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Study of electromagnetic radiation pollution in an Indian city.

Bioeffects Seen

Dhami AK. · 2012

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Cell tower radiation near schools and hospitals exceeded biological effect levels by 1,148% while staying within 'safety' limits.

Plain English Summary

Summary written for general audiences

Researchers measured cell phone tower radiation near schools and hospitals in Chandigarh, India, using professional equipment to assess environmental exposure levels. They found the highest radiation levels were 11.48 mW/m² - more than 11 times higher than levels known to affect biological systems, though still below international safety limits. This reveals a significant gap between what regulators consider 'safe' and what science shows can impact human biology.

Why This Matters

This study highlights a critical disconnect in EMF regulation that affects millions of people daily. While the measured radiation levels stayed below ICNIRP limits (the standards most countries use), they exceeded biological effect thresholds by over 1,000%. Put simply, the 'safety' standards aren't based on biological reality. The research focused on sensitive locations like schools and hospitals, where vulnerable populations spend significant time. What this means for you: the radiation environment around cell towers may be causing biological effects even when authorities claim it's 'safe.' The science demonstrates that current regulatory limits are inadequate for protecting public health, particularly for children and patients who are most susceptible to EMF effects.

Exposure Details

Power Density
0.001148 µW/m²

Exposure Context

This study used 0.001148 µW/m² for radio frequency:

Building Biology guidelines are practitioner-based limits from real-world assessments. BioInitiative Report recommendations are based on peer-reviewed science. Check Your Exposure to compare your own measurements.

Where This Falls on the Concern Scale

Study Exposure Level in ContextA logarithmic scale showing exposure levels relative to Building Biology concern thresholds and regulatory limits.Study Exposure Level in ContextThis study: 0.001148 µW/m²Extreme Concern1,000 uW/m2FCC Limit10M uW/m2Effects observed in the No Concern range (Building Biology)FCC limit is 8,710,801,394x higher than this exposure level

Study Details

The present studies were taken to estimate the microwave/RF pollution by measuring radiation power densities near schools and hospitals of Chandigarh city in India.

The cell phone radiations were measured using a handheld portable power density meter TES 593 and sp...

The highest measured power density was 11.48 mW/m(2) which is 1,148% of the biological limit.

The results indicated that the exposure levels in the city were below the ICNIRP limit, but much above the biological limit.

Cite This Study
Dhami AK. (2012). Study of electromagnetic radiation pollution in an Indian city. Environ Monit Assess.184(11):6507-6512, 2012.
Show BibTeX
@article{ak._2012_study_of_electromagnetic_radiation_945,
  author = {Dhami AK.},
  title = {Study of electromagnetic radiation pollution in an Indian city.},
  year = {2012},
  
  url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22083401/},
}

Quick Questions About This Study

Researchers measured cell phone tower radiation near schools and hospitals in Chandigarh, India, using professional equipment to assess environmental exposure levels. They found the highest radiation levels were 11.48 mW/m² - more than 11 times higher than levels known to affect biological systems, though still below international safety limits. This reveals a significant gap between what regulators consider 'safe' and what science shows can impact human biology.