Mobile tower radiation do not cause cancer, says COAI

The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) on Thursday tried to allay fears that the electromagnetic fields (EMF) emanating from cell phones and mobile towers are a cause of cancer.

Armed with several studies and an expert panel consisting of eminent oncologists, the association refuted allegations that the radiation from cell phones has been causing cancer.

It termed such fears baseless.  Addressing a press conference on the sidelines of a workshop on mobile networks and public health, director general of COAI, Rajan Mathews, said that a study was conducted on the effect of EMFs on the flora and fauna by the Department of Science and Technology and another one on humans by the Tata Memorial Hospital.

“The studies have proved beyond doubt that there were no harmful effects on living things. But the ill-effects of handsets could not be ruled out,” said Mathews.

The experts also informed that the central government has set norms for mobile manufacturers to maintain certain standards so that the emission of radiation is minimised. “Studies on 4,800 cell towers in Hyderabad have shown that they comply with the standards.

There are 800 million mobile users in India and not even a single study could prove that the towers were adding to the number of cancer patients in the country,” said the experts. Few of them attributed the dwindling number of sparrows to the rampant use of insecticides and mosquito repellants and not cell towers.

Dr Bhavin Jankharia of Indian Radiology and Imaging Association said, “A sham study was made to prove a point. The locals were not told that the mobile tower nearby is non-functional, yet they complained about symptoms of cancer.”
Dr Rakesh Jalali, a radiation oncologist from Tata Medical Centre, said EMFs are at the lowest level on the radio frequency spectrum and do not cause DNA change in humans.
DH News Service