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Towering Worries

TUGOF TOWER WARS

The battle lines are drawn cell phone towers: cancer causing or crucial for communication! On one side, weighing in on the matter since 1990s are field experts, medical professionals and scientists, and on the challenging side, making mobile networks possible are cellular network operators and skeptical consumers. Whose side are you on?
re you thinking Oh, this is old news! I know cell phone towers give off radiation that causes cancer. You believe this story has been done to death? Convinced that the issue has not moved an inch and the time of mobile towers and radiation being the talk of the town has passed? Well... Pick up the phone! The issue has jumped metres! Rajasthan High Court is looking to have cell phone towers banned from residential areas and from atop schools and hospitals. Have you thought of what would become of your mobile network coverage if these towers are removed? Did you know that TV station and radio station antennas emit radiation at a stronger rate than cell phone towers and they have been doing it for a lot longer too? Plus, the latest dirt is that this has become a turf war between the researchers and medical professionals publishing study after study denouncing mobile towers, while mobile services corporations would have you believe otherwise. The Department of Telecomm (DoT) calls them lifeline installations. Physicians and scientists of Harvard and Boston University Schools of Public Health call them radiation hazards. Some people who live with them on their buildings call them eyesore. If you have not guessed it yet, we are talking about cell phone towers and attached Base Transmitter Stations (BTS, those round dish-antennas attached to the towers). It is these dishes that help you call, text or surf the Internet using your mobile phones, using radiofrequency (RF)

MOBILE

electromagnetic fields (EMF)* to send and receive information.

Mobile telephony moves up

According to Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), there are approximately 500,000 cell towers and 750,000 BTS in India split between the various mobile services providers Airtel, Vodafone, Idea, Aircel etc. The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that there are over 1.4 million BTS in the world. The United Nations specialised organisation for telecommunications, International Telecommunications Union recently released a report called The World in 2013: ICT Facts and Figures. They predict that the number of mobile subscriptions in this world will soon equal the number of people in this world. In fact, by 2014, they say that this number will cross the 7 billion mark. Asia is leading in terms of market growth. By end-2013, mobile phones will have reached 96 per cent of the world market, 128 per cent of the developed world, and 89 per cent of the market in developing countries, the report predicts. If the number of mobile subscribers increase, the number of mobile towers will have to increase to keep up. Easier communication makes our world smaller and trade, travel, governance and leisure simpler, right? So then why did upmarket colonies in New Delhi such as Amrita Shergill Marg (incidentally, Airtel boss Sunil Bharti Mittal lives here), Jorbagh, Aurangzeb

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INFILTRATION 2013
80%

were worried about effects of cell towers on homes, schools and hospitals TALK TIME: GT went looking for answers from the people we can always rely on our readers! All of whom live or have lived under cell towers. Heres what they had to say...

MEGHA KUCHU, journalist City: Mumbai Living here since: January 2005
Source: ITU World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators Database

Q. Have you ever experienced headaches, dizziness, anxiety or any unexplained ailments during the time that you lived here? Hair fall. Q. How much do you spend on your medical bills in a month? Roughly Rs 1,500.

Road and Khan Market call for shutting down and dismantling cell phone towers in their area in February. Taking a cue from Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh High Courts (HC), Bihar HC has directed Bihar Pollution Control Board to take necessary action to remove such mobile towers in two months. And just last month, a petitioner filed a case with the Delhi HC, saying that Reliance Telecommunications had installed a tower near a school and hospital in Pitampura, knowing full-well the health effects of radiation. The HC has sought answers from Reliance telecom, the telecom ministry and the Delhi government by April 5. Why all this hue and cry?

Q. Have you come across the DoTs advertisement (January 2013), published in national and regional newspapers, regarding mobile safety guidelines and EMF norms? Nope, not that I remember. Q. Which cell phone operator do you subscribe to? Since when? Reliance GSM, since a year now. Q. How much do you spend on mobile phone bills in a month? Rs 1,000 maximum. Q. Do you endorse the proposed ban on placing cell phone towers atop residential buildings, schools, hospitals etc? Yes, very much. Q. Would you be worried if imposing this ban would mean a drop in mobile network coverage and communication services? If we can safeguard people, especially children and the patients in hospitals, I would happily take the network issues. Q. Do you have any ideas about how we can have our network coverage and be healthy too? I've heard of equipment which cuts radiation. I don't know the material it is made of, but apparently you can wrap these tapes around the towers and also wear bracelets and pendants that 'ward off' or reduce the effects of harmful radiation.

In Sickness and in Health

Environmental exposures to artificial EMFs can interact with fundamental biological processes in the human body, says Bioinitiative Report 2012. It is an independent report by 29 authors from 10 countries with medical degrees, PhDs, and other advanced degrees. Since 2007, the Bioinitiative report has been talking about the cancer-causing powers of such radiations. The latest Bioinitiative Report 2012 gives 1,800 references of links between EMF/RF radiations and cancer, slow DNA damage, impacts on male fertility and adverse effects on children and pregnant women. While WHOs International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) came out swinging against mobile phone handsets in 2011, claiming they are possible carcinogens, they were silent

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ToweringWorries
about mobile towers. The WHO, in a 2006 factsheet, said the body absorbs up to five times more of the signal from FM radio and television than from base stations. Further, the UN body says that radiation in low frequencies, within the limits of the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protections** EMF guidelines (1998), do not cause any adverse health effects. Ufff! Can one person speak clearly and slowly and tell us exactly what is going on?

60%
ARTIKA RAJ, student City: New Delhi Living here since: June 2012

were worried about drop in network coverage from removing cell towers

It takes two to tower

These cell towers transmit radiation 24x7, so people living within meters from the tower will receive 10,000 to 10,000,000 times stronger signal than required for mobile communication. In India, crores of people reside within these high radiation zones, says Professor Girish Kumar from the Electrical Engineering Department, Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai. He has been studying the health effects of electromagnetic radiation since 2001 and specifically from mobile towers since 2007. In December 2010, he submitted a paper on the topic to the DoT. The human body absorbs radiation because it is 70 per cent liquid. Microwave absorption effect is more significant in body parts which contain more fluid, like the brain which consists of about 90 per cent water. Effect is more pronounced where the movement of the fluid is less, for example, eyes, brain, joints, heart, abdomen, etc. Also, human height is much greater than the wavelength of the cell tower transmitting frequencies, so there will be multiple resonances in the body, which creates localised heating inside the body. This results in boils, drying up of the fluids around eyes, brain, joints, heart, abdomen, etc, warns Professor Kumar. Rajan S Mathews, Director General of tCOAI, is not convinced. COAI is a non-governmental association of mobile services corporations such as Airtel, Vodafone, Aircel, Idea Cellular and more. Bioinitiative Report has been trashed by every self-respecting scientist in the world, says Mr Mathews, Even Milind Deora (Union Minister of State, Communications and Information Technology) has said, in Parliament, that the Bioinitiative report cannot be trusted.

Q. Have you ever experienced headaches, dizziness, anxiety or any unexplained ailments during the time that you lived here? As much as the next person, with or without the tower above my head I would say! And apart from the beginning of each month where I sort out the monthly budget with the two others I share my flat with, Id say there is little cause for headaches. Q. How much do you spend on your medical bills in a month? Not too much, the occasional sore throat and sniffles, dealt with off-the-counter medicines. Q. Have you come across the DoTs advertisement (January 2013), published in national and regional papers, regarding mobile safety guidelines and EMF norms? No. But Ive read about plenty of discussions on the same. Q. Which cell phone operator do you subscribe to? Since when? Airtel, since 2006. Q. How much do you spend on mobile phone bills in a month? I have a prepaid connection, and it comes to about Rs 350 a month. Q. Do you endorse the proposed ban on placing cell phone towers atop residential buildings, schools, hospitals etc? Amidst such conflicting reports on whether these towers are harmful are not, offered by credible parties on either side of the fence, it is hard to swing this way or that. But Id say medical reasons apart, just in terms of how ugly these towers are, Id be more than happy to not be subjected to them in my surroundings. Q. Would you be worried if imposing this ban would mean a drop in mobile network coverage and communication services? Yes, I would. Given our dependence on cell phones, a connectivity problem could prove to be a major irritant. Q. Do you have any ideas about how we can have our network coverage and be healthy too? I think government action in terms of making telecom companies adhere strictly to safety guidelines, would go a long way in achieving both the goals. And of course we need an independent regulation board to make sure that the guidelines are being strictly followed. We havent yet recovered from the 2G scam, and Id hate to read about a MobileGate next!

Smoke signals
Hmmmmmm... in that case, could there be smoke without a fire? Owing to growing public pressure, the WHO established the International EMF Project in 1996 to assess the scientific evidence of possible health effects of EMF. With a promise to conduct a comprehensive risk assessment of all recorded health outcomes of RF radiation by 2012, the EMF Project claims that there exist gaps in knowledge that require a three pronged approach review

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Renuka Shridhar, social worker working on educational programmes for children City: Dombivli Living here since: 1988 Q. Would you be worried if imposing this ban would mean a drop in mobile network coverage and communication services? Yes, I would be worried. Q. Do you have any ideas for how we can have our network coverage and be healthy too? Not sure about how healthy it is, but something like SAR value which Nokia follows.

0%
have seen DoT safety guidelines and norms advertisement in the newspapers

Q. Have you ever experienced headaches, dizziness, anxiety or any unexplained ailments during the time that you lived here? Not yet! Q. How much do you spend on your medical bills in a month? Around Rs 400. Q. Have you come across the DoTs advertisement (January 2013), published in national and regional papers, regarding mobile safety guidelines and EMF norms? No.

Q. Which cell phone operator do you subscribe to? Reliance. Q. Do you endorse the proposed ban on placing cell phone towers atop residential buildings, schools, hospitals etc? A BIG NO to cell phone towers on residential buildings, schools, hospitals etc

past research, monitor current research and promote future research. What is clear beyond a shadow of a doubt is that we need valid, reliable research. Maybe, DoT can do independent research employing oncologists, researchers working on radiation effects from the top institutions of the country. Or join the WHOs EMF Project, which is open to all member countries...

Norms on a normal day

In 2008, DoT adopted the International EMF norms prescribed by ICNIRP** and licenses provided to telecomm service providers were amended accordingly. In 2011, seeing mounting public pressure, DoT issued stricter norms that they claim are 10 times more stringent than 90 per cent of the countries in the world. In October 2012, a grievance redress cell was set up in Mumbai for residents to call in and lodge a complaint against offending EMF radiation from cell phone towers.

Call drop
From September 1, 2012, India has adopted 1/10th of ICNIRP guidelines, which is still very high, says Professor Kumar, It should be reduced to lower levels, as adopted in Austria... Another solution could be to have more numbers of cell towers with lesser transmitted power. The implications of stricter norms and lesser towers are lower connectivity, says Mr Mathews. If cell towers are removed from an area, there will be no service there. Calls will not connect, SMSs cannot be sent, he says, The place would be a total black spot. The ones that continue to exist will face congestion. If towers were to be removed from residential areas, schools, hospitals, jails and monuments, about 60 per cent mobile telephone coverage in the state would be lost. This would mean a drop in revenue for wireless services sector from Rs 864 billion to approximately Rs 350 billion.

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Towering Worries
Brinda Kishore, practicing company secretary City: Chennai Living here since: 1991 Q. Have you ever experienced headaches, dizziness, anxiety or any unexplained ailments during the time that you lived here? Not really. Q. How much do you spend on your medical bills in a month? Not much, maybe Rs 500. Q. Have you come across the DoTs advertisement (January 2013), published in national and regional papers, regarding mobile safety guidelines and EMF norms? No. But I have read a lot about how the radiation from these towers are dangerous. Q. Which cell phone operator do you subscribe to? Since when? Airtel, since 10 years. Q. Do you endorse the proposed ban on placing cell phone towers atop residential buildings, schools, hospitals etc? I have not personally experienced or heard of any one I know having experienced this. No, I would not endorse the ban. Q. Would you be worried if imposing this ban would mean a drop in mobile network coverage and communication services? Yes, I would be worried. Q. Do you have any ideas for how we can have our network coverage and be healthy too? Too many towers is definitely a problem, which could be solved by proper maintenance. Maybe, RWAs could help with this.

Parting shots
Confused? Feel like you are being pulled in two different directions. Like most things in life, finding a middle ground would take collective effort and considerable research. Till then, to make matters better (or worse), we leave you with parting shots from representatives of the two sides of the tower war. Cell phone industry is becoming another cigarette industry, which kept claiming that smoking is not harmful and now there are millions of people around the world who have suffered from smoking. In fact, cell 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, says Professor Kumar, while Mr Mathews counters with, The bulk of evidence says that the risks are small and we can live with it.

Cellular conclusion
The threat is invisible and therefore, more harmful. The advantages are tangible and hence, divert attention. One thing to keep in mind is that experts like Professor Kumar have little to gain from bemoaning cell towers, while cellular services corporations have huge gains attached to cell phone towers. Who knows, how movie screenings open with a Tobacco is injurious to health warning today, tomorrow they could be followed by Warning: Cell towers are radiation hazards...
MVS Vijay Kumar, Managing Director Modali Velanad Foods LLC City: I lived in Hyderabad for 5 years where BTS was placed on the terrace of our rented villa. Q. Have you ever experienced headaches, dizziness, anxiety or any unexplained ailments during the time that you lived there? I had the problem of anxiety for the first time while living here, more like palpitations while climbing the stairs. Q. How much do you spend on your medical bills in a month? Not much, except on an occasional fever or cold. Q. Have you come across the DoTs advertisement (January 2013), published in national and regional papers, regarding mobile safety guidelines and EMF norms? No Q. Which cell phone operator do you subscribe to? Airtel Q. Do you endorse the proposed ban on placing cell phone towers atop homes, schools, hospitals etc? Yes Q. Would you be worried if this ban would mean a drop in mobile network coverage and communication services? No Q. Do you have any ideas for how we can have our network coverage and be healthy too? Since the house belonged to a High Court lawyer, the operators had installed necessary security measures. If proper precautionary measures are taken cell towers are hardly harmful.

**What is ICNIRP?

80%

endorse the ban on cell towers for public health and safety

International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) is a WHO-recognised, non-governmental organisation of independent scientific experts working on uncovering the possible health effects of non-ionising radiation. *What is EM radiation? Electromagnetic radiations are invisible to the human eye and exist everywhere in nature. Light is an example of naturally occurring EM radiation. Electric and magnetic fields, radiofrequency and infrared radiation are all part of the spectrum of electromagnetic radiation. All electrical appliances produce extremely low frequency (ELF) fields while all communication and transmission devices produce radiofrequency (RF) fields. What is power density? Power density or volume power density is the amount of power or energy transferred per unit volume of the transmitting medium.

Share the sky

Total no. of cell sites in India 5,00,000 (approx.) Approximate share of: Bharti Airtel 20-22% Idea 18-20% Vodafone 20-22% Aircel 8-10%
Source: COAI