‘Telecom service providers have complied with norms’

In a survey of 4,830-odd cell phone towers in Hyderabad and Ranga Reddy, the towers were found safe. The Government of India in September, 2013 had introduced stringent rules to regulate radiation emissions from cell towers and handsets.

The debate on impact of cell phone towers, which are known to emit Electro Magnetic Fields (EMF), and their possible link to cancer has been raging for a while.

On Thursday, Department of Telecom (DoT) officials said that in Hyderabad and Ranga Reddy, telecom service providers have complied with basic safety standards of India regulatory authorities.

No impact on human health

“We have conducted survey of 4,830-odd cell phone towers in Hyderabad and Ranga Reddy. The towers are safe and do not impact human health. In fact, impact of radiation from cell phone towers will be zero after a distance of nine meters,” said Deputy Director General (DDG), Telecom Enforcement Resource and Monitoring (TERM), Hyderabad, DoT, Y. Kiran Kumar.

The Government of India in September, 2013 had introduced stringent rules to regulate radiation emissions from cell towers and handsets.

It included conducting surprise check-ups of at least 10 per cent of total cell phone towers in a city by experts to measure radiation levels.

‘Users should be careful’

“Most cell towers comply with the Indian standards. However, I can’t vouch the same for mobile handsets because it’s the usage of the handset that is bothering. Cell phone in itself is an antenna and you are directly putting it right near your ears. Users should be careful and avoid talking for a long time,” he said, in a conference organised by Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI).

SAR lower in India

The Specific Absorption Rate (SAR), which is a measure of the rate at which energy is absorbed by the human body when exposed to the EMF, in India is much lower than world average.

The WHO norms stipulate SAR to two watts per kilogram (W/kg) of human tissue, but in India it is 1.6 W/kg of human tissue.

“Cell phone manufacturers have to display SAR or radiation tags. We are in the process of requesting DoT to send us radiation measuring equipment that will enable us to pick up cell phones at random and test whether they are following these norms,” he added, to a query.