ICMR studying impact of cellphone use on health

"The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has initiated a multi-centric study in Delhi/ NCR to address this issue. Efforts are going on to examine whether use of cell phones can create risk of neurological, cardiological, cancer, ENT and reproductive disorders," Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said in written reply to a query in Rajya Sabha.

"Efforts are also on to measure specific absorption rate, power density wave length and frequency of Radio Frequency radiation (RFR) emitted from various types of cell phones and towers under this study," he said.

He said a senior ICMR scientist was part of an inter-ministerial committee to develop necessary guidelines for fixing safe exposure limits of RFR along with other related topics in the country.

"On basis of recommendations of this committee, norms for exposure limit for the Radio Frequency Field has been reduced to 1/10th of the existing limited prescribed by an international commission," the Minister said.

He said the Specific Absorption Rates level for mobile handset has been revised from 2 watt per kg to 1.6 kg.

"Directions in this regard have been issued to mobile handset manufacturers and mobile operators shall be effective from September 1 this year," he said.

Answering another query, the Minister said as per WHO statistics, India has 0.9 hospital beds per 1,000 people as compared to 2.9 beds globally.