Monday, June 30, 2003		Feature

‘Brainstorming’ through cellphones
Deepak Bagai

MOST of the electrical equipment like microwave ovens, mobile phones, mobile phone base stations, shavers, vacuum cleaners, coffee machines, radio and TV transmitters, power lines and electricity networks generate electromagnetic fields. Some of these devices create low frequency electromagnetic fields and others like mobile phones create high frequency electromagnetic fields. The radiation emitted is non-ionising and thus does not affect the living tissues. This energy is only strong enough to rupture intra and inter molecular links in tissues making up living beings. Concern is being voiced that the use of handheld cellular phones might cause brain tumours. A recent study concluded cellular phones might affect the health of persons who use them.

Cellphone users are under a constant threat from high frequency transceivers with antennas placed above the ear. No other radio-frequency-emitting device has been ever used in this fashion. Most transmitters are physically separated from their antennas but this is not the case with cellular phone usage. Though the harmful effects associated with short-term usage of cellphone have not been proven yet there are disturbing early evidences towards the long-term usage and its association with brain cancer. The killer effects are cumulative in time and we may be thrusting the younger generation towards cancer as they excessively use cellphone pressed against their head. Radio frequency energy is constantly emitted in the close vicinity of the brain. No one knows the gravity of the risk and we may be faced with a "cellular" epidemic by 2025.

A cellphone converts sound into radio waves, which it transmits, and receives radio signals, which it converts into sound waves. It communicates with a base station, which may be near by or far away. The cellular system has many base stations, which share a number of microwave frequencies. Each base station sends and received signals from a small area called cell. A base station antenna typically radiates 60 W and a handset between 1 and 2 W peak. The antenna of a handset radiates equally in all directions but a base station produces a beam that is much more directional. Mobile phone handsets are used close to the user’s head, which absorbs some of the radiowaves.

The microwave frequencies range from 1-30 GHz. Microwaves are short waves. A recent study has concluded that excessive cellular phone use may affect the health of the people. Research undertaken by some Finland scientists concludes that emissions from cellular phones cause changes in the brain. The Stewart report did single out mobile phone use by children.

"Children may be more vulnerable because of their developing nervous system and greater absorption of energy in the tissues of the head". Scientists from the Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority have found that exposure of human cells to mobile phone radiation can damage the blood-brain barrier. This is a safety barrier in the body that prevents harmful material in blood from entering the brain. It was further found that the exposure caused the cells in blood vessel walls to shrink that enabled molecules to pass into brain tissue. The result of all this could be headache, ear ache, blurring of vision, burning sensation, feeling of tiredness, sleeplessness, Alzheimer’s disease, memory loss and even cancer. Roger Coghill a specialist in bioelectromagnetics runs an independent laboratory in Gwent. His research findings depict that seven-hour exposure of white blood cells to mobile phone in a standby mode causes serious degradation of the white blood cells (the cells that fight disease).

Electromagnetic energy travels at the speed of light. They are used in transmission of telephone and television signals and also for satellite communication. In a microwave oven the frequency is of the order of 2.5 GHz. Here water, fats and sugar absorb the waves and the molecular structure is altered which generates heat. It has been proven mathematically that one-hour talk time daily on a cellular phone is equivalent in terms of radiations to putting your head in a microwave oven. The work of Dr Om Gandhi illustrates that radiation penetrates younger skulls far more deeply than those of adults. Single and double-strand DNA breaks in brain cells increased after exposure to microwaves. Blood for transfusions is routinely warmed but never in a microwave oven. This is attributed to the fact that effects of microwaves are much beyond heating.

Cancer is the result of genetic damage that happens inside an individual cell. When cells divide at an accelerated rate, they often begin to form a mass of tissue called tumour.

The effect of exposure to cellphone radiation’s are generally cumulative over time. There is often a lag of two or more decades between the initial widespread use of a device and the resulting mortality rate. Researchers predict that it could take a decade for evidence of any risks to emerge and if harmful effects are found they will be prominent in children because their bodies are still developing. There is no data to support the hypothesis that the use of handheld cellular phones causes brain tumour but long-term usage is definitely a potential threat. Thus, we may be poisoning a new generation of cancer victims. Some companies are designing "filters" that fit on to the cellphone and reduce emissions. Keeping the cellular phone a couple of centimetres away from the head reduces the exposure to radiation by orders of magnitude. A headpiece has already been designed that allows the user to place cellphone at a distance. These solutions are simple and inexpensive. Attempts are being made to standardise electromagnetic field limits associated with cell phones. Ultimately, the law of nature holds supreme that every beautiful flower has thorns underneath it.