The Hindu : New Delhi News : No health hazards due to radiation: cellular operators

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Friday, Jun 20, 2008
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No health hazards due to radiation: cellular operators

Sandeep Joshi

Express concern over “misinformation” being spread

NEW DELHI: The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) has expressed concern over the “misinformation” being spread among the general public regarding health-related concerns due to electromagnetic radiation generated from mobiles and antennas. Asserting that various global scientific studies and research have proved that there are no health hazards due to radiation, the COAI has urged the government to increase the level of general understanding about mobile phone technology and reduce any perceived mistrust and fears among public.

The reaction from the COAI, the trade body of cellular operators, comes following a report from the Department of Telecommunications’ (DoT) Telecommunication Engineering Centre (TEC), which pointed to possible health problems to people, particularly children and pregnant women, from electromagnetic radiation generated from mobile phones and towers. Refuting claims made in the TEC report, COAI Director-General T.V. Ramachandran said extensive radio frequency (RF) researches had been undertaken at top organisations including the World Health Organisation, the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP), the British Medical Association, the U.K. Independent Expert Group on Mobile Phones, the Food and Drug Administration (U.S.), and the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency.

“RF radiations emitted by mobile communication systems lie in the non-ionizing part of the electromagnetic spectrum and thus do not have enough energy to cause any genetic damage,” he said.Asking the government to take notice of all such facts before taking any policy level decision relating to the use of mobile phones and antennas, Mr. Ramachandran said: “In 2005, the WHO said that ICNIRP guidelines are protective for all sections of population, including children. Thus, prohibiting the use of mobile phones by children is against the consensus view of international scientific community and is not supported by the WHO, the ICNIRP and other international bodies.”

“There is pressing need to establish an effective system of health information and communication, designed by scientists, government, industry and public, to raise the level of general understanding about mobile phone technology and reduce any perceived mistrust and fears. The information transmitted should be accurate and based on scientific evidence.

“We maintain that current discussion should be based on holistic review of scientific evidence, and not selected projects which could paint an alarming, misleading, and inaccurate picture of the situation,” he added.

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