Lok Sabha Question No. 1957 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-07-03
Subject: Study on Mobile Radiations
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS
Asked by: Suresh Kodikunnil

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

## LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1957 TO BE ANSWERED ON 3 RD  JULY, 2019

## STUDY ON MOBILE RADIATIONS

## 1957. SHRI KODIKUNNIL SURESH:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS pleased to state:

- (a) whether  the  Government  is  aware  of  a  recent  study  conducted  in  the  United  States suggesting that radiation emitted by mobile phones causes cancer in rats but does not apply to humans and if so, the details thereof and the reaction of the Government thereto;
- (b) whether the Government proposes to conduct renewed research and reassess the existing regulations  of  The  International  Commission  on  Non-Ionizing  Radiation  Protection  (ICNIRP) and seek opinion as the country has a significant user base of cellular phones; and
- (c) if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF COMMUNICATIONS, LAW & JUSTICE AND ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI RAVI SHANKAR PRASAD)

- (a) Sir, with regard to impact of Electromagnetic Field (EMF) emissions from mobile phones on health, DoT has been following relevant International agencies/ organizations such as World Health  Organization  (WHO),  International  Commission  on  Non  Ionizing  Radiation  Protection (ICNIRP), International Advisory Committee (IAC) on EMF, International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and various Study Groups under ITU for monitoring global developments.

No such study,  conducted  in  the  United  States,  is  in  the  knowledge  of  Department  of Telecommunications  (DoT).  However,  WHO  has  referred  to  approximately  25,000  articles published around the world over past  30  years,  and  based  on  an  in-depth  review  of  scientific literature,  has  concluded  -  'current  evidence  does  not  confirm  the  existence  of  any  health consequences from exposure to low level electromagnetic fields'.

- (b) & (c) To ensure safeguards of citizen, DoT has been monitoring global developments and has already taken necessary steps and adopted stricter norms for safety from EMF emission from mobile towers and handsets. In the year 2008, DoT adopted the ICNIRP guidelines that are recommended  by  WHO  for  basic  restriction  and  limiting  reference  levels  of  electromagnetic emission from mobile towers and handset. Further, based on the recommendations of an InterMinisterial  Committee  (IMC),  DoT  has  made  the  norms  for  exposure  limit  for  the  Radio Frequency  Field  (Base  Station  Emissions)  ten  times  more  stringent  than  the  existing  limits

prescribed by ICNIRP and recommended by WHO. The Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) level for Mobile Handsets have also been made stringent and revised to 1.6 Watt per Kg averaged over a mass of one gram human tissue.

These limits were further reviewed in 2014, based on recommendation of a committee that  was  setup  at  the  behest  of  High  Court  Allahabad,  Lucknow  bench.  The  Committee comprised of members from Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) Kharagpur, Kanpur, Delhi, Roorkee, Bombay and from other scientific institutions of the country including Indian Council of  Medical  Research  (ICMR) and All  India  Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS) Delhi. This Committee has also referred to various studies carried out in this regard and has observed that the Department of Telecom has taken adequate steps to impose stricter precautionary limits for EMF radiation from mobile towers as well as from mobile handset/phones. After due consideration of the human health concerns on account of EMF radiation being raised in public and the Report of the  Committee,  the  Government  has  decided,  in  February  2014,  that  the  present  prescribed precautionary EMF safe exposure limits are adequate and need no further change at this stage.

In  addition,  a  joint  initiative  has  been  launched  by  Science  and  Engineering  Research Board  (SERB)  under  Department  of  Science  &  Technology  (DST)  and  Department  of Telecommunications (DoT), wherein nineteen research proposals, have already been initiated to study possible impact of EMF exposure from mobile towers and handsets on life. i.e. Humans, Living Organisms, Flora & Fauna.

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