'Indian mobile industry behaving like US tobacco firms'

'Indian mobile industry behaving like US tobacco firms'

Subhro Niyogi, TNN | Jun 17, 2013, 10.12 PM IST

KOLKATA: Cellphone operators in India are behaving as recklessly as American cigarette manufacturers did in the past, brushing aside health concerns instead of treading on caution till it was too late, say experts researching on electromagnetic radiation and health specialists. 

"COAI, the umbrella organization representingcellular operators, is repeatedly claiming that cell tower radiation does not cause any harm. The tobacco industry said the same about smoking till conclusive research proved otherwise. Now there are millions around the world who have suffered from smoking. In fact, cell phone/tower radiation is worse than smoking; as one cannot see it or smell it, and its effect on health is noted after a long period of exposure," said Girish Kumar of IIT Mumbai. 

That is the very analogy that IIT Kharagpur's Sudarsan Neogi drew as well. "Remember what happened to the Marlboro Man? Let's hope we all don't become case studies in future," he remarked. 

Faced with a flurry of questions from not just academics and doctors but from citizens around the country, cellular companies have taken a strategic decision to allow COAI to do the talking so that there are no contradictions in its statements. Thus, cellular companies who had earlier admitted to TOI that an exclusion zone was mandatory around the antenna went mum when COAI appointed expert Dr Vijaylaxmi from the department of radiation oncology, Texas University, made the extreme claim that even hugging cellular antennas did not pose a health hazard. 

"The cellular industry needs to speak sense and behave not just rationally but morally as well. Widespread cellular use has been happening for the past 10 years, too short a time to understand what radiation is doing to the human body. There is therefore a need to exercise caution. While COAI refers to WHO report of 2006, the International Agency for Research in Cancer (IARC), part of WHO ( World Health Organization) designated cell phones as 'Possible Human Carcinogen' (Class 2B) On May 31, 2011. They found evidence of increase in glioma and acoustic neuroma brain cancer for excessive cell phone users. An Interphone study report of May 2010 mentioned that excessive users of mobile phones (1/2 hour/day over 8 to 10 years) have doubled to quadrupled brain tumor risk. Cell tower radiation is for 24x7, so its cumulative effect over the years will be significant," said Chittaranjan National Cancer Research Centre Hospital director and oncologist Jaydip Biswas. 

The 610 page Bio-Initiative Report in 2007 prepared by a group of independent scientists proposed safe radiation density of 100 W/m 2for indoor cumulative RF exposure. Bio-Initiative Report of 2012 has reported with certainty adverse effects and given 1,800 references. But the cellular industry makes no mention of these. 

There have been several epidemiological studies in Spain, Netherlands, Israel, Germany, Egypt, Austria and Brazil where people living near cell phone antennas have reported adverse health effects. In India, there have been several clusters of cancer cases in Mumbai, Jaipur, Delhi, and other cities. In addition, a large number of people living in the vicinity of cell towers are complaining about headaches, sleep disorder, memory loss, miscarriage and heart problems. 

"The heat generated from prolonged cellphone use is drying up the internal ear cochlear fluid, leading to sleep disorders, vertigo, headache, irritability and several other ailments. We are virtually living in a non-ionizing radiation chamber. There is a need to monitor the situation and ensure that antennas are not installed within the vicinity of where we live," said Biswas.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/Indian-mobile-industry-behaving-like-US-tobacco-firms/articleshow/20636064.cms