The electromagnetic field radiation from cellphones was touted to be the reason behind many health issues. But Professor Michael Repacholi, a WHO expert from Italy, tells Shalini Saksena that there is nothing to fear from such radiations. It is not true, for instance, that one will get heart problems due to a mobile phone in the breast pocket
Thirty years back, very few people in India had handheld phones and may be a handful would have heard of a cellphone. When the first cellphone was launched in India back in 1996, very few would have envisioned that in less that two decades, the country would have over 800 million mobile phone users with over 5 lakh towers. Today, India is the second largest telecom market in the world and the fastest growing one at that.
With this come several fears and apprehensions regarding health risks associated with the Electromagnetic field (EMF) radiation from cellphones. A number of studies have said that there is a link between exposure to radio frequency (RF) radiation and health concerns on cell growth, DNA, immune system, hormonal effects, reproduction, neurological, cardiovascular systems, brain cancer etc.
However, the World Health Organization (WHO) says that there is no convincing scientific evidence that RF signals from cellphone towers and wireless networks cause adverse health effects. “A person absorbs five times more RF from FM radio and TV than the base station towers. This is because the base stations and wireless technology signals are too weak and the modulation effects occur at much higher intensity. The radiation waves move on the same level and therefore, it can’t cause any health risks,” Prof Michael Repacholi, radiation expert and first coordinator of WHO’s radiation and environmental health unit, says.
He stresses the fact that speaking on the mobile phone increases the brain’s temperature by less than 0.1 degree Celsius which is not alarming at all. “Mobiles and towers can’t cause headaches, nausea, sleep disorders or is cancenogenic. The RF field can move charges particles, vibrate polar molecules and rotate polar side chains on proteins. This releases energy which transforms into heat. Till date no non-thermal effect has had any impact on health,” Prof Rapacholi tells you who is a visiting professor with the department of Information Engineering, Electronics and Telecommunications, at the University of Rome.
So, why are there so many misconceptions surrounding the usage of mobiles and health risksIJ “It is more due to wrong information available to people than lack of awareness. It is here that the Government should step in and educate the people. It has been found that countries that are not transparent or choose to remain silent by not addressing the people's concern, the more the fear. The truth is that after having spent $300 million dollars and publishing 6,000 papers in the last 15 years, there is no conclusive evidence that cellphones have an adverse effect on health,” Prof Repacholi states adding that those people who still have concerns can reduce their usage of mobiles.
“It has been established as of now that mobiles don’t have any adverse effect on health but if there are some who have fear can use handheld or use the loudspeaker option. They can even text,” says Prof Repacholi who was in the Capital to launch the book Mobile Phones and Public Health — Myth and Reality in which he has penned one chapter on this issue.
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