Mobiles linked to brain tumours as smoking to cancer

TIMES OF INDIA - Sep 27, 2008

Washington: The potential link between mobile phones and brain cancer could be similar to the link between lung cancer and smoking — something tobacco companies took 50 years to recognize, according to a warning by US scientists.

Researchers are currently split on the level of danger the biological effects of the magnetic field emitted by cellphones poses to humans. However, society “must not repeat the situation we had with the relationship between smoking and lung cancer where we ... waited until every ‘i’ was dotted and ‘t’ was crossed before warnings were issued,” said David Carpenter, director of the Institute of Health and Environment at the University of Albany, in testimony before a subcommittee of the US House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Reform. “Precaution is warranted even in the absence of absolutely final evidence concerning the magnitude of the risk” — especially for children, said Carpenter. Ronald Herberman, director of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute — one of the top US cancer research centers — said that most studies “claiming that there is no link between cellphones and brain tumors are outdated, had methodological concerns and did not include sufficient numbers of long-term cellphone users.” Many studies denying a link defined regular cellphone use as “once a week”, he said. “Recalling the 70 years that it took to remove lead from paint and gasoline and the 50 years that it took to convincingly establish the link between smoking and lung cancer, I argue that we must learn from our past to do a better job of interpreting evidence of potential risk,” said Herberman.

A brain tumour can take dozens of years to develop, the scientists said.Carpenter and Herberman both told the committee the brain cancer risk from cellphone use is far greater for children than for adults. The committee were shown several European studies, particularly surveys from Scandinavia — where the cellphone was first developed — which show that the radiation emitted by cellphones have definite biological consequences.

For example, a 2008 study by Swedish cancer specialist Lennart Hardell found that frequent cellphone users are twice as likely to develop a benign tumour on the auditory nerves of the ear most used with the handset, compared to the other ear. A separate study in Israel determined that heavy cellphone users had a 50% increased likelihood in developing a salivary gland tumour.In addition, a paper published this month by the Royal Society in London found that adolescents who start using cellphones before the age of 20 were five times more likely to develop brain cancer at the age of 29 than those who didn’t use a cellphone.“It’s only on the side of the head where you use the cellphone,” Carpenter said.

DROP THAT CALL

#A 2008 Swedish study found frequent cellphone users are twice as likely to develop a benign tumour on the auditory nerves of the ear most used with the handset, compared to the other ear

#Israeli study says heavy mobile users have 50% increased likelihood of developing a salivary gland tumour

#A paper published by the Royal Society in London found that adolescents who start using cellphones before the age of 20 were five times more likely to develop brain cancer than those who didn’t use mobiles

Warning, Your Cell Phone May Be Hazardous To Your Health Gear + Gadgets: GQ.com

Warning, Your Cell Phone May Be Hazardous To Your Health Gear + Gadgets: GQ.com

Politician Milind Deora shows his concern on Cell Phone radiation

"Be Mobile Without Risk"

TIMES OF INDIA - Milind Deora, Apr 3, 2010

A young boy was killed recently when the electronic discharge from his cellphone came in contact with a high-tension overhead wire. Tragic as it was, the incident brought into sharp focus a related issue we've been silent on for too long: cellphone radiation exposure may well be a serious health hazard. After preliminary inquiries, i urged the telecommunications ministry to make it mandatory for all cellphone companies to clearly communicate the potential dangers of cellphone radiation exposure. Both the radiation from handsets and tower-based antennas carrying the signals are already the subject of numerous studies linking prolonged cellphone use to brain tumours, genetic damage and other serious conditions.

Disconcertingly, children and young adults below 18 who constitute a major chunk of the cellphone market are especially vulnerable because their thinner and more porous skulls make it easier for radiation to penetrate the mid-brain. By the time they reach their 20s and 30s they would have exposed themselves to enough radiation for the effects, if any, to show.

Ultimately, research must continue to determine whether or not radiation emitted from cellphones and phone antennae causes brain tumours. But everyone agrees that when the endpoint is a cancer that can take decades to form, we are talking about waiting 10 or 20 years for an answer. I find that unacceptable, especially with lives on the line. So let's turn this around, err on the side of caution and take pre-emptive policy measures now before we cross the Rubicon and have an unprecedented potential health crisis on our hands.

It is not my intention to stir up a hornet's nest and cause undue alarm; we desperately want our cellphones to be safe. Our lives are so thoroughly integrated with wireless technology that we don't want to think about the impact. I will still use my cellphone after having written this and i suspect everyone else will after reading it. But my fear is that, just as with cigarette smoking, if there is indeed a cumulative risk to using a mobile phone, it is possible that users won't be aware of it until it's too late. The science may be inconclusive but that doesn't mean the threat isn't real.

Have we seen enough red flags to justify public warnings even as we wait for the science to evolve? International precedent ought to be instructive here. Governments across the European Union have enacted new safety standards related to electromagnetic radiation. The French government warns against excessive use of mobile phones, especially by children. Germany advises its citizens to minimise cellphone and Wi-Fi use, and the European Environment Agency wants exposures to be reduced. Several other nations have recommended measures to minimise exposure and advise limited use for children.

Here in India, the Telecom Engineering Centre (TEC, the technical arm of the department of telecommunications) proposes that manufacturers display the specific absorption rate or SAR level of their cellphones in the handset menu and comply with global emission standards. The TEC also proposes that cellphone ads not feature children and pregnant women. I welcome these preliminary guidelines but i think we may need to go beyond them. SAR levels can vary widely and, in any case, the jury is still out on whether that is the right metric to measure cellphone safety. Cellular damage, it seems, can even occur at low temperature levels that would not register on the SAR scale.

The cellphone industry must share the responsibility of risk communication and management. It is critical to do so in a domestic market projected to reach 600 million cellphone subscribers in a year's time including huge swathes of unaware and illiterate consumers in rural and remote corners that manufacturers have successfully penetrated. It also has to be said that insensitive practices of industry in siting base stations within sight of schools and hospitals and whose antennas appear to be aimed directly at buildings where people live, is unacceptable and bound to raise a public outcry.

By the same token, government in conjunction with the scientific community must evolve a credible communications strategy and give the public a sensible assessment of safety and risk.

It is time we had an honest and robust debate about this both in Parliament and in the public square and find creative solutions to address public fears and mitigate the risk. This will require a sustained and joint effort by all stakeholders including industry, government and the public.

The choices are difficult but the costs of action and inaction could be a game changer. No one can know what the "right" decisions will be, but i do know that policy must decide that question. This is a job for democratic politics, informed by, but not shackled to, an insightful but imperfect scientific enterprise. We need to find ways of making cellphone use safer and limit usage by children certainly but we'll never get to that stage if we don't acknowledge the potential dangers first. In the meantime, i'm going to take a cue from the nearest teenager: texting and tweeting is safer than talking.

( The writer is a member of Parliament.)

Mobile towers threaten honey bees in Kerala: Study

DNA - August 31, 2009

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: As in the case of the house sparrows, mobile towers are posing a serious threat to honey bees, hitting apiculture, which is a source of additional income to rural folk across Kerala, says a study.

Electromagnetic radiation from the mobile towers and cell phones were potent to kill worker bees that go out to collect nectar from flowers, suggests a study by environmentalist and Reader in Zoology, Dr Sainudeen Pattazhy.

Considering the recent plunge in beehive population reported from different parts of Kerala, the trend, if remedial measures are not taken, could even wipe out bees from Kerala within a decade, Pattazhy, who teaches in SN College at Punalur in Kollam district said.

In one of his experiments he found that when a mobile phone was kept near a beehive it resulted in collapse of the colony in five to 10 days, with the worker bees failing to return home, leaving the hives with just queens, eggs and hive-bound immature bees.

Electromagnetic waves emitted by towers were strong enough to cripple the "navigational skills" of the worker bees, who play a vital role in sustaining bee colonies, he said.

A few months ago, a study conducted by a team of environmentalists led by Pattazhy in different spots in Kollam district in Kerala, had found that radiation from mobile towers threatened the very existence of home sparrow, which live in colonies close to human habitats even in urban areas.

Parackal Chacko, a bee keeper from Wayanad, said it was true that there had been mass destruction of bee hives in the area but it was thought to be due to climatic shifts and attack by hostile insects and pests. "The angle that mobile towers could be a source of threat should be probed," he said.

Pattazhy, however, said though it required detailed study, it could reasonably be understood that insects and smaller animals were "easily penetrated" by microwaves radiated by mobile towers and phones.He claimed to have seen changes in the behavioural pattern of bees when they make hives close to mobile towers.

Besides helping farmers earn an additional income through honey and bee-wax, honeybees do great service in pollinating flowers and plants, a vital process that sustains vegetation.

In a colony of an average size,there would be about 20,000 to 31,000 bees comprisinga queen and a few hundred drones. But90 per cent of the population is made up of the workers.

Recently a sharp decline has been noticed in commercial bee population in Kerala. The official explanation has been that this happens as bees are susceptible to diseases and fall prey to attacks by wasps, ants, and wax moth and that constant vigilance on the part of the bee keepers can check it.

The farmers have also complained that introduction of exotic varieties of bees to promote apiculture have also done harm as they are unsuitable to climatic conditions of the area.

Also, bees and other insects have survived and evolved complex immune system over a span of millions of years. "Considering this, it is vital to ponder as to why they suddenly die out. Naturally, the question would point to human-made factors, Pattazhy said.

The vanished bees are never found, but die far from home. Bee keepers said several hives have been abruptly abandoned.

If towers and mobile phones further increase, honeybees might even be wiped out in 10 years due to bio active radiation, causing significant alternation in the physiological function of living organisms.

"The need of the hour is to check unscientific proliferation of mobile towers and promote more studies and come out with practical solutions", Pattazhy added.

In Kerala there are about six lakh bee hives and 1 to 1.25 lakh people are engaged in apiculture,mostly as an allied activity. A single hive can yield four to five kg of honey.

2 Billion May Suffer from Cell Phone Cancer by 2020

ANI/Business Wire India
June 22, 2008

NEW DELHI: The studies and survey conducted by Australian Health Research Institute indicates that due to billions of times more in volume electromagnetic radiation emitted by billions of mobile phones, internet, intranet and wireless communication data transmission will make almost one-third of world population (about two billions) patient of ear, eye and brain cancer beside other major body disorders like heart ailments, impotency, migraine, epilepsy.

According to the reports the tissues of children are tender and are likely to be more effected by use of any wireless gadget and devices and they should not be encouraged to use mobile phone.

The fatal and volumetric effects of electromagnetic radiation emitted mainly by mobile phones, mobile phone antenna, tower, mast, transmission tower, microwave oven, wireless devices, system and equipment.

These dangerous effects have been certified and confirmed repeatedly by many leading medical and scientific research institutions of the world including Ministries of health of various governments, W.H.O. and now have been admitted and confirmed by Govt. of India in their recent press releases.

The attached image shows and proves about the serious ill effects of E.M. radiation released by Radiation Nuclear and Safety Authority of FINLAND as to how E.M. radiation emitted by mobile phones damages the various body cells and causes incurable and fatal diseases.

Read story at - http://www.infowars.com/2-billion-may-suffer-from-cell-phone-cancer-by-2020/

2 Months On & Govt Still Hunts For Experts To Study Claims Of Illegal Mobile Phone Towers & Radiation Risk

Times of India - February 26, 2010

Cell tower watchdog to be set up in 10 days

Mumbai: Two months after promising to set up a committee to study the harmful effects of radiation from mobile towers,the state government has managed to do little.The reason The apparent dearth of expertise in the field of electromagnetic radiation.The state is scrounging for experts who can sit on a technical committee needed to assess the damage,if at all,caused by mobile towers erected atop buildings.Ministers claim they are trying to cobble together a team within the next week itself.
The issue was raised by BJP legislator Vinod Tawde in the legislative council during the last assembly session held in December.We have given an assurance to the House,but we want experts and not people who represent the industry, said state health minister Suresh Shetty.He said that a five-member technical committee will be set up within a week to 10 days to look into the medical aspects.
Radiation risk is a hotly debated topic across the world,with the US Congress declaring only a few months ago that while theres fear about radiation from mobile phones\towers increasing the risk of cancer,there was no substantial evidence to prove it.The fear seems to have arrived on Indian shores.The state boasts of a Mobile Tower Grievances Forum that has taken upon itself the task of educating ministers and the common man about the health hazards associated with mobile towers.Rules regarding setting up of mobile towers are laid down by the BMC and deal with a building and establishment.
Says Dr Shashank Joshi,endocrinologist with Lilavati Hospital who wrote a research paper on mobile radiation in the medical journal JAPI last year,Both mobile towers and phones are a cause for concern due to the radiation they emit.But mobile towers are definitely a cause for greater concern than phones.We need proper rules like in the West to guide their installation. His paper listed out the gamut of illnesses arising out of mobile radiationfrom psychiatric illnesses to hormonal imbalances.Manoj Londhe,a member of the Mobile Tower Grievances Forum who was instrumental in the issue being raised in the legislative council,said there is an increasing incidence of residents living on the top floor of buildings with mobile towers suffering from different kinds of cancer.Another member cites the theory of melatonin hormone,which states that the hormone,produced mainly during rest at night,is responsible for neutralising free radicals that have the ability to destroy cellular composition and thus increase the risk of cancer.He said that his office building had a mobile tower.I was on leave for a week and did a test to detect the levels of melatonin hormone.It was 26 pg/ml.I repeated the test after a couple of days of returning to work and the levels had dropped to 20 pg/ml.A drop in these hormones is a trigger for cancer.Most telephone companies have over 50,000 towers each already.The rush to install mid- and smaller towns will now begin,say experts,as Indias mobile customer base is poised to increase from 500 million to 700 million in the next two years.Efforts to talk to mobile companies were not fruitful.But mobile companies have time and again stated that the fears are exaggerated.Their positionas ratified by the ICMRs committee set up in 2005 is that height of mobile towers should be 36 m so that they dont affect the person on the street.The argument put forth by naysayers is that mobile towers set up on buildings are rarely 36 m from the top-most flats.In other words,people living on the top floor are sitting ducks.

IIT professor builds device to reduce risk of radiation

DNA - February 9, 2010

Mumbai: How to shield your building from the harmful affects of radiation? Ask Girish Kumar, the IIT Bombay professor, who has invented a shield that can be installed in concrete structures to block radiation.



A developer has asked Kumar to install his radiation shield in a 300-m building near the TV tower in Worli.

“Within a kilometre, the effect of radiation on human body is significant. This particular building (Palais Royale) in Worli is 800 metres south of the TV tower. Sree Ram Urban Infrastructure has approached me to shield the apartments in this building,” said Kumar. He said a TV tower emits 40 kw radiation.

The field test, done on January 14, showed that the shield reduced impact of radiation by 75% to 90%. Kumar is planning to place four shields on the building, a feet away from the windows, doors and balconies (up, down, left and right). “Shielding can be embedded in the walls during construction. This way it will not be visible. To my knowledge, it’s the first time a builder has thought of installing such shields,” he said.

Kumar said since the area is surrounded by FM radio towers, they are also planning to do an FM shielding. An FM tower emits 5 kw radiation.

“We plan to start talking to other builders to do shielding for all buildings in the area which are exposed to radiation from the TV or FM towers. Also, buildings are coming up within a 300-400 m area of the TV tower. So, it’s important to create awareness,” he said.

Kumar, a faculty at the institute’s electrical engineering department, had launched the radiation shield, a device that absorbs electro-magnetic radiation effectively, in 2008. While devices available in the market absorb only the radiation which falls on them, Kumar’s shield absorbs it from the whole surrounding.

Several concerns in the UK and the US have also shown interest in the product. “When I first launched this technology, there was a lot of resistance from industry. But now, people have started understanding the implications of exposure to radiation,” he said.
According to a paper published by Kumar, the short-term and long-term affects of radiation include memory loss, sleep disruption, headache, depression, irritability, ill-concentration, and appetite loss. “All are related to changes in electrical activity in the brain. The other effects include Alzheimer’s, Parkinson, DNA damage, irreversible infertility and prostate cancer.

Read story at: http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_iit-professor-builds-device-to-reduce-risk-of-radiation_1345287

Biological Effects of Cell Tower Radiation on Human Body

Conference Paper Presentation- 'Biological effects of Cell Tower Radiation' - presented by me and Prof Girish Kumar at International Symposium on Microwave and Optical Technology (ISMOT 2009).

Biological Effects of Cell Tower Radiation on Human Body

Cell Tower radiation has become of extreme concern as we are exposed to them 24x7 and one cannot do much if the tower antenna is mounted right on top of your home/school/office building etc. In India, currently (2009) there are about 3.75 lakh cell towers installed and the numbers are expected to rise to 4.25 lakh towers by 2010. Radiation level measurements were carried out at various locations and the levels were found to be far above the recommended values.

Common complains like Sleep disruption, Headache, Depression, Concentration, Memory loss, behavior, discomfort, irritability, nausea, dizziness, appetite loss, muscle spasms, numbness, tingling, altered reflexes,seizures, paralysis, psychosis, stroke- all related to changes in the electrical activity of the brain have been on a rise. Similarly increased cases of Alzheimer’s , Parkinson's disease, infertility, child leukemia, brain tumor has been associated with the continuously emitting cell tower radiation.

On reviewing several epidemiological and experimental studies on harmful effects of Cell Tower Radiation on health of human and animals, we recommend safe radiation levels up to 50 μW/m2 , with a upper limit as 100 μW/m2. Towards the end, details of "Radiation Shield" -instrument designed to absorb radiation between frequency 800 to 4000 MHz have been given.

Cell Tower Radiation Effects

Conference Paper - 'Biological effects of Cell Tower Radiation' - Neha Kumar,Prof Girish Kumar,International Symposium on Microwave and Optical Tehcnology (ISMOT 2009).


Cell Tower radiation has become of extreme concern as we are exposed to them 24x7, and one cannot do much if the tower antenna is mounted right on top of your home/school/office building etc. Radiation level measurements were carried out at various locations and the levels were found to be far above the recommended values.

Cell Tower Radiation Effects

Cell phones lead to bone weakening

Mumbai Mirror - October 27, 2009

Wearing a cell phone on your belt may lead to decreased bone density in the area of the pelvis, a study in the September issue of The Journal of Craniofacial Surgery has revealed.


Dr Tolga Atay and colleagues of Suleyman Demirel University, Isparta, Turkey, measured bone density at the upper rims of the pelvis (iliac wings) in men who were mobile users and carried their phones on their belts. (The iliac wings are widely used source of bone for bone grafting, so any reduction in bone density may be of special importance to reconstructive surgery.) The results showed reduction in iliac wing bone density on the side where men carried their phones.
However, the researchers point out that the men were relatively young and that further bone weakening could occur within longer follow-up. The researchers believe that long term exposure to electromagnetic fields from cell phones could weaken the bone to such an extent that it could potentially affect the outcome of surgical procedures, which use bone grafts from that area. The results raise the possibility that bone density could be adversely affected by electromagnetic fields emitted from cell phones.
There is an urgent need for the development of new devices to absorb/reduce these radiation effects. Meanwhile, Dr. Atay and colleagues conclude: “It will be better to keep mobile phones as far as possible from our body during our daily lives”

Latest WHO study confirms brain cancer from prolonged cell phone use.

Times of India – October 25,2009

A recent international study by the World Health Organization found an increased risk of developing cancers in heavy users of cell phones. The landmark international study worth £20 million carried out research in 13 countries.The decade –long investigation overseen by the WHO says that heavy mobile phone users face a higher risk of developing brain tumors later in life. A preliminary breakdown of the results found a ‘significantly increased risk’ of some brain tumors ‘related to use of mobile phones for a period of 10 years or more. Several countries, notably France, have started strengthening warnings in this regard and American politicians are urgently investigating the risks.

The study found an increased risk of glioma (the most common brain tumor), with one finding a 39% increase and an increased risk of acoustic neuroma (a benign tumor of a nerve between the ear and the brain) reporting a higher risk after using mobiles for 10 years.

Wilcom's coverage in ET NOW (TV Channel)

Catch the 'WILCOM' Story - an IIT Bombay incubated company founded by Prof. Girish Kumar, on ET NOW which went air on 20th October 2009. The show is called 'STARTING UP on ET Now', where they interview start up companies and explain their work and the challenges a start up goes through. Hope you guys like it!

Radiating Slow Death

Based on the Report prepared, this article appeared in Mail Today, a Delhi-based newspaper of the India Today group on 3rd August 2009,
Radiation Slow Death

Biological effects of Electromagnetic Radiation

This report describes the various Biological effects of Electromagnetic radiation from Cell Phones, Cell phone towers, Wi-Fi, TV and FM towers, microwave ovens, etc on the human body and health of animals. It summarizes the various studies done in reputed institutions of US, Germany, Sweden, Australia etc. Also, several news reports on the same have been accounted. In addition, some advise tips for the use of these devices have been mentioned.
With the rapid advent in technology, avoidance of these radiations is almost close to impossible. It is due to this reason a solution, "Radiation Shield" has been invented by Prof. Girish Kumar of IIT Bombay, India to absorb the excess radiation emitted from these sources

Biological Effects of Electromagnetic Radiation

Dangers of Cell Phone Radiation