By Zahid H Javali
After much hue and cry from activists and citizens, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) launched a website in 2017. Named Tarang Sanchar, it tells you the various mobile towers installed in your neighbourhood and whether the EMF radiation is within permissible limits. We checked the radiation levels of ten cell towers in HSR Layout, and found that every one of them was compliant. To do this, we had to fill our name and email ID, and could only access the data once we verified with the OTP received in our email. However, there is a caveat here. The data we received was outdated, most being six months to a year old.
What more can you do?
You can buy a geiger counter to measure the radiation yourself from the living room. Or you can request the DoT to check the radiation for Rs 4000. However, even this facility is a sham as citizen campaigner against EMF radiation Prakash Munshi alleges that the inspector could easily tip off the cellular service provider who lowers the transmission power to the tower, thereby manipulating the EMF radiation levels. The Mumbaikar cites a case where the website gave the reading as 0.002 watts per metre square when the reading that he took with a 3-axis RF field strength meter showed 0.235 watts per metre square.
“The DoT’s Tarang Sanchar website is a total sham”
If you are serious about health, you should watch this 40-minute video by Citizens for Tomorrow where Munshi provided a detailed analysis at Moneylife Foundation about DoT’s Tarang Sanchar website. Three years after he raised complaints to the DoT, and met the concerned officials three times, the government office has done little to alleviate his concerns. “The portal is a total sham,” Munshi told Residents Watch. “The website does not give the true picture about the extent of radiation and how it is measured. If I am staying 10 metres away and affected by the antenna radiation, the radiation should be measured from my bedroom and not the ground. The time at which you measure the radiation also makes a difference because at peak hours, the power transmission is at its max, and so is the radiation. The website does not tell me the distance, the time, and the parameters of DoT used for the measurement. If I complain about high radiation, nobody comes. They reduce the transmission power to the tower from their office, and the radiation reduces automatically. The higher the power, higher the radiation, wider the coverage, and lower the infrastructure cost.”
Mobile tower issue is now in the Supreme Court
Citizen groups of Mumbai filed a case in Mumbai High Court, which was later transferred to the Supreme Court in 2018 where the petition has asked the government to amend the laws governing EMF radiation. The case is still ongoing. In 2012, Bollywood actress Juhi Chawla got mobile towers removed with much persistence. “Juhi got 13 of the 14 mobile towers removed opposite her residence after filing an RTI which revealed that only one tower was authorised and the rest were all unauthorised and illegal,” says her neighbour Munshi, who assisted her in the mission. Read all about it here.
Are we guinea pigs?
“Why are we being used as lab rats for an untested technology?” asks Munshi. “Let them first prove without doubt that there is no adverse effect on humans. The onus to prove is on the service provider, not the user.” The government should now take a proactive stance to protect the environment and humans. “The government must update the definition of air pollutant which was defined decades ago,” says Munshi. “The EMF radiation from mobile tower antennas is a big health hazard.”
A 2017 peer-reviewed research paper states: “The adverse biological effects of EMR from cellphone towers have been observed in birds, bees, and humans.” Author Chanda Siddoo-Atwal likens this to the microwave sickness syndrome identified in the 1950s that led people to experience headaches, dizziness, fatigue, sleeplessness, and eye problems due to radiation. The paper states: “According to a new approach to cancer risk assessment, based on an apoptotic model of carcinogenesis, it was determined that proximity to EMR from cellphone towers may pose a potential cancer risk in humans since microwave radiation can induce various apoptotic pathways leading to cell death in transformed human cell lines. The stimulation of cellular apoptosis resulting in deregulated cell proliferation is being increasingly linked to cancer and may provide a possible mechanism for microwave radiation carcinogenesis.”
In 2019, the COAI said only 60% mobile tower installations happened compared to the annual target of 1 lakh. However, the reality is that there are many times more illegal towers being erected across the country. So what are these lies, really? Besides, there are unscrupulous companies taking hefty advances as registration fees to install mobile towers on people’s buildings, and running away with the money. That’s a different story altogether, but related in some way. Read this story for that.
EMF protection gear
There are many products that call themselves to be able protectors from EMF radiations, such as mobile/laptop/tv chips. However, some people have tested them with radiation monitors and found them to be ineffective. Therefore, be mindful of that and proceed with caution.
What can you do to protect yourself from EMF radiation?
As DoT says, start using landlines (wired) and stop using mobile phones and cordless handsets. You can also use the phone’s speaker mode or wear wired earphones (not bluetooth headphones), say experts. Avoid using phones that are running on low batteries. And never use phones while they are being charged as the radiation is ten-times higher.
What’s the radiation level (SAR) of your smartphone? Don’t know? Just dial: *#07#, and you will get the results. If the SAR value is below 1.6 watts per kilogram, you are safe. Otherwise, it’s time to buy a smartphone whose SAR value is much less. Therefore, experts ask people to text more, and limit phone calls to under six minutes or less. Avoid calling when you are inside metal enclosures, such as elevators, cars, aeroplanes, subways, and so on, as radiation levels will be higher as they are bouncing around inside.
Switch off the Wi-Fi router when you don’t use it, and particularly at night. You will do yourself and the neighbours a big favour. Besides, you can walk barefoot on mud or grass to ground yourself. Practice digital detox every day for a limited time, and focus on reading books, meditating, exercising, or spending quality time with family. But what can one do about mobile tower radiation? Says Munshi: “Complain to the DoT, the Pollution Control Board, and file a PIL. For now, use steel or iron mosquito meshes on windows and doors. This reduces the radiation level in your house by 95%.”
