TelecomLive January-2019

Mobile Radiation Telecom LIVE January 2019 19 www.telecomlive.com DoT has been following relevant International agencies / organisations such as World Health Organization (WHO), International Commission on Non Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP), Interna- tional Advisory Committee (IAC) on EMF, ITU and various Study Groups under ITU for monitoring global develop- ments on EMF radiation from mobile towers and handsets. WHO has referred to about 25,000 articles published around the world over past 30 years, and based on an in- depth review of scientific litera- ture, has con- cluded - “current evidence does not confirm the existence of any health consequences from exposure to low level electro- magnetic fields”. Manoj Sinha, telecom minister has made the above statements related to radiation safety in the Parliament. In case, any BTS site is found violating the prescribed EMF norms, a penalty of Rs 10 lakh per BTS per incidence is levied including closing of BTS sites, if violation persists. I n 2018, only in three circles – Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and J&K – on actual testing, a total of 49 towers sites were found to be having radiation level in excess of prescribed limits. Surpris- ingly, only in three more circles - West Bengal, Maharashtra and North East – radiation levels were found to be in excess of the limit during 2015 to 2017, while the remaining 16 circles, did not have any problem at any point in time (table). If this is the fact, it is a welcome sign. If the testing staff in these circles have compromised with operators, then it is a serious issue. To examine the effect of Electromag- netic Field (EMF) emissions from base stations and mobile phones an Inter- Ministerial Committee (IMC) was constituted on Aug 24, 2010. The IMC in its report has indicated that most of the laboratory studies were unable to find a direct link between exposure to radio frequency radiation and health, and the scientific studies as yet have not been able to confirm a cause and effect relationship between radio frequency radiation and health. Also, a committee, constituted by the Allahabad High Court including Members from IITs of Kharagpur, Kanpur, Delhi, Roorkee, Bombay and from other scientific institutions of the country including Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS) Delhi, in their report submitted in 2014, has noted – “ ...On the basis of scientific evidences, studies and reports available, it has been found that there is no conclusive evidence about the stated dangers of EMF radiation from mobile BTS tower...” Further, a joint initiative has been launched by Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB) under Depart- ment of Science & Technology (DST) and DoT, wherein 19 research propos- als, have been initiated to study possible impact of EMF exposure from mobile towers and handsets on life ie Humans, Living Organisms, Flora & Fauna. Mobile Radiation Found above limits only in 3 circles in 2018 No. of non-complying BTS on radiation norms till 31.10.2018 Sl Service Area 2015 2016 2017 Till 31.10.18 Total 1 Karnataka 6 29 42 20 97 2 Tamilnadu 0 0 0 20 20 3 West Bengal 6 0 7 0 13 4 Maharashtra 0 0 10 0 10 5 Jammu & Kashmir 0 0 0 9 9 6 North East 0 0 8 0 8 7 Andhra Pradesh 0 0 0 0 0 8 Assam 0 0 0 0 0 9 Bihar 0 0 0 0 0 10 Delhi 0 0 0 0 0 11 Gujarat 0 0 0 0 0 12 Haryana 0 0 0 0 0 13 Himachal Pradesh 0 0 0 0 0 14 Kerala 0 0 0 0 0 15 Kolkata 0 0 0 0 0 16 Madhya Pradesh 0 0 0 0 0 17 Mumbai 0 0 0 0 0 18 Odisha 0 0 0 0 0 19 Punjab 0 0 0 0 0 20 Rajasthan 0 0 0 0 0 21 Uttar Pradesh (E) 0 0 0 0 0 22 Uttar Pradesh (W) 0 0 0 0 0 Grand Total 12 29 67 49 157