Committee cautions against health hazards of radiation from mobile phones, towers

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

The committee also blames mobile phone related radiation for the disappearance of butterflies, bees, insects and sparrows from big cities.

According to the eight-member committee, which included representatives from the health ministry, department of biotechnology and member secretary, DoT, 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 banned.

Cautioning against the installation of  mobile towers near high density residential areas, schools, playgrounds and hospitals, the committee says, "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." 

According to R S Sharma, ICMR scientist who represented the health ministry on the committee, the findings were 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.