Airtel, Voda, 5 others get DoT notice for high radiation

The notices asking these companies to immediately stop excess radiation from their BTS (base transceiver station) towers were issued after a team of officials found one of the sites (at Kanjur Marg ) in the megapolis which houses 11 BTSs of eight telcos, emitting radiation levels much above permissible limits, a DoT release said here this evening.

The violation was detected when random measurements were carried out in some houses near the BTS antennas.

The site had BTS from RCom, Tata Tele, Airtel, Vodafone, Idea, Aircel and Loop, the release said, adding on the spot orders were issued to the seven operators to stop radiating from these BTSs with immediate effect.

On September 1, the government lowered electromagnetic frequency exposure limit from base station emission to one-tenth of the existing level and declared that it would slap a penalty of Rs 5 lakh for non-compliance per tower per operator.

The norms adopted here are at par with those in EU countries but higher than some Asian countries.

The DoT statement further said it has taken steps to enforce latest radiation standards in respect of electro magnetic radiations (EMR) from mobile towers.

The inspection of these sites was part of a random verification of compliance to the new EMF standards by the Operators, the release said.

Following high radiation levels, all the telcos have been directed to carry out a comprehensive exercise to identify all BTSs which are non-compliant as per latest radiation norms and ensure that they are either shut down or made compliant with respect to the radiation norms failing which penal action would be taken against delinquent operators, the release said.

The government has also adopted stringent norms for mobile handsets by making it mandatory for all new handsets to comply with the specific absorption rate (SAR) values of 1.6 watt/kg averaged over 1 g of human tissue.

Mobile handsets with existing designs which are compliant with 2 watt/kg averaged over 10 g of human tissue will continue to co-exist upto August 31, 2013.

From next September, only mobile handsets with revised SAR values of 1.6 watt/kg will be permitted to be manufactured or imported into the country.