Possible Solution to Reduce ill effects of Cell Tower Radiation

From The Reports Of Prof. Girish Kumar, IIT , Mumbai.

There are several health hazards due to radiation from the  cell towers to the human, birds, animals & environment. In India we have adopted very relaxed  radiation norms of 4.7 w/sq.m for GSM 900, whereas serious health effects have been noted as low as 0.0001w/sq.m = 100 uw/sq.m. One of the first step to be taken is to tighten the radiation norms & yet it should be practical enough to be cost effective without causing  inconvenience  to the users.It is recommended that  maximum cumulative power density allowed  should be reduced immediate effect to 0.1 w/sq.m, which should then be subsequently reduced to 0.01 w/sq.m within  year, so that net work planning can be carried out in a phased manner. It must be noted that a few countries have been adopted 0.001 w / sq.m or lower, so our proposed recommendation is higher than these countries to keep it cost effective.
All the operators must be strictly instructed that power density inside  residential / office building , schools , hospitals & at  common frequently  visited places  should be within these guide lines. People must be informed about the harmful radiation effects & corrective measures taken  by  Government Of India. Also , people must be informed that for some time , they may have network problem due to reduction in the transmitted power but it is for their overall health benefit.
Solution is to have more number of cell towers with lesser transmitted power.
Self Certification by the operators must be immediately abolished , measurement must be done by third party. which is independent & trustworthy. Also , radiation measurements must be monitored continuously, so that operator should not increase the transmitted power during peak period.

more in next blog --!

Adverse effect on birds,animals,& environment

From the Reports of Prof. Girish Kumar, IIT, Mumbai. India.

Electromagnetic  radiation from cell Phone & cell tower affects the birds, animals, plants & environment. One would never see a bee, sparrow, pigeon or any birds flying & staying near the cell tower ? The reason is that surface area of bird  is relatively larger than their weight in comparison to human body, so they absorbs more radiation ( Power = Power density x area ). Since fluid content is small due to less weight, it gets heated up very fast & also the magnetic field disturb their navigation skills. It has been quoted  that Albert Einstein had said ," if the bee disappears  from the surface of the earth, man would have no more than four years to live."In the US, an abrupt disappearance of bees was observed several years  back & was associated with electromagnetic pollution.This is known as Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) where bees can not find their way back to hive, as a result of consistent electromagnetic back ground noise that seems to disrupt inter cellular communication within individual bees.

Recently, a sharp decline noticed in bee population in Kerala posing  a serious threat to honey bees.The state has the highest density of Mobile Towers. Similar cases have been observed in Bihar, Punjab , Nepal & other  parts of India & have been attributed to increasing  electro pollution in the environment.

Effects on birds :-              (In USA  birds met accidents in high cell tower)


When birds are exposed to weak  electromagnetic field, they disorient & begin to fly in all directions, which explains migratory birds  undermining navigational abilities . A large number of birds like pigeon, sparrows, swans are getting lost due to interference from the "unforeseen enemy ", i.e mobile phone masts. Several million birds of 230 species die each year from collision with the telecommunication masts in the U.S. during migration. Accidents happen mainly in the night, in fog or bad weather, when birds might be  using the earth's magnetic field for navigation & could be seriously disoriented by the microwave radiation from Telecommunication masts.

Effects on Plants :-
Apart from bees, birds & animals, EMR emanating from cell towers can also affect vegetables, crops & plants in its vicinity. Studies  show definitive clues that cell phone EMF can choke seeds, inhibit germination & root growth, thereby affecting the overall growth of agricultural crops & plants. Progressive deterioration of trees near phone masts has also been observed.

write more in next blog ---!

Radiation from Cell Towers --By Prof. Girish Kumar

From the Reports of Prof. Girish Kumar, IIT , Mumbai

A GSM 900 base station antenna transmits in the frequency range of 935 - 960 MHz. This  frequency band of  25 MHz is divided into twenty sub-bands of 1.2 MHz, which  are allocated to various operators. There may be several carrier frequencies ( 1 to  5 ) allotted to one operator with upper limit  of 6.2 MHz bandwidth . Each carrier frequency may transmit 10 to 20 w of power. So , are operator may transmit 50 to 100w of power & there  may be 3 to 4 operators on the same roof top or tower, there by total transmitted
power may be 200 to 400w. In addition, directional antennas are used, which  typically may have a gain of around 17dB( numeric value in 50 ), so effectively, several Kw of power may be transmitted in the main beam direction.


more write in next blog --!

Biological effects of microwave radiation

From the Reports of Prof. Girish Kumar , IIT , Mumbai.

When a human body is exposed to the electromagnetic radiation, it absorbs radiation, because human body consists of 70% liquid. It is similar to that of cooking in the microwave oven  where the water in the food content is heated first. Microwave absorption effect is much more significant by the body parts which contain more fluid ( water, blood etc.), like the brain which consists of above 90% 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 wave length of the cell tower transmitting frequencies, so there will be multiple resonances in the body, which creates localized heating inside the body.This results in boils, drying up the fluids around eyes, joints, heart, abdomen etc.
There are several health hazards associated with cell phones & cell towers.

more in next blog---!

Advantages & Disadvantages of Cell Phone Technology

From The Reports Of  Prof. Girish Kumar, IIT,Mumbai, Submitted to Department of Telecommunication, Govt. Of India. in last January 2010.

(This  important Report of Prof. Girish Kumar is produced here for the wide publicity & awareness of the  Public through this Blog ) :-

Cell Phone Technology has revolutionized the telecommunication scenario in India. Due to its several advantages, cell phone technology has grown exponentially in the last decade. Currently there are more 50 crore  cell phone users & nearly 4.5 lacks cell phone towers to meet the communication demand. The number of cell phone & cell towers  are increasing without giving due respect to its disadvantages. All over the World, people have been debating about associated health risk due to radiation from cell phone & cell towers. Radiation effects are divided into thermal & non thermal effects. Thermal effects are similar to that cooking in the microwave woven. Non thermal effects are not well defined but it has been reported that non thermal effects are 3 to 4 times more harmful than thermal effects.
A cell phone transmits 1 to 2 watts of power in the frequency range of 824 - 849 MHz (CDMA),890 -  915Mhz (GSM 900),& 1710 - 1780 Mhz (GSM1800). A cell phone has a SAR ( Specific Absorption Rate) rating. In USA , SAR limit for cell phone is 1.6 w / kg which is actually for 6 minutes per day usage. It has a safety margin of 3 to 4 , so a person should not use cell phone for more than 18 to  24 minutes / day. The information is not commonly known to the people in India.
Mobile Phone operators divide a region in large number of cells, & each cell is divided into number of sectors. The base  stations are normally configured to transmit different signals into each of these  sectors.
If number of users is distributed unevenly in the surrounding area,  then the sectors may be uneven. These  base stations are normally connected  directional antennas that are mounted on the roofs of building or on free- standing masts. A base stations & its transmitting power are designed in such a way that mobile phone should be able to transmit & receive enough signal for proper communication up to a few kilometers. Majority of these towers are mounted near the residential & office buildings to provide good mobile phone coverage  to the users. These cell tower transmit radiation 24x7, so people living within 10's of 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 !!
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It is observed by the Blogger -- that all over India , the Mobile Towers  are installed in mostly low mounted Building Roofs where all antennas are facing  densely Residential buildings /Schools , Hospitals & not having most cell towers any  "Aviation lights fixed in its top & Warning Sign BoardS for public " displayed as per Govt. guide lines ??? 

Health Effects from Cell Phone Towers in USA .

From the Reports  prepared by Mr.  Karen J . Rogers , USA. 

The safety of cell phone towers is the subject of extensive  Scientific debate . There is a growing body of scientific evidence that the electromagnetic radiation they emit even at low level, is dangerous to human health.
The Cell Phone Industry is expanding quickly, with over 100,000 cell phone towers now up across the U.S which is expected to increase ten fold over the next five years. The Industry has set what they say are  "Safe Levels ", of radiation exposure , but there are growing number of doctors  , physicists & health officials who strongly disagree , & foresee a public crisis.
Many Towers have been built recently in  Sisikiyon , Colorado, with dozens  more planned , as telecommunication companies rush to corner markets in this fast growing industry. These Towers emit  radio frequency ( RF ), a form of EMR, for a distance of upto 2-1/2 miles .
They are essentially the same frequency radiation as microwaves in microwave oven.
Studies have shown  that even at low levels of this radiation , there is evidence of damage to cell tissue & DNA,& it has been linked to brain tumors,cancer, suppressed immune function, depression, miscarriage,Alzheimer's disease, & numerous other serious illness. Children are the greatest  risk, due to their thinner skulls & rapid rate of growth. Also at greater risk are the elderly, the frail & pregnant woman. Doctors  from the U.K have issued warning urging children under 16 not to  use cell phones. to reduce their exposure to radio frequency ( RF ) radiation.
The  U.S Federal Communication Commission (FCC) is in charge of setting the standards of  exposure for the public, and claims that, based on scientific studies , the current levels are safe. But it is  not a public agency, & has been criticized as being " an arm of the industry ".
Many  who work for the FCC are either past, present or future employees of the very industries they are supposed  to regulate. With an explosively emergent $40 billion dollar a year  industry at stake,critics have stated " you can bet that their studies are going to show whatever they want to show ".
"U.S federal govt. also once told that asbestos, cigarettes,thalidomide, & the blood supply were"safe",
but which were later found to be harmful.
"You can bet that their studies are going to show whatever they want them to show "--- by 
 Cathy Bergman -- Veniza, at Vermont Law School , Environmental  Law Center conference, 1996.
The current U.S Standard for radiation exposure from cell phone towers is 580 -1000 micro watts 
per sq. cm ( mw/ sq.cm ),  among the least protective in the world. More progressive  European countries have set standards 100 to 1000 times lower than the U.S compare Australia at 200 micro watts.
Russia,Italy,& Toronto, Canada at 10, China at 6 & Switzerland at 4. In Salzburg , Austria the level is 0.1 micro watts ( Pulsed ),  10,000 times less than the U.S. The New Zealand has proposed more Stringent levels, at .02 micro watts , 50,000 times more protective than  the U.S Standard.
Contrary to what the Communication industry tells us, there is vast scientific , epidemiological & medical evidence that confirms that exposure to the RF & microwave radiation emitted from cell towers, even at low levels, can have profound adverse effects on biological systems.
"The worlds leading electromagnetic researchers say existing scientific knowledge is inadequate to set reliable exposure standards,"-- The Vienna resolution, 1998 . 
Cell Phone tower expose the  public to involuntary , Chronic, cumulative Radio Frequency Radiation.
Low levels of RFR have been shown to be  associated with changes in Cell proliferation &  DNA damage. Some Scientific studies  show adverse health effects reported in the .01 to 100mw/sq.cm range at levels hundred, indeed , thousands , of times lower than the  .U.S Standards. These harmful low levels of radiation can reach as far as a mile away from the cel bleeds, an increase in the seizures, blood brain barrier leakage problems, increased heart rates, lower sperm counts & impaired nervous systems.
There are no conclusive studies on the safety of such exposures & the growing body of scientific evidence reports such bio effects & adverse health effects are possible.
Dr. Neil Cherry , Ph.D. biophysicist from New Zealand reports that " There is no safe level of Radiation".
He said the standards are based on thermal effects , but important non-thermal effects also takes place , such as cell death & DNA  break down.. Dr. Cherry wrote " The EMR causes cells to change in a way that makes  them cancer forming". It can increase the risk of cancer two to five times ,
He said " To claim there is no adverse effect from the phone towers flies in the face of large body of Evidence".
Deputy Director of the Department of  Health & Human services , Elizabeth Jacobsen, has stated that the safety of  RF "has not been established nor has the necessary research been conducted to test it ", and cites risk of brain cancer, tumors & DNA breakdown.
The California Public Utility Commission has urged the cell phone industry to, not locate towers near schools or hospitals. " Quite justifiably, the public remains the skeptical of attempts by Governments & Industry to reassure them that all is well, particularly given the unethical way in which they often operate symbiolically  so as to promote their own vested interests ."
The U.S industry lobbied  congress with $39 million dollar in 1996 to ensure passage of a law which essentially gives them the right to place these towers in our neighborhoods, & makes it next to impossible to oppose them based on health reasons. Citizens & Communities across the country ( U.S )
are angered, & are protesting this imposition of involuntary, 24 hour-a-day microwave exposure. As one Citizen stated " There is no place left to escape".
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From this valuable Report,we can conclude that Cell Tower Radiation is a silent killer of the public in
present environment  of our  beautiful  Planet Earth.
more in next blog ---!

Effects of Cell Phones & Cell Towers !

In continuation  of the earlier blog :-

The upper limit is so high that within next few years  the health of  1 crore  Indians could be affected.
But if the recommendations  of the Inter-Ministerial Report submitted by Experts on Cell Phone Towers
radiation submitted to Department of Telecommunications  are accepted then soon there will be stricter restrictions on towers being installed near high density residential areas & schools. At present we follow
ICNRIP guide lines for radiation which allow radiation rate of  9.2 watts per sq. mtre. to be limited. The report recommends  this level should come down by one-tenth. At the same time the report clearly states that the safe limit for our  health is 1000 times less than even the recommended limit.
Experts, like Prof. Girish Kumar , Hd.of Dept.for Electrical Engg. IIT , Bombay, the harmful effects of radiation who worked for more than three decades who is still not very optimistic!
"The number of people having health  problems is more in the areas where radiation limits are high, India has adopted the worst radiation norms in the entire world. " said Prof. Kumar.
It is understood from print media long time ago that The Indian council of Medical  Research ( ICMR ) has flagged off a large scale research project to examine the health impact of mobile tower radiation.

Only for the sake of  multi-crore  business being bottom line in this industry of  cell phones, Health of Indians not being the priority , the Deptts. like  TRAI , DoT, & Telecom ministry of India & above all Political & Cut money policy , all are  sleeping on the Reports submitted by Experts, corruption like , there is no sign of implementation of the report which will soon complete  2 years soon after its submission.
More write in next Blog

Effects of Cell Phones & Cell Tower Radiation !

Currently in India number of cell phones  are more than 50 crore cell phone users.
Nearly 5.4 lacs Cell Phone Towers are now In India.

Experts like Prof. Girish Kumar,IIT Mumbai ,says that the amount  of Radiation emitted  from these towers in a day is equivalent to putting  one's body in an oven for 19 minutes.

He again says that Half an hour of cell Phone use a day, increases Brain Cancer Risk.

A landmark 10 - year study undertaken by the WHO has found that people who speak on this handset for more than half an hour a day for over 10 years are at risk of brain Cancer.

Experts says that for some people , short term effect from cell tower radiation exposure may include  --headache, sleep disorders, poor memory, mental excitation, confusion, anxiety, depression & listlessness.

According to ICNIRP guide lines exposure to Radio Frequency  fields ( of the 1800 MHz spectrum) in   India = 9.2 watts per sqm.,  Aucland = 0.50 watts per sqm . Russia ( since 1972 ) =0.02 watts per sqm.,    New South Wales  = 0.00001 watts per sqm.


 Courtesy  : Prof.Girish Kumar.
In view of the  above India has the worst  cell phone tower Radiation norms in the World.

Write more in next blog

Effects & meaning of Electromagnetic Radiation !

Discussion on the Post :-

Electromagnetic radiation ( EMR ) is energy in waves ( like visible light ), emitted from a source. It travels at the speed of light. This energy is both electrical & magnetic. The waves alternate rapidly, from positive to negative in electrical terms., & from north to south pole in magnetic terms.
Electricity& magnetism are very closely related in nature. For example, when an alternating magnetic wave penetrates a body ( including yours ) an alternating electric current will flow inside that body.
Electromagnetic radiation from a source , & weakens with increasing distance until it becomes too small to measure.

A strong EMF can be due to a powerful source of radiation far away, or a weak radiation source very close by. That is why the EMF your body experiences from your cell phone ( when you make a call ) is much stronger than the EMF you experience from the cell phone tower. ( Although the cell phone is a weak radiation source , it is located very close to your person, whereas the much more powerful cell tower is located thousands of times further away ). Extremely Low Frequency ( ELF ) radiation will actually penetrate concrete pillars , concrete slabs & metal sheets & of course human flesh & bone.
Penetration is a Key issue when it comes to EMR health effects.

Modified Currents and Voltage generate oscillation of the electrical and magnetic field, which propagates in space.The electric & magnetic components oscillate at right angles to each other, these waves are termed as Electro  Magnetic Radiations ( EMRs).The Cell phone Towers emit electro magnetic rays with a frequency of 1900 MHz. With this high frequency, they can easily pass through human bodies & concrete walls. Our immune system can be harmfully affected when these EMR rays pass through our body Cell phone towers radioactivity can thus affect every living thing in one square kilometers.

People who live in a high- EMF Neighbourhood -- Anyone who lives within range of Electric power lines or cell phone Towers for several ( Five ? ) years or more ( and especially children ). The range depends on the electromagnetic field strength & distribution pattern. Generally 400 meters or more seems to be a safe distance for most power lines/Cell phone Towers. It is worth noting that when the body is overwhelmed by too much electromagnetic radiation, health effects can occur many years later.
In India Telecom Department have not made compulsary  in most sites with 'warning signs' visible,saying "Danger RF Radiations, do not enter , restricted Area " as in case of  High Tension Power Transmission Electric  lines  are seen with Danger  signs.
More in next Blog !

How safe are you from Cell Tower Radiation ?

Most of the cell tower radiation risk is because the cell phone towers are in residential colonies when they  should be  away from such places the antennae on the towers are too low when they ought to be at greater height, they are far too many when there should be fewer & they are in wrong  places  though guide lines specifically state where there should not be.
EMR safety standards in India are based largely on a 1996 document called 'Health Assessment Statement' by the  International Commission on Non- ionising Radiation Protection ( ICNIRP ), an international independent  non-profit registered  in Germany, ICNIRP  has science experts who "address the possible adverse  effects on human health exposure to non- ionising radiation". In their assessment , the ICNIRP said 600 milliwatt/meter square was a safe limit of radiation for the general public. The ICNIRP also issued separate guide lines on maintaining safe limits for cell phone towers, which India telecom wing adopted in 2008. In India, Cogent classifies emr levels upto 600mw/msq. as safe. Border line is from 601 to 1000mw/msq., unsafe is from 1001 to 4000 mw/msqm. & extreme anomaly  is above 4000 mw/msqm.
In the  long term, we need to find ways of providing cell phone convenience without exposing people to the existing dangers of cell tower radiation.
In recent past there are  lot of discussion on this issue are taking place in India to have more safe application  of Cell tower to restrict its installation out of residential , commercial , hospital & school zone.It is very essential to save human health from effects of huge radiations from cell towers either by making  land bank or specific Zones to be  made throughout the country like  USA, Canada, UK & other developed countries to save huge population of Human to make a pollution free/radiation free environment with ecological balance to save our Planet.
More in Next Blog --!

How safe are you from Cell Tower Radiation ?

EMR has a public impact & an individual impact, it impacts a public area when it comes from antennae on cell phone towers, which are the principal source of EMR.
In Delhi alone had 1800 cell towers in 2006, 6000 New cell towers added after that.Had bare minim.radiation level in 2006.
A thousands times more now. There is a new threat in Delhi as per  the radiation  level  was measured  by a  journalist of Tehelka, weekly magazine, that top100 spots of Delhi were mapped in 2010,  revealed & declared in the report  that Delhi is a RADIATION CITY of India. Four fifths of Delhi lives  in unsafe Zones. Prime Minister Monmohan Singh's home is a border line zone. The head quarters of the Congress Party is highly unsafe.
Other sources of emr,which have individual impact, are cell phones, Wi-Fi, blue tooth, microwave ovens, air conditioners,TV sets, refrigerators & other home appliances here, the risk is private because a person chooses to buy these products & this choice does not affect any one other than himself & his house hold.
In the case of emr from cell towers however the risk to health is public. Therefore , the radiation survey in public places, with Cogent emr solution Ltd. a Delhi based  co. that tracks the increase in emr levels across India  & does  radiation audits for Telecom operators.
EMR from cell phone towers is a form  of non-ionising radiation that takes time to show up, it does not interrupt DNA & is similar to the way smoking affects the human body. EMR is like slow poison, it tends to lull people to its effects. So. people may complain of headaches, fatigue, for instance & attribute them to the hurly-burly of daily life , in time they may develop a  high risk of  Cancer.
More write in next blog --!

Cell Tower radiation limits,safe distance & health effects.

The current US Standards for cell site radiation in the US is 580--1000 micro watts per square centimeter.Many other countries have set levels hundreds of times lower.The reason for the desparity is that no one really knows what level of  towers radiation is safe.
Current limits have been influenced more by economic & political imperative than by research into health & safety.
 The safe levels of Power density are 0.1 mw/sq.mtr as adopted by China,Russia,Swiss & Italy,the current situation in our terrace is much above 9000 mw/sq.metere (Microw watt/sq. mtr as measured by a  RF meter).There are conflicting study reports on the potential health ramifications....
But  history has proved in the past that even for matters like Cigarettes & Asbestos, we have a lot of BLOOD on our hands since the past 80 years.
Different Cell Sites emit different amounts of radiation. Radiation levels from  a single cell site vary, depending on usage. Radiation around a single cell tower may not be uniform--- there can be hot & cold spots.
Measurement with a suitable meter is the only way to know how much radiation  you are receiving at a particular spot.But it seems 400meters is a safe distance for most people & smaller distances may also be safe in some cases.
Short term effects from cell tower radiation exposure may include headaches, sleep disorders,poor memory, mental excitation, confusion, anxiety, depression,appetite disturbance & listlessness.
Radio frequency ( RF ) Gauss meter designed  for measuring electromagnetic radiation in cell phone frequency ( microwave ) range. How much cell tower radiation is too much for your long-term health?
No one is exactly sure.But if you detect more than 100mv/m (milli volts per meter)in places where you spend several hours a day, you might consider planning a Relocation.
Cell Tower Safety is a Public concern. In the long term, we need to find ways of providing cell phone convenience without exposing people to the existing dangers of cell tower radiation.