Dr K Praveen
M.S Scholar
Dept Of Salakyathantra
Govt . Ayurveda College, Trivandrum
MOBILE PHONE RADIATION & HUMAN HEALTH
The effect of mobile phone radiation on human health is the subject of recent interest and study, as a result of the enormous increase in mobile phone usage throughout the world. Mobile phones use electromagnetic radiation in the microwave range, which may be harmful to human health.
? Early Alzheimers disease from destroyed brain cells?
Is there really a health risk? New reports continue to be published several times a year, suggesting that there might be health risks from mobile phones electromagnetic radiation. Yet other studies show little or no health impact.
In this paper, I’ve compiled and put forward some discussion on various study reports on this subject. Many of them are non- human animal studies and majority of them alarms the health hazards of mobile radiations. Some studies have limitations as like in cancer since they cannot be carried out in humans because mobile phone radiation exposure would have to be followed by brain biopsy which can cause epilepsy later, permanent brain damage, stroke or even death. Let’s go through various studies and discuss the effect of microwave radiations on living cells
For mobile handsets, SAR (specific absorption rate) is an indication of the amount of radiation that is absorbed by body while using a mobile phone. This is measured in watts per kilogram (W/kg) and the higher the SAR rating, the more is the radiation absorbed. ICNIRP (International Commission for Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection) has stipulated that manufacturers must ensure that the maximum SAR level of a cell phone does not exceed 2W/kg.
One well-understood effect of microwave radiation is dielectric heating, in which any dielectric material (such as living tissue) is heated by rotations of polar molecules induced by the electromagnetic field. In the case of a person using a cell phone, most of the heating effect will occur at the surface of the head, causing its temperature to increase by a fraction of a degree. The brain's blood circulation is capable of disposing of excess heat by increasing local blood flow.
However, the cornea of the eye does not have this temperature regulation mechanism and exposure of 2–3 hours' duration has been reported to produce cataracts in rabbits' eyes at SAR values from 100-140W/kg, which produced lenticular temperatures of 41°C. There were no cataracts detected in the eyes of monkeys exposed under similar conditions. Premature cataracts have not been linked with cell phone use, possibly because of the lower power output of mobile phones.
Some blood-brain barrier effect of such radiations were also studied. Swedish researchers from Lund University have studied the effects of microwave radiation on the rat brain. They found a leakage of albumin into the brain via a permeated blood-brain barrier.
Electromagnetic hypersensitivity due to mobile radiations were also studied. Some users of mobile handsets have reported feeling several unspecific symptoms during and after its use; ranging from burning and tingling sensations in the skin of the head and extremities, fatigue, sleep disturbances, dizziness, loss of mental attention, reactiontimes and memory retentiveness, headaches, malaise, tachycardia (heart palpitations), to disturbances of the digestive system.
Study on effect of radio frequency (RF) on sleep, EEG, waking rCBF(regional cerebral blood flow ) etc were also conducted. They have been studied in relation to RF exposure for a decade now, and the majority of papers published to date have found some form of effect. While a Finnish study failed to find any effect on sleep or other cognitive function from pulsed RF exposure, most other papers have found significant effects on sleep. German research from 2006 found that statistically significant EEG changes could be consistently found, but only in a relatively low proportion of study participants (12 - 30%).
Do mobile phone radiation cause cancer ?
This work on human subjects follows other earlier mobile phone studies in animals, suggesting that electromagnetic radiation from mobiles may cause brain tumours, cancer, anxiety, memory loss and serious birth defects. But different studies have contradicted many of these findings. The International Journal of Epidemiology published a combined data analysis from a multinational population-based case-control study of glioma and meningioma, the most common types of brain tumour. The authors reported the following conclusion: “Overall, no increase in risk of glioma or meningioma was observed with use of mobile phones. There were suggestions of an increased risk of glioma at the highest exposure levels, but biases and error prevent a causal interpretation. The possible effects of long-term heavy use of mobile phones require further investigation”
The Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA)which said in a statement that on the basis of current understanding of the relationship between brain cancer and use of mobile phones, currently available data do not warrant any general recommendation to limit use of mobile phones in the adult population, continues to inform those concerned about potential health effects that they may limit their exposure by reducing call time, by making calls where reception is good, by using hands-free devices or speaker options, or by texting; and recommends that, due to the lack of any data relating to children and long term use of mobile phones, parents encourage their children to limit their exposure by reducing call time.
In 2007, Dr. Lennart Hardell, from Örebro University in Sweden, reviewed published epidemiological papers (2 cohort studies and 16 case-control studies) and found that
§ Cell phone users had an increased risk of malignant gliomas.
§ Link between cell phone use and a higher rate of acoustic neuromas.
§ Tumors are more likely to occur on the side of the head that the cell handset is used.
§ One hour of cell phone use per day significantly increases tumor risk after ten years or more.
A publication titled "Public health implications of wireless technologies" cites that Lennart Hardell found age is a significant factor. The report repeated the finding that the use of cell phones before age 20 increased the risk of brain tumors by 5.2, compared to 1.4 for all ages. A review by Hardell et al. concluded that current mobile phones are not safe for long-term exposure.
Genotoxicity of mobile radiations is a main topic of discussions in present days. A large early 2009 meta-study of 101 scientific publications on genotoxicity of RF electromagnetic fields shows that 49 report a genotoxic effect and 42 do not. Australian research conducted in 2009 by subjecting in vitro samples of human spermatozoa to radio-frequency radiation at 1.8 GHz and specific absorption rates (SAR) of 0.4 to 27.5 W/kg, showed a correlation between increasing SAR and decreased motility and vitality in sperm, increased oxidative stress and 8-Oxo-2'-deoxyguanosine markers, stimulating DNA base adduct formation and increased DNA fragmentation.
Another area of concern is the radiation emitted by the fixed infrastructure used in mobile telephony, such as base stations and their antennas, which provide the link to and from mobile phones. This is because, in contrast to mobile handsets, it is emitted continuously and is more powerful at close quarters. On the other hand, field intensities drop rapidly with distance away from the base of the antenna because of the attenuation of power with the square of distance. Base station emissions must comply with safety guidelines
As technology progresses and data demands have increased on the mobile network, towns and cities have seen the number of towers increase sharply, including 3G towers which work with larger bandwidths. Many measurements and experiments have shown that transmitter power levels are relatively low - in modern 2G antennas, in the range of 20 to 100 W, with the 3G towers causing less radiation than the already present 2G network. An average radiation power output of 3 W is used. The use of 'micro-cell geometries' (large numbers of transmitters in an area but with each individual transmitter running very low power) inside cities has decreased the amount of radiated power even further. The radiation exposure from these antennas, while generally low level, is continuous.
The risk of radiation is a major occupational hazards in this field. Telecommunication workers who spend time at a short distance from the active equipment, for the purposes of testing, maintenance, installation, etcetera, may be at risk of much greater exposure than the general population.
In order to protect the population living around base stations and users of mobile handsets, governments and regulatory bodies adopt safety standards, which translate to limits on exposure levels below a certain value. There are many proposed national and international standards, but that of the International Commission for Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) is the most respected one, and has been adopted so far by more than 80 countries.
Stricter guidelines soon for mobile radiation in India:
(The Hindu daily news paper NEW DELHI, August 9, 2010)
The Union government finally seems to have woken up to the health hazards related to radiation from mobile towers and handsets. The Ministry of Communications and IT is considering a high-level study to find out the level of electromagnetic frequency (EMF) radiation from towers and handsets in order to frame stricter regulations to rein in erring operators and handset manufacturers.“It is high time we addressed the issue of radiation, as strong objections have been raised by experts and civil society over the uncontrolled spread of mobile towers and import of cheap handsets that could have serious impact on the health of people. I will soon be meeting health and telecom experts to evolve a strong monitoring mechanism for the same,” Minister of State for Communications and IT Sachin Pilot told The Hindu.
Mr. Pilot said:“We need to look at things in different perspective. While European nations have just three to five operators, in India the number of operators now stands at 15.“Consider the massive growth of towers...we already have around 4.5-lakh towers and many more are being added to meet the demand of almost 65-crore mobile subscribers, which is growing at 1.5-crore every month, the highest in the world.“While European nations and the U.S. have very strict monitoring mechanism for both mobile towers and phones, we are still to come out with proper regulations on the issue.”Mr. Pilot said though mobile operators, their associations and mobile phone manufactures have been claiming that radiation levels in the country were under prescribed limited, independent agencies have reported gross violation of the set standards. “As prolonged exposure to electromagnetic radiation can cause serious health problems, we need to address the issue now before it becomes a menace…and it is all the more necessary keeping in mind the growth of Indian telecom industry.”
Though India has so far not set any radiation exposure standards, the proposed standards by various government agencies is still many times higher than that in the U.S. and many European countries. In the case of handsets, the West has set up strict standards for ‘specific absorption rate' (SAR) —Companies manufacturing mobile phones have to disclose the SAR.
Precautionary Measures and health advisories:
The World Health Organization (WHO), based upon the consensus view of the scientific and medical communities, has stated that cancer is unlikely to be caused by cellular phones or their base stations and that reviews have found no convincing evidence for other health effects. Many scientific studies have investigated possible health effects of mobile phone radiations. These studies are occasionally reviewed by some scientific committees to assess overall risks. WHO recommended that the “precautionary principle” could be voluntarily adopted in this case. According to the WHO, the "precautionary principle" is "a risk management policy applied in circumstances with a high degree of scientific uncertainty, reflecting the need to take action for a potentially serious risk without awaiting the results of scientific research".
§ The greatest risk to a mobile phone user is from an accident while distracted - particularly when driving. This risk is likely to be many tens of thousands of times greater than a radiation hazard.
§ Evidence from human studies of mobile phone radiation is now of raised blood pressure, direct brain warming (very mild) as well as of mild sensations in heavy users. These effects are short term and unlikely to cause any health problems in the vast majority of users even over many years. Still to be studied....
§ There is no evidence so far of mobile phone radiation causing tumour formation or memory impairment in humans - Much more research needed.
§ Mice, rats and chickens may be more sensitive to electromagnetic effects from mobile phones on their cells. So results on animals may or may not be valid for humans. We just don't know.
§ Further human studies of mobile phone health risks are urgently needed, because of the very large numbers using mobiles.
§ Whatever effects of using mobile phones there may be in humans, the health risk to an individual user from electromagnetic radiation is likely to be very, very small indeed, but it is possible that some individuals may be more prone to radiation side effects than others.
§ Some manufacturers already sell radiation shields for mobiles, reducing electromagnetic radiation to the head. Many or most of these seem to be based on very doubtful claims.
§ Moving the mobile phone aerial eight inches from the head, instead of one inch, would dramatically reduce exposure - dose falls to 1/64th as the square of the distance.
§ Good quality, screened hands free mobile phone kits, allowing earpiece and microphone attached to phone in pocket, massively reduce brain exposure to electromagnetic radiation, but may increase exposure to the pelvis and the unborn - again with significance unknown!
Some national radiation advisory authorities have recommended measures to minimize exposure to their citizens. Recommendations include
· Use hands-free to decrease the radiation to the head.
· Don’t use mobile in moving train or other speed moving vehicles.
· Do not use telephone in a car without an external antenna.
· Don’t use mobile in a closed car.
· Keep the mobile phone away from the body. Don’t keep them in your pockets.
· Carry mobile in your bags.
· Don’t use mobiles while battery is low.
· Don’t place mobile near your pillow during sleep. Don’t use it as an alarm.
· Use mobile for emergency and short duration calls. Try land line for long duration calls.
· Don’t use mobile at places with low network coverage.
· Parents should never promote use of mobiles by children.
· Avoid mobile usage during pregnancy period.
· Don’t use mobiles while drive.
Lets limit the use of mobiles - as WHO says , a "precautionary principle" for a healthy future and a healthy generation.
“Prevention is better than cure”
a very good compilation.. very useful.. this article has great significance now.. expecting more such ones.. thank u
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