EMF emissions do not cause health hazards: COAI

Cellular Operators Association of India, the apex body of mobile communications companies, today said the Electro Magnetic Field (EMF) emissions from antennae on cell towers and mobile handsets do not cause any health hazards.
"India presently has 900 million mobile phone connections and more than 80 per cent of the population has access to mobile telephony.
"The growth has given rise to concerns regarding the danger to public health caused by the EMF emissions and myths have been floated without any scientific basis," COAI Director General Rajan S Mathews told reporters here.
COAI has launched a public awareness campaign, using reference books, videos and roadshows involving experts from oncology, radioliogy, molecular and physical science and WHO to allay health fears and dipel myths surrounding mobile towers and handsets.

Titled 'Mobile Networks and Public Health' series, this is the first time eminent experts from India and world over have come together on a common platform to dispel 'unwarranted fears' of health hazards from mobile towers and handsets, he said.
The Department of Telecom has also recognised the issue that a large section of Indian public harboured unwarrnated fears that were not based on scientific data and facts. AVS Suresh, Oncologist from hyderabad said radio frequency signals from the base stations are 'too low' to affect health.

On reports about disappearance of sparrows and honey bees, he said there was lot of myth associated with the experiments in this regard. Habitual change has led to fall in population of sparrows. "You require about one lakh cell towers to be placed around sparrows for them to disapper," he said.

Suresh said reports relating to cell phone radiation causing infertility were 'absolutely baseless'. There was no established link between radiation and infertility.
Deputy DG, DOT, Reghunandan, said the Centre was committed to strictly enforcing the norms. There are 35,000 plus BTS in Kerala of which testing has been completed on 8,000 stations, he said.