Mobile towers are safer than mobile phones: Experts

Kochi: There is no convincing scientific evidence that radiation from mobile towers causes adverse health effects, according to district collector Muhammad Y. Safirulla.     A section of people with vested interests was unnecessarily creating controversies,  Mr Safirulla said while inaugurating an awareness programme on the safety of mobile phone towers’ here on Tuesday. The meeting organised under the guidance of Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and attended by secretaries of local bodies and people’s representatives observed that prejudice and unnecessary apprehensions over the safety of mobile towers often resulted  in unwanted issues.  Compared to cell phones, mobile towers are safer, the meeting  said.

“Sun rays are 1,000 times stronger than the radiation from a mobile tower. As many as 1,500 mobile towers in the state have been inspected for their safety. But none of them was found to be having any dangerous level of radiation,” said C. Sunitha, deputy director general, Telecom Enforcement Resource and Monitoring. The official, who took a class on the topic,  said that there was no scientific evidence to prove that mobile tower radiation adversely affects honey bees and birds.

According to Dr. K. Chandramohan, “it is the new trend of ‘cancerophobia’ – fear of cancer – in Kerala society which triggers such controversies. “There is lack of awareness among the people on the cancer-causing factors. Gene mutation is the major reason for cancer and radiation is the main culprit. But radiation or heat from mobile towers is not cancer-causing.  The human body is susceptible to radiation from electric and electronic equipment,  including mobile phones. The ultraviolet rays from the sun are much more dangerous,” he said. However, the expert warned against giving mobile phones to infants less than a year old  as it will create health hazards.