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Continuous exposure to cellphone radiation can affect brain, says research
India Created: 26 Dec 2017
NEW DELHI: While debate continues over the impact of mobile phone radiation on health, a study on cockroaches has found that continuous exposure to electromagnetic radiation from cellphones can result in widespread effects on the brain, neurons, developing cells and enzyme systems.

The study by researchers from the Department of Zoology, University College, Thiruvananthapuram, showed that radiation from mobile phones can elevate levels of neurotransmitters in cockroaches that are also present in humans. The study was published in scientific journal Current Science.

“The present study clearly explained the physiological and biochemical basis of the adverse effects of EMR (electromagnetic radiation) and is a warning for judicious use of mobile phones,” the study concluded.

Exposure of adult male cockroaches to electromagnetic radiation emitted by mobile phones has resulted in sharp changes in the enzymes systems of fat body and haematological profile.

During the study, about 15 healthy male cockroaches were put in two separate plastic containers of equal size.

The test box containing cockroaches was exposed to radiation for one, three and six hours by a full call (approximately one minute) per five minutes to the mobile phone that was kept inside the box.

“There was sharp decline in the protein content of fat body and content of acetylcholine in the central nervous system showed a sharp increase. Organisms were found to be inert and lethargic after the third hour of EMR treatment,” said the study.Cell phone usage is a major public health concern because of potential risk of chronic exposure to low level of radio frequency and microwave radiation.

“Just a few calls at duration was sufficient for cockroaches to undergo drastic changes in the metabolism of protein, characterised by depletion of fat body protein, accompanied by a sharp increase of total free amino acids,” the study said. A similar result was observed in another study on red flour beetle exposed to low intensity microwave.
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Source: New Indian Express, Richa Sharma, 26 Dec 2017

Wireless connectivity silently creating medical problems, including damaging human DNA: Expert
India Created: 2 Nov 2017
CHANDIGARGH: A 39-year-old acoustic engineer who worked in a television studio for eight hours a day and six days a week for eight years went to see an ENT doctor after he felt the ground turn under his feet. He was also constantly ill at ease.

The symptoms did not have a pattern and the doctor was not able to pinpoint a diagnosis. The engineer was asked to go on a month-long vacation in the countryside -- sans most of the technology around him. When he returned, the symptoms had disappeared.

"In my area (of work), I see a lot of patients, especially young ones, who come up with complex symptoms. These symptoms were not so common earlier. I have been in the medicine field since 1985. I am talking about things (symptoms) of the last 10 years, which I did not see in my last 20 years before that," Dr Vikas Nehru, an ENT (ear, nose, throat) surgeon by profession and training, told IANS in an interview here.

Nehru, who is now a Dubai-based specialist and worked as an Associate Professor at the Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) here, has highlighted the growing instances of health issues related to the use of technology -- especially the electro-magnetic (EM) radiation coming from the devices -- in his recently released book 'Global Wireless Spiderweb'.

"There are certain medical problems which we ourselves had also not seen earlier. We had no diagnosis and treatment. I researched a lot in this field. These problems are related to things that happened particularly in the last 10 years, though it started in the later part of the 20th century," Nehru said.

"We are increasingly exposed to an invisible web of radiation all around us through the wireless devices we love so much. With the advent of cloud computing and the Internet of Things set to launch more than a trillion smart devices, the radiation is only going to get worse," he warned.

In his book, Nehru breaks down the implications of a paradigm shift that has changed "invention from a child of necessity to a mother of greed".

Explaining what science tells us about the web of radiation, Nehru said: "We are seeing more brain tumors, higher incidences of infertility, more cases of electro-hypersensitivity, and numerous other disorders. Even more concerning, radiation is damaging the human DNA."

"Huge corporations continue to fund their own studies offering a false counter-narrative to make people feel safe. They also employ lobbyists to deflect attention from public health to what's in their own best interests. The governments are letting the usage of wireless technology to be implemented without realizing the health consequences of it," he said.

Many institutions have looked at EMF and have not painted the dire predictions that the doctor says could be the outcome. A UN body cautioned against too much use of mobile phones, but definitive studies on adverse effect of EMF are not available.

Nehru says the "invisible waves are becoming denser and denser by the day. This is not good. Nobody is even talking about the bad effects of this radiation. People only talk about air pollution. There is not even a mention of electro-magnetic pollution."

Actor Juhi Chawla, who has read Nehru's research and recently launched his book in Mumbai, is involved with a NGO that is creating awareness about the harmful effects of EM radiation.

Nehru pointed out that to strengthen the network of mobiles and WiFi, mobile towers are being increased and boosters are being installed to ensure that signals reach all corners.

"A new layer has been added to our atmosphere by human activity. Starting from 1G and 2G which mostly used wired technology, we are now using 3G and 4G technologies which carry signals into space. The 5G technology, which we are looking forward to, can be very harmful," he said.

Mobile phones have come under attack from many NGOs and activists, but several studies have pointed to only mild effects.
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Source: New Indian Express, 31 Oct 2017

Court grants injunction against activating mobile tower
India Created: 11 Oct 2017
A Mysuru court has granted temporary injunction against activating a mobile tower in Gokulam 3rd Stage in the city following a petition by residents of the locality.

The Principal First Civil Judge and JMFC at Mysuru has restrained the telecommunication company and other defendants from activating the tower.

The next hearing of the case has been posted to November 13, said advocate P.P. Baburaj, who is appearing for the residents of the locality.

Roopalakshmi, a resident of Gokulam 3rd Stage and eight others had filed an application in the court claiming that the residents living close to the mobile tower will be in a high radiation zone and hence prone to ill-effects of electromagnetic radiation.

The plaintiffs feared that the structure on which the tower had been installed was 30-35 years old and the same could collapse.
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Source: The Hindu, 12 Oct 2017

New mobile-phone mast study confirms radiation causes DNA damage via oxidative-stress
India Created: 30 Aug 2017
Impact of radiofrequency radiation on DNA damage and antioxidants in peripheral blood lymphocytes of humans residing in the vicinity of mobile phone base stations.

Electromagn Biol Med. 2017 Aug 4:1-11.

Zothansiama et al.

Abstract

Radiofrequency radiations (RFRs) emitted by mobile phone base stations have raised concerns on its adverse impact on humans residing in the vicinity of mobile phone base stations.

Therefore, the present study was envisaged to evaluate the effect of RFR on the DNA damage and antioxidant status in cultured human peripheral blood lymphocytes (HPBLs) of individuals residing in the vicinity of mobile phone base stations and comparing it with healthy controls.

The study groups matched for various demographic data including age, gender, dietary pattern, smoking habit, alcohol consumption, duration of mobile phone use and average daily mobile phone use.

The RF power density of the exposed individuals was significantly higher (p < 0.0001) when compared to the control group.

The HPBLs were cultured and the DNA damage was assessed by cytokinesis blocked micronucleus (MN) assay in the binucleate lymphocytes.

The analyses of data from the exposed group (n = 40), residing within a perimeter of 80 m of mobile base stations, showed significantly (p < 0.0001) higher frequency of micronuclei when compared to the control group, residing 300 m away from the mobile base station/s. The analysis of various antioxidants in the plasma of exposed individuals revealed a significant attrition in glutathione (GSH) concentration (p < 0.01), activities of catalase (CAT) (p < 0.001) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) (p < 0.001) and rise in lipid peroxidation (LOO) when compared to controls.

Multiple linear regression analyses revealed a significant association among reduced GSH concentration (p < 0.05), CAT (p < 0.001) and SOD (p < 0.001) activities and elevated MN frequency (p < 0.001) and LOO (p < 0.001) with increasing RF power density.

Related news:
Jul 2015, United Kingdom: Metabolic imbalance caused by radiation from wireless devices linked to many health risks
Jul 2015, Ukraine: 93 of 100 studies confirm Oxidative Stress from RF-radiation: review
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Source: PubMed, Zothansiama et al., 04 Aug 2017

Brain tumour among children on the rise in India
India Created: 11 Jul 2017
New Delhi: Cases of brain tumour, especially among children, have witnessed an increase in the country in the recent years.

Brain tumour is a cancerous or a non-cancerous mass of growth of abnormal cells in the brain and is a leading cause of death in India. Shockingly, it is on the rise in the age group of 3-15 years, where the chances of survival are also less.

Every year over 2,500 of the Indian children suffer from medulloblastoma, a paediatric malignant primary brain tumour.

“It is rising in the paediatric age group of 3-15. This month alone we saw 10 such cases of malignant cancerous tumour,” said Dr P.N. Pandey from the department of neurosurgery in Lok Nayak Jai Prakash (LNJP) Hospital.

“In such cases, the tumour is mostly uncontrolled and starts developing when the baby is in the prenatal stage. Survival, in such cases, is one to two years after the tumour is detected in the child,” he said. The doctor added that the environmental factors to which a mother is exposed, affect the baby in both pre natal and post natal life.

According to a study in 2016, every year 40,000-50,000 persons are diagnosed with brain tumour in India, out of which 20 per cent are children. The study showed a drastic increase in the cases of brain tumour in children post 2015. Doctors said that this could be attributed to long-term mobile use.

“There is a lot of literature that establishes a link between mobile radiation and brain tumour. Mobile phones emit radiation from their antennas and kids are at high risk as they possess soft tissues near the ear. It is advisable for children, adolescents, and also pregnant women, to use headphones while on call or use the speaker,” said Dr P.K. Sethi, professor and consultant of the neurology department at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital.

Even in elder patients, more and more brain tumour cases are being recorded than before. Out of 3,800 surgeries conducted in AIIMS per year, around 1,500 pertain to brain tumour.

“In the neurology OPD, we get around 10 to 15 per cent cases of brain tumour. The waiting list is also increasing every year. Currently, it ranges from three to six months,” said Dr A.K. Mahapatra, professor and chief of the department of neurosurgery at AIIMS.

Doctors, however, added that the rising number of cases can also be attributed to unawareness among the public and enhanced technology through which diagnostic detection has increased.

“In LNJP, out of every 80 patient, five are suffering from brain tumour. Earlier, people didn’t consult doctors for headaches. An increased awareness has led to recording of more such cases,” said Dr Pandey.

However, not all these patients are from Delhi. Government hospitals see a lot of influx from neighbouring states like Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, etc.
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Source: The Asian Age, SHAGUN KAPIL, 10 Jul 2017

Ghaziabad authority plans to relocate mobile towers from residential areas to parks
India Created: 26 May 2017
The Ghaziabad development authority is planning to relocate mobile phone towers installed on residential and commercial buildings to parks where more space is available.

The officials said nearly 30 parks have been identified in developed-and under development colonies where the mobile phone towers can be erected.

According to official estimates, the city has over 700 mobile phone towers and the number is increasing by the day.

Such towers are installed on rooftops of residential highrises or other buildings. There are also instances where the towers are installed on school buildings in Ghaziabad.

As per the norms issued in 2006, mobile phone towers are not allowed in residential areas and in no case should it be in a 100-metre radium of schools, hospitals and temples.

“We have identified 30 parks and sent the locations to the horticulture and the engineering departments to conduct a survey for availability of vacant spaces. If space is available, and it is feasible for the cellular operators to relocate the towers, we will allow the relocation,” said Ishtiyak Ahmad, chief architect & town planner, GDA.

The areas where the plan is proposed include localities in Kavi Nagar, Shastri Nagar, Patel Nagar, Indirapuram, Vaishali, Vasundhara, Raj Nagar, Madhuban Bapudham and Govindpuram among others. The authority has already got installed eight mobile towers at their community centres, away from dense population.

According to officials, the building by-laws also permit tower installation in parks and green belts. They added that more than one mobile phone tower can also be allowed but it requires a minimum distance of 250 metres between the two.

“This is planned as residents often complain against the installation of mobile phone towers on their buildings and also adjacent to their houses. Once the survey is completed by our department, we will finalise locations and explore possibilities for relocation,” he added.

In 2015, a committee of GDA officials had finalised guidelines for installation of mobile phone towers and recommended that they be allowed in open spaces, parks and on green belts.

The committee had also decided that for installing towers in properties such as residential, commercial and office space, the permission of the GDA board would be mandatory.

For group housing residential areas, the approval of the local residents’ welfare association was also made mandatory.
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Source: Hindustan Times, Peeyush Khandelwal, 25 May 2017

Supreme Court shuts down celltower after Man claims it gave him cancer
India Created: 12 Apr 2017
NEW DELHI: A 42-year-old domestic help will go down in history as the man who persuaded the Supreme Court to shut down a mobile phone tower on the ground that its electromagnetic radiation afflicted him with cancer.
Last year, Harish Chand Tiwari, who works at the residence of Prakash Sharma in the Dal Bazar area of Gwalior, moved the SC through advocate Nivedita Sharma, complaining that a BSNL tower illegally installed on a neighbour's rooftop in 2002 had exposed him to harmful radiation 24x7 for the last 14 years.

The order is likely to further fuel the debate over the effects of radiation from mobile phone towers with a section of activists feeling vindicated while the government argues there is no evidence to prove that the waves cause cancer.
Radiation from the BSNL tower, less than 50 metres from the house where he worked, afflicted him with Hodgkin's Lymphoma caused by continuous and prolonged exposure to radiation, Tiwari complained.
In a recent order, a bench of Justices Ranjan Gogoi and Navin Sinha said, "We direct that the particular mobile tower shall be deactivated by BSNL within seven days from today." The tower will be the first to be closed on an individual's petition alleging harmful radiation.

The SC, which began hearing the issue relating to radiation from cell towers from March 18 last year, had asked the parties to file additional documents to show that radiation from such towers were harmful to humans and animals.
Private petitioners have been predicting disastrous consequences in the future.
Activists have alleged that radiation from mushrooming mobile phone towers have caused sparrows, crows and bees to vanish.
But the Cellular Operators Association of India and the Union government have vehemently denied the allegations and said such fears were unfounded and that no scientific study had conclusively linked mobile phone tower radiation to cancer or vanishing of sparrows, crows and bees.

The department of telecom (DoT) in its affidavit before the SC in October last year had said that of the over 12 lakh mobile phone towers in the country, it had tested 3.30 lakh towers.
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Source: Times of India, Dhananjay Mahapatra, 12 Apr 2017

Cell Tower Radiation: Experts for capping, monitoring
India Created: 23 Mar 2017
Radiation from a carrier's cell tower was found over the limit set by a World Health Organisation guideline, an expert committee said in a report submitted to the High Court yesterday.

The committee recommended directing Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) to take steps to reduce the excessive radiation from the Base Transceiver Stations [mobile towers] set up by the six mobile phone operators across the country.

It recommended asking the BTRC to monitor the radiation of all cell towers on a regular basis and instructing the ministry of post and telecommunication and the BTRC to formulate a policy or guideline for controlling the radiation.

According to the WHO, excessive radiation from cell towers harms public health and the environment.

Prof Shafiqul Islam, chairman of the department of nuclear engineering in Dhaka University, said, “Long term exposure to radiation can cause rash, itching, bloodshot eyes, loss of sight and even loss of limbs.”

The expert committee formed by the health ministry in 2013 prepared the report after testing a number of cell towers in Dhaka city, Deputy Attorney General Kazi Zinat Hoque told reporters citing the report.

The health ministry placed the report to the HC through Zinat as per an earlier order.

The six members of the expert committee were: Foyez Ahmed, joint secretary to the ministry of forest and environment, Prof Quazi Deen Mohammad, former principal of Dhaka Medical College, Prof Pran Kanai Saha, head of electric engineering department of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, Prof Md Adnan Kibar, head of applied physics department of Dhaka University, Col Md Zakir Hossain, director general (engineering and operation) of the BTRC, and Md Mahbubur Rahman, professor of radiology of Dhaka Medical College Hospital.

After going through the report yesterday, the HC bench of Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed and Justice Md Salim fixed March 28 for passing an order on the issue.

Following a writ petition filed by Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh, the HC on October, 2012, ordered the government to examine, by forming an expert committee, the radiation emitted from mobile-phone towers, its impact on health and environment and submit a report.

The court also issued a rule upon the officials concerned of the government to explain why they should not be directed to stop radiation from cell towers.

During the hearing on the rule yesterday, petitioner's counsel Manzill Murshid prayed to the HC to direct the government to get a report from the WHO on the radiation emitted by mobile towers in Bangladesh and to submit it to the HC.

The HC will pass an order on his prayer on March 28, Manzill told The Daily Star.

“A couple of years ago we started a process with the international telecommunication union to measure the radiation emitted by a tower of a mobile phone operator, but we are yet to get any findings,” said BTRC Chairman Shahjahan Mahmood.

According to telecom operators, there are around 34,000 cell towers across the country, of which market leader Grameenphone has 12,000.

Merged entity Robi and Airtel has another 12,000 towers, while Banglalink has about 7,000 and state-owned Teletalk 3,800.
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Source: The Daily Star, Staff Correspondent, 23 Mar 2017

City’s elite move High Court over harmful radiation
India Created: 16 Mar 2017
Chandigarh’s elite today sent bells of concern ringing by filing a petition in public interest before the Punjab and Haryana High Court for protecting citizens from harmful radiation emanating from mobile towers in residential areas.

Virtually slamming the powers that be for apparent disconnect between them and health concerns of the people, Anuradha Saboo, Shivani Sehgal and Tani Sehgal of Sector 5 claimed that they were alarmed at the “callous and careless manner” in which the UT Administration was permitting telecom companies to erect mobile towers in residential areas.
They were doing so with “utter disregard for the health of its citizens”. This, they contended, was in contravention of all norms, including the policies of the Administration.

From page 1
The three also sought the issuance of directions to the Administration to strike down the policy dated March 9, 2015, “to the extent it permits the setting up of mobile towers in residential areas”.
Taking up the petition this morning, Justice SS Saron and Justice Gurmit Ram put the UT Administration on notice before fixing April 28 as the next date of hearing in the matter.
In their petition through Suvineet Sharma and other counsel, Saboo and the other petitioners contended that the issue came to their attention when a cell tower was raised in proximity to their residences. “Such a tower affects the health and well-being of the petitioners and their families. Yet, it has equally dangerous ramifications for anyone who is a resident of the surrounding area,” they contended.

Not limiting their concerns to Sector 5 alone, they added that the petition was being filed by Sector 5 residents, but the issue at hand was of much larger purport, and had far-reaching consequences.
The court was told that the petitioners were well aware of the needs of a modern society, whose progress was based on digital empowerment. They were also well aware of the ambitions of the government when it came to establishing a nationwide digital footprint. “However, the establishment must not lose sight of the fact that any progress that comes at the cost of its citizens’ health cannot be, and should not be, acceptable”.
Referring to the arguments on behalf of industry associations such as the Cellular Operators Association of India that there was not enough empirical data to suggest damage, the petitioners claimed that it was directly in contravention of established principles in international and domestic laws.

Technicalities involved
The petitioners claimed that mobile phones worked on “electromagnetic radiation”, and the rate at which energy was absorbed by the human body was measured by the specific absorption rate (SAR), which the Government of India had fixed for every handset.
The Department of Telecom, too, had issued guidelines for states when it came to setting up of cell towers/base stations. These guidelines found no mention in the notification issued by the UT, under which licences were granted to companies to set up their towers.
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Source: The Tribune India, Saurabh Malik, 15 Mar 2017

New Zealand, Indian researchers to study health impacts of 5G networks
India Created: 30 Jun 2016
Researchers from New Zealand and India will jointly investigate the possibilities of adverse effects of electromagnetic radiation on human health caused by the next generation of telecommunication networks called 5G, a New Zealand researcher said in a statement on Wednesday.

Massey University will collaborate with India’s Birla Institute of Technology and Auckland University of Technology on the project ‘Analysing Harmful Electromagnetic Exposure due to Future Millimeter Wave Transmissions’ over 2016-2017.

“If the future wireless signals are found to be harmless to the human health, this project would build consumer confidence in the future telecommunication services. However, if this project shows that the 5G network leads to, or potentially may lead to adverse health impacts, the industry would be required to modify the underlying wireless technology to ensure the human well being,” principal investigator Faraz Hasan, School of Engineering and Advanced Technology, Massey University, said in the statement.
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Source: Indian Express, IANS, Jun 30 2016

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