CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that this Biology Investigatory Project on the

topic “Effects of Mobile Radiation o Health” has been
successfully completed by Sarosij Sen Sarma of class XII
under the guidance of Nibidita maam in particular fulfillment of
the curriculum of Central Board of Secondary Education
(CBSE) leading to the award of annual examination of the year
2019-20.

Teacher-In-Charge External
Examiner
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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I have taken effort in this project. However it would not have
been possible without kind support and help of many
individuals.
I would like to thank my principal and school for providing
me with facilities required to do my project.
I am highly indebted to my Biology teacher for her invaluable
guidance which has sustained my efforts in all the stages of
this project work.
I would also like to thank my parents for their continuous
support and encouragement.
My thanks and appreciation also goes to my fellow
classmates and to the people who have willingly helped me out
with their abilities.

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 INDEX

SL.NO CONTENT PAGE

1. Certificate 1

2. Acknowledgements 2
3. Mobile phones 4
4. What is radiation? 7
5. What is electromagnetic radiation? 9
6. How base stations work? 10
7. Health hazards of base stations 11
8. Mobile radiation and health 13
9. Effects of mobile radiation on living 17
tissue
10. Can mobile radiations cause cancer? 23
11. Tips for reducing effect of mobile 26
radiation
12. Conclusion 28

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 MOBILE PHONES

A mobile phone is a device that can make and

receive telephone calls over a radio link while
moving around a wide geographic area. It does
so by connecting to a cellular network provided
by a mobile phone operator, allowing access to
the public telephone network. By contrast, a
cordless telephone is used only within the short
range of a single, private base station. The first
hand-held cell phone was demonstrated by
John F. Mitchell and Martin Cooper of Motorola
in 1973, using a handset weighing around 4.4
pounds (2 kg). In 1983, the DynaTAC 8000x was
the first to be commercially available. From
1983 to 2014, worldwide mobile phone
subscriptions grew from zero to over 7 billion,
penetrating 100 % of the global population and

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reaching the bottom of the economic pyramid. In
2014, the top cell phone manufacturers were
Samsung, Nokia, Apple, and LG.

Early cellphones were just for talking.

Gradually, features like voicemail were added,
but the main purpose was talk. Eventually, cell
phone manufacturers began to realize that they
could integrate other technologies into their
phone and expand its features. The earliest
smart phones let users access email, and use the
phone as a fax machine, pager, and address
book.

Just in recent years, cellphone designs have

actually started to become larger and simpler,
making room for a larger screen and less buttons.
Because phones have become mobile media
devices, the most desirable aspect is a large,
clear, high-definition screen for optimal web

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viewing. Even the keyboard is being taken away,
replaced by a touch screen keyboard that only
comes out when you need it.

Some Common Features to All Mobile Handsets

The common components found on all phones

are:

 A battery, providing the power source for the

phone functions.
 An input mechanism to allow the user to
interact with the phone.
 The most common input mechanism is a
keypad, but touch screens are also found in
most smart phones.
 A screen which echoes the user's typing,
displays text messages, contacts and more.
 Basic mobile phone services to allow users to
make calls and send text messages.

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  All GSM phones use a SIM card to allow an
account to be swapped among devices. Some
CDMA devices also have a similar card
called a R-UIM.
 Individual GSM, WCDMA, iDEN and some
satellite phone devices are uniquely
identified by an International Mobile
Equipment Identity (IMEI) number

What is radiation?

Radiation is a form of energy on the move.

Radiation is Electromagnetic in nature, i.e., it
consists of waves of Electric and magnetic energy
moving together through Space at the speed of
light. We live in a radiation world and are
exposed to both natural and man-made
radiation. Every second of our life, we are
exposed to all forms of radiation such as
ultraviolet light from the sun and radio waves

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from radio and television broadcasts. When we
go for a chest x-ray examination, we are exposed
to x-rays.

There are two types of radiation:

 Ionizing radiation

It contains enough energy to cause

ionization.

Ionization is a process by which electrons are

stripped from atoms and molecules. Its
interaction with matter can change
chemical reactions in the body that leads to
damage in biological tissues including
effects on DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) – the
genetic material. Gamma rays and x-rays
are two forms of ionizing Radiation.

 Non-ionizing radiation (NIR)

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 It does not have sufficient energy to cause
ionization in living matter. It causes some
heating effect, but usually not enough to
cause any kind of long-term damage to
tissues. Radiofrequency energy, visible light
and mobile radiation which are made up of
electromagnetic radiation are considered
non-ionizing.

What is electromagnetic radiation?

Electromagnetic radiation consists of waves of

electric and Magnetic energy moving together
through space at the Speed of light. Often the
term ‘electromagnetic field’ or EMF is used to
indicate the presence of electromagnetic
Radiation.

Different forms of electromagnetic radiation are

classified by their frequencies. The term EMF is
generally used to cover fields in the frequency
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range below 300 gigahertz (GHz). EMF Includes
electric and magnetic fields from the electricity
supply at power frequencies, and radio Waves
from TV, radio and mobile phones, radar and
satellite communications. Many home devices
also Transmit EMF such as cordless phones and
radio-controlled Toys.

What is a Base Station?

The term base station is used in the context of

mobile telephony, wireless computer networking
and other wireless communications and in land
surveying: in surveying it is a GPS receiver at a
known position, while in wireless
communications it is a transceiver connecting a
number of other devices to one another and/or
to a wider area. In mobile telephony it provides
the connection between mobile phones and the
wider telephone network.

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Health Hazards of Base Stations

Another area of concern is the radiation emitted

by the fixed infrastructure used in mobile
telephony, such as base stations and their
antennas, which provide the link to and from
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mobile phones. This is because, in contrast to
mobile handsets, it is emitted continuously and
is more powerful at close quarters. On the other
hand, field intensities drop rapidly with
distance away from the base of transmitters
because of the attenuation of power with the
square of distance.

One popular design of mobile phone antenna is

the sector antenna, whose coverage is 120 degrees
horizontally and about ∓5 degrees from the
vertical. Because base stations operate at less
than 100 watts, the radiation at ground level is
much weaker than a cell phone due to the power
relationship appropriate for that design of
antenna. Base station emissions must comply
with safety guidelines. Some countries, however
(such as South Africa, for example), have no

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health regulations governing the placement of
base stations.

Mobile Phone Radiation and Health

The effect of mobile phone radiation on human

health is a subject of interest and study
worldwide, as a result of the increase in mobile
phone usage throughout the world. As of
November 2011, there were more than 6 billion
subscriptions worldwide. Mobile phones use
electromagnetic radiation in the microwave
range. Other digital wireless systems, such as
data communication networks, produce similar
radiation.

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14
International Agency for Research on Cancer
(IARC) classified mobile phone radiation as
Group 2B - possibly carcinogenic (not Group 2A
- probably carcinogenic - nor the dangerous
Group 1). That means that there "could be some
risk" of carcinogenicity, so additional research
into the long-term, heavy use of mobile phones
needs to be conducted. The WHO added that to
date, no adverse health effects have been
established as being caused by mobile phone

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use". Some national radiation advisory
authorities have recommended measures to
minimize exposure to their citizens as a
precautionary approach.

Some of the Potential Side Effects Of Exposure

To Electromagnetic Radiation

 Blurry Vision
 Headaches
 Nausea
 Fatigue
 Neck Pain
 Memory Loss
 Leukemia
 Birth Defects
 Changes in Metabolism
 Increased Risk for Alzheimer’s disease
 Increased Risk for Heart Conditions

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  Neurological Hormone Changes Linked
Impaired Brain Function

Effects of Mobile Radiation on Living Tissue

Radiation Absorption

Part of the radio waves emitted by a mobile

telephone handset is absorbed by the body. The
radio waves emitted by a GSM handset are
typically below a watt. The maximum power
output from a mobile phone is regulated by the
mobile phone standard and by the regulatory
agencies in each country.

In most systems the cellphone and the base

station check reception quality and signal
strength and the power level is increased or
decreased automatically, within a certain span,
to accommodate different situations, such as
inside or outside of buildings and vehicles.

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The rate at which energy is absorbed by the
human body is measured by the Specific
Absorption Rate (SAR), and its maximum levels
for modern handsets have been set by
governmental regulating agencies in many
countries.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC)

has set a SAR limit of 1.6 W/kg, averaged over a
volume of 1 gram of tissue, for the head. In
Europe, the limit is 2 W/kg, averaged over a
volume of 10 grams of tissue. SAR data for
specific mobile phones, along with other useful
information, can be found directly on
manufacturers' websites, as well as on third
party web sites. It is worth noting that thermal
radiation is not comparable to ionizing
radiation in that it only increases the
temperature in normal matter, it does not break

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molecular bonds or release electrons from their
atoms.

Thermal Effects

One well-understood effect of microwave

radiation is dielectric heating, in which any
dielectric material (such as living tissue) is
heated by rotations of polar molecules induced
by the electromagnetic field. In the case of a
person using a cell phone, most of the heating
effect will occur at the surface of the head,
causing its temperature to increase by a fraction
of a degree. In this case, the level of temperature
increase is an order of magnitude less than that
obtained during the exposure of the head to
direct sunlight. The brain's blood circulation is
capable of disposing of excess heat by increasing
local blood flow. However, the cornea of the eye
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does not have this temperature regulation
mechanism and exposure of 2–3 hours duration
has been reported to produce cataracts in
rabbits' eyes at SAR values from 100–140 W/kg,
which produced lenticular temperatures of 41
°C. This has known to cause premature cataract
in humans.

Thermal effects have also known to cause harm

to ear drum and impair hearing in the long
term.

Thermal Image of radiation absorption in three

age group- 5 years, 15 years & adult
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Blood–Brain Barrier Effects

There were many researches and hypothesis

before stating that mobile radiations affect the
blood brain barrier. But recent studies and
research found that non thermal
radiofrequency field does not hamper the
permeability of the blood brain barrier in any
way.

Until now there is no concrete evidence that

mobile phone radiations hamper cerebral blood
flow.

Cognitive Effects

Studies were conducted to observe the effects of

exposure of radiations emitted by standard GSM
phones on the cognitive functions of humans. It
was found that right handed people on exposure
to the GSM radiations on the left side of the
brain showed slower responses than on left
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handed people exposed to right side. This
confirms that mobile radiations have harmful
effects on the brain function of humans.

Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity

Some users of mobile phones have reported

feeling several unspecific symptoms during and
after its use; ranging from burning and tingling
sensations in the skin of the head and
extremities, fatigue, sleep disturbances,
dizziness, loss of mental attention, reaction
times and memory retentiveness, headaches,
malaise, tachycardia (heart palpitations), to
disturbances of the digestive system. Reports have
noted that all of these symptoms can also be
attributed to stress.

Behavioral Effects

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A study shows that exposure to excessive mobile
radiation during pregnancy can cause a risk of
ADHD in child.

Sperm Count and Sperm Quality

Exposure to SAR values for long times for those

men who keep the mobile phones in their lower
pockets for most of the time, increases the
temperature of groin and the radiation has
known to cause considerable lowering of the
sperm motility and vitality of sperm.

Can mobile radiations cause cancer?

To get the actual picture of this problem I went

to Institute of Advanced Study in Science and
Technology (IASST) an autonomous Institute
under Department of Science and Technology,
Government of India, situated in Paschim
Boragaon, Guwahati. There, I interacted with
Proff. Heramba Bailung and asked him whether
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really mobile radiations have carcinogenic
effects.

I: Good to meet you. I came here to know whether

mobile radiations cause cancer.

Dr. Heramba Bailung: This is a hotly debated

issue.

Theoretically speaking, mobile radiations are

made up of radio-frequency energy, which is
made up of non-ionizing radiation. Exposure to
ionizing radiation, such as from x-rays, is
known to increase the risk of cancer but non-
ionizing radiation such as radar, microwave
ovens, cell phones, and other sources is known
to cause only heating effects. Mobile radiations’
heating being way much lower than microwave
ovens’ radiation.

However, we as a team from IASST did some

study on this topic and measured the mobile
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tower signal strength all and around Guwahati
and also beside the highway. We found
maximum signal strength at Panbazar, beamed
towards river Brahmaputra and least near
Cotton College. Regarding the effect of mobile
radiations on human beings, no study was done.
But, one of the team members Dr. Neelotpal Sen
Sarma told that there was an incident where a
young boy had been suffering from Leukemia.
Surprisingly there was a mobile tower located
just beside his house and when he went there to
check the signal strength, it was found
astonishingly low as such low radiations were
not found in the earlier recordings. May be the
strength was reduced after this incident.

I: Ok, thank you for your valued opinion on this

issue.

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Thus the effect of mobile radiation for causing
cancer is still illusive.

Tips for Reducing Potential Harmful Effects of

Mobile Phone Radiation

 When on a call, use a wired headset or

speakerphone mode. Use a Bluetooth headset,
which emits a smaller amount of radiation,
only when talking. When not using the
headset, keep it off your body.
 Place the mobile phone away from your
body when on a call.
 Do not carry mobile phones in pockets of
pants or in shirts. Use a belt holster designed
to shield the body from radiation.
 Avoid using a mobile phone in a moving car,
train, bus, or in rural areas at some distance
from a cell tower. Distance from a cell tower

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 will increase the cell phone’s radiation
output.
 Turn the mobile phone off when you don't
need to use it.
 Use a corded landline phone instead of a
wireless phone, which also emits radiation.
 Avoid using mobile phone inside of
buildings, particularly those with steel
structures, which increases the device's
radiation output because signals are not as
strong.
 Do not allow children, whose bodies are
more vulnerable to absorbing radiation, to
sleep with a cell phone beneath their pillow
or keep it at the bedside.
 Do not allow children under 18 to use a
mobile phone except in emergencies.
 When making a call, do not hold the phone
to your ear until after the person on the
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 other line answers. The device emits more
radiation before a call goes through.

Conclusions

The conclusion drawn from the investigatory

project finally states the mobile radiation is
harmful to human health. The effects may not
be noted almost immediately, but will be
causing adverse effects to the present as well the
future.

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