Mobile Towers Radiation and its Myth

All of us are living in a technology driven era, where we can do almost everything by using technology. Today, in this topic, we will talk about Mobile Towers Radiation. Is it too bad for our health or it is just a myth or rumors?

Radiation

First we should know about Radiation, now a days, everybody knows about Radiation, but maximum of them don’t know correct definition of it. Electromagnetic Radiation or Radiation or  Frequency all are same. Radiation is a form of energy that is all around us, such as radio waves, microwaves, X-rays and gamma rays. Sunlight is also a form of Electromagnetic Radiation energy. Radiation is widely use in medical field or health field too. Now a days radiation is everywhere, like Tv, Microwave, and even in Freeze. If all of us are living very happily with these items, then my one question is, “How Mobile Towers Radiation is bad for health?”, and radiation in Tv, Microwave, Freeze and in medical field is good for health. X-Rays, Gamma Rays, External beam radiotherapy and Proton therapy are highly usable radiations in medical field. Doctors use External beam radiotherapy and Proton therapy for cancer. Hope, now you may understand that radiation is not too bad as many people are talking now a days.

Mobile Tower Radiation Bad Or Myth

Mobile phones are widely use in across the globe. It is the one of the best medium for communication. Like other country, In India, it is also the best medium for communication.

In year of 1995 first mobile phone call was launched. First call was made in between that time West Bengal Chief Minister Jyoti Basu and Union Telecom Minister Sukhram.

From that time, citizen of India is widely using this. Now you may be thinking, why I’m telling you history of first mobile phone call. I want to justify one thing that after 21 years of first mobile call, there is not any disease or evidence of  disease happen due to mobile tower radiation or mobile. Many people say that mobile tower radiation is bad for pregnant women and children, but no one is justifying his own words. Is population rate is down in India after 1995? Is intelligence in Indian children become less after 1995? My answer is BIG NO.

India is a developing country and creating its own milestones in almost every verticals. We can’t neglect  importance of mobile phones in this development. It is one of the best medium for communication. Apart from traditional calls,  now a days, people are using their phones for video calling, conference calls, Skype calls, making or editing documents for their meetings. Without mobiles and mobile towers, we can’t imagine these kind of works. To make all of these things possible almost every telecommunication companies are doing their best for their subscribers. They are establishing their mobile towers at almost every corner in India to make hassle free service to their subscribers.

Dr. Bhavin Jankaria, Former President at Indian Radiology and Imaging Association, says about Mobile tower Radiation, “Mobile tower radiation is inherently a type of radiation that we believe does not produce any kind of significant harm to humans. We have been using X-ray radiations for more than 115 years, and we still haven’t been able to establish the relationship of cancer and radiation to any great extent. And the mobile tower radiation is inherently a type of radiation that we believe does not produce any kind of significant harm to humans.’’

Mobile tower radiation is also a key subject for World Health Organization (WHO). WHO has referred to more than 24000 articles from across the globe and concluded, “Current evidence does not confirm the existence of any health consequences from exposure to low level electromagnetic field”.

India among nations with most stringent EMF norms

Telecom secy says unfounded apprehensions around electromagnetic field emissions can derail growth story

The department of telecommunications has taken it upon itself to address concerns raised by many activists and groups on the health hazards emanating from electromagnetic field (EMF) emissions from mobile towers.

Telecom Secretary J S Deepak has been organising awareness programmes across the country to educate municipal corporators, doctors and residents’ welfare associations that India has among the most stringent EMF norms in the world.

Addressing members of government and medical fraternity at an event in Mumbai, J S Deepak categorically said consumers cannot access mobile telephony services without mobile towers.

He said: “Telecom towers are critical installations on which the backbone of wireless communication rests and unfounded apprehensions around EMF emissions have the potential to derail our growth story.”

Broadband penetration is directly connected with the rate of growth of any economy. Citing statistics, Deepak said that a 10 percentage points increase in broadband access leads to an increase in per capita GDP by 1.38 per cent. India is still a digital have-not compared to many other countries but in the next few years, India will add over 300-400 million broadband subscribers. Most of these will be mobile broadband users. And if people have to be part of a 24/7 network then mobile towers will have to be allowed in streets, residential buildings and public places.

Read the original article here.

The great Indian myth of mobile tower ‘radiation’

Radio frequency radiation from mobile towers and phones is minuscule—one-thousandth to one-millionth of an eV! It means mobile tower radiation is lakhs of times weaker than X-rays or UV rays, even visible light.

Radiation. The very word is like a bell tolling—ringing in irrational concern and conjuring images of Chernobyl or Fukushima. So, when we hear of mobile tower antennas transmitting radio frequency radiation, concerns arise in the common man. Luckily, nothing could be more inappropriate or bizarre than linking up mobile tower emissions with the former category of high energy radiation which includes frequencies beyond ultraviolet, i.e. X-rays, gamma rays, etc. Collectively, such high energy radiation is referred to as “ionising radiation” and, in large doses, these can damage matter, particularly living tissue. So, when there is concern about radiation and its possible harmful effects, the reference is clearly to high energy ionising radiation. In India, the concern in certain quarters about radiation from mobile towers arises from the highly flawed extrapolation of the fear of ionising radiation to the ultra-weak radio-frequency radiation from mobile towers and phones. This is the basic origin of the great Indian myth concerning mobile tower “radiation”.

Physicists use a very small unit of energy called electron Volt (eV) to measure radiation. X-rays have an energy level of the order of 100 eV to 1 lakh eV, whereas ultraviolet is of a much lower energy level of around 100 eV or less.

Visible light is about 1 eV. As against the above, the radio frequency radiation from mobile towers and phones are in the range as minuscule as one-thousandth to one-millionth of an eV! Thus, mobile tower “radiation” is lakhs of times weaker than X-rays or UV rays or even normal visible light. In fact, so low that they simply cannot cause any disturbance of electrons in the basic atoms of matter or living tissue. Hence, they are classified as “non-ionising radiation”.

Radiation is all around us and we are all actually submerged in naturally occurring ionising radiation reaching us from the outer space; even from radioactive elements and materials around us in the earth. This has been so ever since life began on Earth three-and-a-half billion years ago. Every day, at least a billion particles of natural radiation enter our bodies. Sunshine is one of the most familiar forms of radiation and delivers light and heat and good health and, therefore, welcomed and worshipped. The power density received on the surface of the earth from the sun is in the range of 250-1,000 watts per square metre. As against this level, with which we are all comfortable, the radio frequency radiation from mobile towers is, even a few feet from the antenna, hundreds of times lower. At normal distances from the tower or on the ground, the exposure is thousands of times lower.

Rowley and Joyner (2012) gathered together tower electromagnetic field (EMF) radiation data from measurement campaigns in 21 countries around the world spread over a few years. The database of over 173,000 individual data points shows that the global average exposure level from towers is as low as 0.73 milliwatt per square metre, which is over 5,000 times below the WHO-endorsed radiation norm for mobile towers for the frequency range considered, i.e. 4 watts per square metre at 800 MHz.

We are all comfortable and have no concern using mobile phones. And, rightly so. The radiation standard for mobile phones is referred to as the Specific Absorption Rate or SAR limit, and the standard good quality phones that we use generally operate several-fold below the SAR. It is of interest to note that the EMF radiation exposure that we have from towers is hundreds, if not thousands, of times even below that of phones. Some years ago, when this author attended a global meet of experts on electromagnetic safety and enquired of the group about latest research findings as regards mobile tower radiation, broad indulgent smiles and looks of amused tolerance greeted him. He was gently advised that they were all convinced there is no need to spend precious time and millions of dollars on research in this area since it was known to be of such ultra-low level of energy. They preferred to debate and research about radiation from other types of mobile services or products. In fact, WHO stated in 2013 that because exposure to radio-frequency fields emitted from mobile towers is more than a thousand times weaker than that from mobile phones, research has almost exclusively been conducted on the latter and not the former.

In India, in response to petitions from some parties, various courts have looked into the aspect of radiation from towers. Allahabad High Court set up a special Expert Committee comprising of 13 scientists, professors, doctors and technologists to examine the possibility of hazards from mobile towers and cell phones. The committee, in its detailed 55-page report, came to the conclusion that there is no evidence about dangers to human health due to the EMF radiation from mobile towers. A separate, suo motu study was carried out by a group of 25 distinguished professors and researchers from various IITs and IISc Bangalore. They came to the conclusion that the radiation limits set by DoT, government of India, and being followed are “based on the international best practices at this point and time” and are stringent enough to “avoid unnecessary panic and fear among the citizens.” Even the Kerala and Gujarat High Courts had come to the clear conclusion that there is no reason to worry about the EMF radiation from mobile towers.

The body of evidence is simply overwhelming. There is absolutely no need to have any concern whatsoever as regards the radio-frequency “radiation” from mobile towers. However, some vested interests are actively spreading myths and absurd stories to create concerns in the less aware citizens and seriously harming public interest as well as damaging the prospects of Digital India. As the great Nobel Prize-winning scientist Marie Curie beautifully stated, “Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less.” Nothing could be truer in the context of the unwarranted Indian concerns as regards tower radiation.

In fact, the term “mobile tower radiation” is itself grossly misleading; the description “ultra-weak radio frequency emissions from mobile towers” is probably more accurate.

As published on The Financial Express

Noida Authority to shift 300 mobile towers: A Regressive and Unresearched move!

So, Noida Authority has decided to relocate over 300 mobile towers away from densely populated areas in the city, in a bid to reduce the‘alleged’ health risks of exposure to radiation from these towers. The move will massively hit the mobile connectivity of humungous number of subscribers and disrupt their daily life in general. And all this is happening on the basis of ‘alleged’ health risks that have no study or research by authorized bodies to back it up.

What surprises me the most is that a decision of such big consequence has been taken without adequate research and deliberation, when there are studies by authorized bodies like WHO which oppose the whole cell tower radiation health risk claim.

And WHO is not alone. There are various other studies that say cell towers do not cause cancer. The radiofrequency fields (RF) from Cell Towers or antennas are mild and weak and so do not cause much damage to the DNA. The responsible government bodies really need to check this collection of research studies before making such hasty decisions:

Cell Towers – How did it all begin

Alexander Graham Bell is credited with the invention of the Telephone, one of the most important inventions in modern history. But when it comes to cellular phone technology, no one person can stake claim on its invention. Cellular phone technology evolved over decades, with various scientists contributing to the process.

Cell Phone – a weapon?

Isn’t it true that if you hit someone really hard on the head with your cell phone, in all likelihood, that person will sustain a big injury. It could even prove fatal! But is that because the cell phone is a weapon of mass destruction? Is it not also true that no matter what item you take in your hand; upon strong impact, it will hurt someone?

The point is rather simple. Just like a baby’s water bottle is a completely harmless thing that only serves as a convenience; a cell phone, at the end of the day, has made our lives exponentially more convenient. Our phones nowadays are our computers, our planners, our entertainment systems, our cameras; our constant and loyal companions. So when one hears absurd allegations like cell phone and cell phone tower radiation causing cancer, or causing harm to one’s health; its just really sad!

How many scientific tests and reports will it take to convince people that these radiations that emerge from cell phone technology are rather weak radio frequency that hardly have any energy at all! In fact, they are the very same waves are FM Radio. Surely if Radio, that has been around for decades, has not killed us; the humble cell phone won’t either!

Cell phone technology is made by responsible global organizations whose purpose is to alleviate our problems, not add to them. So unless we want to willingly and maliciously hurt someone with the brute force of our own bodies using our cell phones; by themselves, they continue to be totally harmless, immensely helpful items that have made modern life a tad more manageable, a bit more controllable. And that, is a very good thing!

Carcinogenic Elements – The What and How

 

Carcinogen – A Substance that causes Cancer. Substances that give rise to cell mutations which lead to tumor growth and cancer. Carcinogens are all around you and awareness is the key to avoiding this fatal disease. Our environment and many other external factors contain the majority of such carcinogenic or cancer causing substances. These elements, such as exposure to radiation, and viruses can account for 80-90% of cancer causing substances. Our internal factors, including weak immune system, old age, change in lifestyle and hereditary susceptibility form the remaining causes for cancer. A report by the WHO has proven that 35% of carcinogenic substances are found in food and beverages, and 30% come from tobacco. Besides these major factors, The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has categorized various substances into groups: Group A: Carcinogenic to humans Group B: Likely to be carcinogenic to humans Group C: Suggestive evidence of carcinogenic potential Group D: Inadequate information to assess carcinogenic potential Group E: Not likely to be carcinogenic to humans This extensive list can be found online, to better educate yourself on possible cancer risks. But there are also many substances and energy radiations that have received a lot of unwanted criticism, all thanks to ignorance. One such radiation is the energy emitted from cellphones. After extensive research many agencies including The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences has quoted “Currently, there’s little or no evidence to suggest that cell phone usage is associated with brain tumors or any other adverse health effects in humans.” The energy that is emitted from cellphones is a type of non-ionizing radiation. The WHO defines non-ionizing radiations as “radiation in the part of the electromagnetic spectrum where there is insufficient energy to cause ionization.” Which means that it causes no change in the elements around it, and therefor does not cause cancer. Knowledge is the only key in our fight against carcinogens, and spreading lies about cellphones only hampers our lives.

Electromagnetic waves – The What and How

Off late, I have been observing that a lot is being said in the media about radiation, cancer and EMF. Many articles are published blaming cell towers for causing hazardous effects on health. Most of them lack concrete scientific proof and are propagated by a few interested parties to spread fear among the public. Starting with this post, I shall publish a series of What and How, in order to bring more clarity. It is my aim to help you make sense of all those reports and distinguish between the facts and farce.       Electromagnetic Waves: Energy is radiated in waves and together they are known as the electromagnetic spectrum. For scientists in the early human history, the only known component of the electromagnetic spectrum was light. But in the year 1800, William Herschel discovered infrared light. It was an accidental discovery. He was in fact studying the temperature of different colors by moving a thermometer through light split by a prism and noticed that the highest temperature was beyond red. The year after that, Johann Ritter noticed similar behavior on the other side of the spectrum which was then named ultraviolet radiation. As our knowledge and understanding of electromagnetic fields grew, we found that they are present everywhere in our environment but are invisible to the human eye. Even in nature, electromagnetic waves are found in the atmosphere during thunderstorms. We all know that the compass needle works thanks to the electromagnetic field of the earth. The difference lies in the strength of energy emitted from these electromagnetic waves. Some electromagnetic waves have so much heat and energy within them that they can cause changes in the composition of molecules. Within the electromagnetic spectrum, gamma rays given off by radioactive materials, cosmic rays and X-rays are the waves that are powerful enough to do so and are called ‘ionizing radiation’. Electromagnetic waves that have insufficient energy an heat to break molecular bonds are known as ‘non-ionizing radiation’. This includes most things created by man in a bid for industrialization and modernization – electricity, microwaves. Everyday objects like electrical power supplies and appliances are the most common sources of low frequency electric and magnetic fields. In our everyday living environment – telecommunications, broadcasting antennas and microwave ovens give out radio-frequency electromagnetic fields which are also non-ionising waves and are therefore harmless. In this regard, the sun is more harmful that the appliances or even the mobile phones we use at home!

Radiation Wallpaper-The new Sunscreen? And Juhi Chawla the brand Ambassador!

Special Curtains, Wallpapers, Window Films brought to you by Juhi Chawla! Household products that allegedly bring you health and happiness. If you want to buy into that range, you have to buy into the lies that people like Girish Kumar, Neha Kumar and Juhi Chawala are telling you. These individuals hold business interests in Wilcom, a company that produces table-top radiation shields, pocket radiation shields and special curtains, wallpapers and window films that block out radiation. Girish Kumar, Neha Kumar and Juhi Chawla have been advocating the evils of cellphone radiation. Maybe they should have checked on their facts and figures first. Many studies, including extensive research by the worldwide Advisory Group on Non-ionising Radiation(AGNIR) has stated “ the evidence overall has not demonstrated any adverse effects on human health from exposure to radio-frequency fields”. The only reason we might believe these 3 individuals is if they can prove that they are more knowledgeable than a group of the best scientists and doctors from around the world! Doesn’t it all seem extremely convenient? Of course it is. The best way of selling a product is to create a need for it. And what better way of creating a need than to proclaim the product to be essential to your health and well-being! Thats exactly what Girish Kumar, Neha Kumar and Juhi Chawla ave done for Wilcom. They are playing with people’s feelings and sensitivities and its important to stop them. Girish Kumar the businessman has roped in Juhi Chawla the actress to form a mutually beneficial relationship. And the best part is that we as innocent citizens are their soft targets. They claim to be helping us, but they are really just using us for their own selfish gains! (Click here to view details) Thats truly ironic. Wake up citizens of the world. Cellphone radiation is not what’s harming us. Its people like these that take advantage of the innocents that are the real villains here! Its almost as if for them, Radiation Wallpaper is the new Sunscreen… And Juhi Chawla the brand Ambassador!

Has Juhi Chawla Stopped Using Her Cell Phone?

Modern life, though it comes with immense pressures, also has many advantages that were not present earlier. Just look at cell phones for example. Sure we managed just fine without them, but now that they have been with and among us for some time, it is hard to conceive life without them. In fact, landlines have almost become redundant now.Unfortunately, what also exists in our modern society is a lot of hypocrisy. Double standards where people say and do things they don’t really mean. Where people don’t always practice what they preach. And speaking of cell phones; one such modern day myth that has been created around these life-saving devices is that the cell phone towers cause harmful radiation that is bad for health. What is even sadder is that while it has been conclusively and scientifically proven that the weak RF waves radiation from cell phone towers can’t possibly cause any harm to humans. These are the same radio frequency waves that we experience from our TVs and radios at home. That have been around us for decades now, and haven’t caused any harm. But some people continue to propagate lies and spread fear and panic. Why? Only because they stand to gain directly and monetarily from spreading these rumors. Professor Girish Kumar and his daughter Neha Kumar have been crusading the country, posing as activists who will save humanity from the evils of this alleged & totally made-up ills of cell phone tower radiation. And joining them and supporting them is a once much loved and respected actor Juhi Chawla. But the real motivation is what is truly shocking. It is her husband Jay Mehta’s business interests that have compelled her to join these voices that are spreading lies about cell phone tower radiation being harmful, so that their own companies – Wilcom Technologies, Salora International and the like, can sell their anti-radiation products! The title of a recently published article by the duo reads: Radiation from your cell phone MAY be killing you. Common sense will tell you that most of the facts stated cannot be proved since cell phones are too recent an invention to gather reliable historical data. The title itself contains the word MAY, and is a clear pointer of the still existing ambiguity. The fact that all this is has been done only and only to profit, is becoming increasingly clear to everyone. Milind Deora, a member of the Lok Sabha was one of the many who was able to see through the conspiracy. He openly challenged Neha Kumar on Twitter. What is even more revolting is the sheer & blatant hypocrisy that one sees. How? That can be answered by one simple question. Has Juhi Chawla stopped using her own cell phone? Since she claims they are so harmful, she should have been the first person to stop using this evil device completely right? Well guess what, she has NOT stopped using cell phones! Its a shameful conspiracy conveniently adopted to make profits. To make the rich become richer, while the common people of India, have to suffer from a man-made fear of a device that has exponentially improved our lives. To view a related article by industry expert Sheetal Kumar, Click Here. Read my presentation on the issue on Slideshare