International Scientific Commission Sends Letter to Indian Government To Maintain Its Stringent Cell Tower Radiation Limits
Strong safety limits are needed to protect public health and wildlife
The International Commission on the Biological Effects of Electromagnetic Fields (ICBE-EMF) sent a letter to the Minister of Communications & Information Technology of India and members of the Indian Parliament with science based recommendations against an industry led proposal to significantly weaken the country’s regulatory limits for cell tower mobile base station radio frequency (RF) radiation.
“We strongly assert this new law would violate the rights of individuals, their health and environmental quality…Urgently needed are protective wireless exposure limits for humans and the environment. These limits must be based on scientific evidence rather than on the industry’s misdirected needs for expansion and on flawed safety assumptions.”
“It is critical that India take action to protect all life forms from exposure to radiofrequency radiation. Given the increasing world-wide exposure of populations and the environment to RFR, including novel forms of radiation from 5G telecommunications for which there are no adequate health effects studies showing that it is safe for humans at the levels allowed by the current limits, it would not be in the best interest of public health for India to raise those limits at this time.”
The new proposal would reverse changes to India’s regulations set in 2012, when India reduced allowable levels to one-tenth of its previous limits following the recommendations of an Inter-Ministerial Committee Report set up by the India Ministry of Environment and Forests which reviewed the research on birds, bees, plants, humans, and other wildlife and concluded that the “vast majority of published literature indicate deleterious effects of EMFs in various species.”
The ICBE-EMF has long cautioned that the limits of the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection are inadequate. The ICBE-EMF 2023 paper published in the journal Environmental Health states, “the current exposure limits set by ICNIRP and FCC are based on invalid assumptions and continue to present harm to public health. Long-term adverse effects observed at exposures below the assumed SAR (Specific Absorption Rate) range include nonthermal induction of reactive oxygen species, DNA damage, cardiomyopathy, carcinogenicity, sperm damage, and neurological effects, including electromagnetic sensitivity and microwave syndrome. In addition, multiple human studies have found statistically significant associations between RFR exposure and increased brain and thyroid cancer risk.”
India is one of several countries with RF limits much stronger than ICNIRP and U.S. FCC limits. Countries such as Switzerland, Belgium, Italy, Russia, China and Israel also have more stringent limits. In contrast, the United States has the most lenient limits for cell tower and wireless radiation with regulations unchanged since 1996.
ICBE-EMF strongly recommends reducing public exposure to RF radiation from cell phones, cellular antennas and other wireless sources such as Wi-Fi. These recommendations are especially important during pregnancy, childhood and for individuals who are medically vulnerable or electromagnetically hypersensitive (EHS).
About the International Commission on the Biological Effects of Electromagnetic Fields
ICBE-EMF is a multidisciplinary, international consortium of scientists, doctors and researchers with expertise and peer-reviewed publications on the biological and health effects of electromagnetic fields including RF radiation from wireless devices and infrastructure including cell phones, Wi-Fi devices and cell towers.
The Commission is committed to upholding the highest standards of scientific research and makes science-based recommendations to ensure the protection of the public and environment.