chaudhary, ADG (Elect.),
R.No. 1110, Sanchar Bhawan, 20 Ashoka Road, New Delhi.
Tel. : 011-23036395, e-mail: adg_electrical@rediff.com

2) P.K. Panigrahi, Sr. DDG (BW),
R.No. 1105, Sanchar Bhawan, 20 Ashoka Road, New Delhi.
Tel. : 011-23036166. e-mail. : pk_panigrahi@yahoo.com


General misconceptions regarding cell tower radiations:

Media Coverage following Interministerial Report on Mobile Tower Radiation

Based on years of work of Prof. Girish Kumar from IIT Bombay, a recent report by the Department of Telecommunications (DOT), India has finally accepted that mobile towers can cause health effects among people living in close vicinity and the report proposes to reduce the current ICNIRP radiation norms from cell towers by 1/10th.

Media coverage on Live India, Sahara News, TV 9 can be viewed below:

TV 9 - 3 Feb 2010, Live at 10:30 pm - with english Subtitles


Live India - 3 Feb 2010, Live at 8:30 pm - with english Subtitles


Sahara Samay - 3 Feb 2010, Live at 9:00 pm - with english Subtitles

Towers on schools raise concern

Times of India
Feb 4, 2011 - Page 6



MUMBAI: Cell phone towers perched atop school buildings are causing intense bouts of anxiety amongst parents and teachers alike after a central government committee concluded that radiation from these towers can cause serious ailments.

In recent years, a whole array of schools, ranging from those run by the state to those sporting the "international" tag, have allowed mobile towers to be erected on their rooftops.

Teachers at GM International School, Goregaon, complain there are up to 15 mobile towers on the school premises. The school authorities, though, differ. "We don't have mobile towers on campus, but mobile poles that connect one line with the next," said Gunita Malhotra, a trustee of the school. "The government has tested the radiation emitted by the poles and found it within permissible limits."

Girish Kumar, a professor in the electrical engineering department of IIT-Bombay, calls these "permissible limits" pathetic. "Our studies have shown that one thousandth of the radiation prescribed by the government causes severe health hazards," said Kumar.

In another instance, a mobile tower has existed at the Central Railway Employees High School in Parel for at least three years, without anyone knowing how it got there. Even the principal, Madhuri Hatekar, was unaware of its existence until alerted by the youth wing of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena.

"This is wrong. We are worried about our children. Such towers should not be put up in a school," said a parent.

The tower also caught CR officials by surprise. "A digital communications firm called Tikona approached Railtel, a PSU owned by the railways, for permission to set up mobile towers. In 2008, the railways gave the firm consent to set up a tower at Apprentice Mechanical Building in Parel. No consent was given to set up the tower on the school," said Vidyadhar Malegaonkar, chief spokesperson, CR. Sources say the Apprentice Mechanical Hostel and the school are housed in the same building.

Source - http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Towers-on-schools-raise-concern/articleshow/7421544.cms

Mobiles pose health risk, says govt panel

Times of India
Feb 3, 2011, Page 1

NEW DELHI: Radiation from mobile phones and towers poses serious health risks, including loss of memory, lack of concentration, disturbance in the digestive system and sleep disturbances, according to an inter-ministerial committee formed by the ministry of communications and information technology to study the hazards posed by mobile phones.

The committee has also attributed the disappearance of butterflies, bees, insects and sparrows vanishing from big cities to mobile phone-related radiation.

The eight-member committee, which included representatives from the health ministry, department of biotechnology and member secretary, DoT, has recommended that mobile phones not adhering to standard levels of specific absorption rate (SAR) - a measure of the amount of radiofrequency energy absorbed by the body while using a phone -- should be barred.

It has said mobile towers should not be installed near high density residential areas, schools, playgrounds and hospitals. "The localized SAR value as per the Indian guidelines standard is 2 watt per kg, averaged over a six minute period and using a 10 gram average mass. With higher SAR values of mobile handsets the public could potentially receive much higher radiofrequency exposure. We have recommended that SAR levels to be lowered down to 1.6 watt/kg, as prescribed by the Federal Communication Commission of US," said a member.

Dr R S Sharma, ICMR scientist who represented the health ministry on the committee, said the findings are based on case studies presented by different experts. He added that the recommendations would be used to formulate a national policy and guidelines on electromagnetic frequency (EMF) radiation for telecom towers.

"In the case of a person using a cellphone, most of the heating occurs on the surface of the head, causing its temperature to increase by a fraction of a degree. The brain blood flow is capable of disposing this excess by increasing the local blood flow and increasing body temperature," states the report. It says that the non-thermal effects of cellphone use — attributed to the induced electromagnetic effects inside the body's biological cells — are more harmful.

"People who are chronically exposed to low-level wireless antenna emissions and users of mobile handsets have reported feeling several unspecific symptoms during and after its use, ranging from burning and tingling sensation in the skin of the head, fatigue, sleep disturbances, dizziness, lack of concentration, ringing in the ears, reaction time, loss of memory, headache, disturbance in digestive system and heart palpitation," the report says.

The committee was chaired by Ram Kumar, advisor (technology), department of telecommunications, and had Arvind Duggal from the department of biotechnology and R N Jindal from the environment ministry among its other members.

Member scientist, ICMR R S Sharma said that compared to Europeans, Indian cellphone users are more at risk for adverse affect of radiation due the country's hot tropical climate, low body mass index, and low fat content. "We have recommended amendment in the Indian Telegraph Act 1885 and rules so that only mobile handsets satisfying radiation standards should be permitted in the country," he said.

The report suggests that children, adolescents and pregnant women should avoid excessive use of cellphones. People in general should use hands-free technologies to minimize the contact of the head with cell phone. "People having active medical implants should keep their cellphone at least 30 cm away from the implant," it adds.

Said Girish Kumar, professor in the department of electrical engineering at IIT Bombay, whose research on hazards of cellphone use was taken as a reference for the committee decision, "There is a 400% increase in the risk of brain cancer among teenagers using cell phones for long periods. The younger the child, the deeper is the penetration of electromagnetic radiation as children`s skulls are thinner.

Another government-funded study on radiation from mobile phones and towers at the Jawaharlal Nehru University ( JNU) found that the exposure to radiation from mobile towers and mobile phones could have an adverse impact on male fertility and pose health hazards by depleting the defence mechanism of cells.

Source: Times of India - Feb 3, 2011 -
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Mobiles-pose-health-risk-says-govt-panel/articleshow/7415288.cms

Its official, cell phone radiation is deadly - Feb 3, 2011 -
http://news.oneindia.in/2011/02/03/mobile-phone-radiation-pose-grave-health-risks-aid0113.html

India has worst radiation norms: report

Mumbai: An Inter Ministerial Report submitted to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has recommended the cutting down of mobile phone tower radiation by one-tenth of the present level.

The 5.4 lakh mobile phone towers in the country pose a huge threat to the health of the citizens. Experts say that the amount of radiation emitted from these towers in a day, is equivalent to putting one's body in an oven for 19 minutes!

India has the worst cell phone tower radiation norms in the world. The upper limit is so high that within 2 years the health of 1 crore Indians could be affected.

But if the recommendations of the Inter Ministerial Report on cell phone tower radiation submitted to the Department of Telecommunications are accepted, then soon there will be stricter restrictions on towers being installed near high density residential areas and schools.

At present we follow the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNRIP) guidelines for radiation, which allow a radiation rate of 9.2 watt per sq meter to be emitted. The report recommends this level should come down by one-tenth. At the same time the report clearly states that the safe limit for our health is 1000 times less than even the recommended limit.

Experts, like Prof Girish Kumar, Head of Department for Electrical Engineering, IIT Bombay who have been studying the harmful effects of radiation for three decades, aren't very optimistic.

“The number of people having health problems is more in the areas where radiation levels are high. We have adopted the worst radiation norm in the entire world,” said Prof Kumar.

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has flagged off a large scale research project to examine the health impact of mobile tower radiation

“It is the largest study in country we will enroll 4500 people. This is a prospective study. Generally only one aspect is covered in such studies but we are covering all aspects and all disorders be it neurological, cancer, cardiac, ENT-related, reproductive, behavioral in this study,” informed Dr RS Sharma, Deputy DG, ICMR.

Meanwhile, The DoT has not set any time frame for responding to this report.