In 2008, the Bangladesh Regulatory Commission (BTRC) formed a committee to assess the impact of mobile tower radiation on plants, as a non-governmental organisation (NGO) had complained to the regulator that installation of such towers was hampering coconut and betel nut production in Barishal and Khulna divisions.
Field workers with the NGO had found that the sizes of these two
species of plants were becoming gradually smaller, and showed black spots on
the plants near mobile towers. The BTRC committee, however, did not produce a
complete report as, according to it, the evidence was not conclusive, and so,
mobile towers could not be blamed.
An expert panel of the Global System for Mobile (GSM)
communications, a world-renowned telecom research organization, conducted a
small study in 2010. It did not express any opinion about the harsh impact of
mobile tower radiation on human health and ecology in Bangladesh.
The study, however, indicated that the number of different types
of birds has been decreasing in Dhaka city, owing to the radiation caused by
the growing number of mobile towers.
Currently, Grameenphone, the largest mobile operator, has 14,000
towers. Banglalink, Robi, Airtel, Citycell and Teletalk have 5,200, 8,200,
4,100, 2,900 and 1,400 mobile towers, respectively, across the country.
Talking to The Independent, Dr Satyaprashad Majumder, professor
of telecommunications engineering at Bangladesh University of Engineering and
Technology (BUET), said the radiation emanating from a mobile tower per square metre
ranges from 17,100 micro-watts to 72,000 micro-watts.
The human body can tolerate radiation up to 1,00,000
micro-watts, but birds and other flying animals cannot tolerate more than
40,000 micro-watts, he explained. “Sometimes, we find that the tolerance level
of some people has decreased to 50,000 micro-watts. If they are directly
exposed, they might suffer from skin diseases, as well as from cancer,” he
warned.
Wasim Hussain, a BUET lecturer currently carrying out his PhD
research on mobile tower radiation at the University of Toronto, told The
Independent by e-mail that such radiation is emitted continuously and is more
powerful at close quarters. On the other hand, field intensities drop rapidly
with distance as one moves away from the base of the transmitters, because of
the attenuation of power with the distance, he explained.
Hossain wrote that the sector antenna, which is a popular design
of mobile phone towers, has a coverage of 120 degrees on the horizontal and
about +/-5 degrees from the vertical. The sector antenna, which works as a base
transceiver system (BTS), should be established at a minimum height of 300 feet
for better coverage and radiation safety.
But, as Hossain pointed out, cellphone companies in Bangladesh
are flouting internationally prescribed rules and are installing towers in
populated localities by taking leases of pieces of land or roofs of buildings,
some of which are not as tall as 300 feet.
In Western countries, such mobile phone towers are installed at
a height of at least 400 feet and are located far from educational
institutions, hospitals and similar buildings as there are regulatory
guidelines. Bangladesh, however, is yet to have any such guidelines.
Another expert said the minimum distance of a tower from a
residential building should be at least 30 metres. But in Bangladesh,
especially in metropolitan cities, mobile towers with antennae have been
established right on top of residential buildings.
Several other studies conducted in different countries have
found that even low levels of radiation have resulted in damage to cell tissue
and DNA. This has also been linked to the onset of various forms of cancer,
brain tumours, suppressed immune function, mental depression, miscarriage in
pregnant women, Alzheimer’s disease and a number of other serious illnesses,
according to material sourced from the internet.
In India, a national committee comprising officials and experts
from the departments of telecom and science and technology, Indian Council of
Medical Research, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Indian
Institutes of technology (IITs) and telecom operators conducted an extensive
year-long research study on mobile tower radiation.
India, earlier, had the worst cellular tower radiation norms in
the world. But after the research, which was completed a few days ago, the
committee suggested a new set of guidelines to eliminate health hazards caused
by radiation by reducing the amount of radiation the towers emit to one-tenth
of the current level.
The Indian government recently implemented new guidelines, which
stated that cellular towers will have to reduce the amount of radiation they
emit to one-tenth of the current level.
The Independent talked to top officials of the six mobile
operators in this connection.
Kazi Monirul Kabir, chief communications officer of
Grameenphone, said the company had co-operated with the BTRC study of the
impact of mobile tower radiation on plants in 2008. Kabir said it is ready to
cooperate if the government wants to conduct further studies.
Mahmudur Rahman, executive vice-president of the operator Robi,
said the company is thinking of installing greener and environment friendly
towers.
Mehbub Chowdhury, chief executive officer of Citycell, said such a study should be conducted at the government and regulatory levels.
Mehbub Chowdhury, chief executive officer of Citycell, said such a study should be conducted at the government and regulatory levels.
An industry expert, who preferred anonymity, said mobile towers
emit radio frequencies which are a sub-category of electromagnetic radiation
(EMR). Such radiation is of little concern because of the fact that EMR is not
classified as an ionizing form of radiation. Non-ionizing radiation only causes
harm in large doses, and poses a threat to people only through the heat energy
it generates. According to the expert, this has meant that the potential health
risks and consequences of cellphone tower radiation have been downplayed.
BTRC consultant and a former director-general with the
regulator, Rezaul Quader, said the commission has already held talks with the
telecom ministry for conducting a nationwide study to find out the impact of
mobile phone tower radiation on human and animal life.
The regulator has, in principle, also approved some rapid
infrastructural changes, including handing over of maintenance of mobile towers
to third parties and incorporation of a provision to introduce a
network-sharing mechanism to reduce operational costs, Quader said. “This will
create better and greener maintenance work of mobile towers,” he said.
BTRC director of spectrum, Col. Rakibul Hossain, said there has
been no large-scale investigation into the harmful effects of radiofrequency
fields from mobile phone towers. “While many theoretical studies in the world
have said it is harmful, on the other hand there are many other studies which
have said it is not,” he said.
He, however, admitted that the telecom regulator currently lacks guidelines regarding construction of mobile phone towers. Hossain said the BTRC will carry out a large-scale investigation soon. Guidelines will be published after the investigation is completed.
He, however, admitted that the telecom regulator currently lacks guidelines regarding construction of mobile phone towers. Hossain said the BTRC will carry out a large-scale investigation soon. Guidelines will be published after the investigation is completed.
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