Lead healthy lifestyle with mobile phones

It is true that mobile phones have brought in revolution in telecommunications industry. The expected mobile phone usage in India is projected to be 500 million (half of the population) within a short period of time. As per the recent reports, of the service providers are planning to erect over 90,000 base stations all over India to meet the ever increasing demand from rural areas! Mobile phone usage is very predominant in the new lifestyle adopted by younger generation. Mobiles are often given to children to play by the ever obliging parents. The scenario is not different in other countries.

Communication between a mobile phone and the nearest base station is achieved by the microwave radiation emissions from the transmitters connected to the antennas mounted at the base stations. These base stations are erected on top of buildings or specially built towers. There is much apprehension worldwide about the long-term health effects due to the exposure of people residing near the base stations and the mobile phone users to the radiofrequency emissions. Health effects such as heating of the exposed tissues, increased risk of malignant tumors (cancers) in the head and ears, genetic effects due to exposure of body cells to the radiofrequency (RF) radiations, etc. are reported in the literature.

Keeping in mind of the above uncertainties, including scanty nature of the studies and the gaps in our knowledge about the health effects of RF radiation, it is advised to keep the exposures much below the prescribed international guidelines. Use mobile phones for messaging only. Hand-free phones are safer. Since children are more sensitive to the radiation, mobile phones should be kept away from children.

There is a need for strict regulation to ensure that the manufacturers of the mobile phones maintain the radiation emission levels of the mobiles much lower than the standards. The base stations should be shared among the service providers to minimize the required number of base stations. Base stations near schools and crowded areas should be avoided.

There should be a dedicated regulatory body for strict regulation of the mobile phone usage. The regulators should periodically monitor the ambient RF levels near the base stations and display the readings for public knowledge and for checking compliance with the set limits by regulators. House insurance/health insurance schemes should also look into the safety of erecting antenna on the residential building tops.