Harmful Effect of Mobile Radiation Biology Investigatory Project PDF Class 12

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INTRODUCTION

A mobile phone is a portable telecommunications device that can send and receive calls over a radio link while moving within a wide geographic area. It achieves this by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile phone operator, which grants access to the public telephone network. In contrast, a cordless telephone can only be used within the limited range of a single private base station. The first hand-held cell phone was demonstrated in 1973 by John F. Mitchell and Martin Cooper of Motorola, weighing approximately 4.4 pounds (2 kg). The DynaTAC 8000x became commercially available in 1983 as the first mobile phone on the market. From 1983 to 2023, worldwide subscriptions for mobile phones have grown from zero to over 8.6 billion, now reaching 100% of the global population and even expanding into lower-income markets. As of 2022, top manufacturers in the mobile phone industry include Apple, Samsung, Motorola, Redmi, Realme, Oppo, Vivo, and Nokia.

The initial purpose of cell phones was solely for making calls, but over time, additional features such as voicemail were incorporated. However, the primary function remained focused on communication. As technology advanced, cell phone companies recognized the potential for integration with other technologies, leading to the development of smartphones.

Early versions of smartphones allowed users to access email and utilize their device as a fax machine, pager, and address book. In recent years, there has been a shift towards larger and simpler cell phone designs in order to accommodate bigger screens and reduce the number of buttons. With the evolution of phones into multifunctional media devices, a key factor in desirability is now a spacious and high-quality screen for optimal web browsing.

In addition, physical keyboards are being replaced by touch screens that only appear when needed. This advancement further streamlines the design and enhances user experience.

SOME COMMON FEATURES OF MOBILE PHONE

Screen/Display: Every mobile phone has some kind of screen, whether it’s a basic LCD for feature phones or a high-resolution OLED for smartphones.
Keypad/Touchscreen: Earlier mobile phones mainly had physical keypads, but most modern smartphones are equipped with touchscreens. Some may also have a combination of both.
Battery: All mobile phones need a power source, typically in the form of a rechargeable battery.
Microphone and Speaker: Essential for making calls, every phone will have at least one microphone and one speaker.
Antenna: Either externally visible in older phones or internally placed in modern smartphones, this allows the device to connect to cellular networks.
Operating System (OS): While the specific OS might vary (e.g., iOS, Android, KaiOS), all phones have some sort of software platform that manages the phone’s operations.
Connectivity Options: Almost all phones offer some means of connectivity, whether it’s cellular (like 4G or 5G), Bluetooth, or Wi-Fi.
SIM Card Slot: For mobile phones that connect to cellular networks, a slot for a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card is standard.
Camera: While earlier basic phones might have lacked this feature, most modern phones (including even budget options) come with at least one camera.
Access to Networks: Whether it’s 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G, or even just Wi-Fi, mobile phones have the ability to connect to a network for data transfer.

WHAT IS MOBILE RADIATION

Mobile radiation, more commonly referred to as “cell phone radiation” or “mobile phone radiation,” pertains to the electromagnetic radiation emitted by mobile phones and their base stations. To understand this in detail, it’s essential to start with the basics of electromagnetic radiation.

Electromagnetic Radiation (EMR):

Electromagnetic radiation (EMR) is energy that moves in waves and spans a broad spectrum, from very long radio waves to very short gamma rays. This spectrum is often divided into two main types:

Non-ionizing radiation: This is the type of radiation emitted by mobile phones. It’s found at the low-energy end of the electromagnetic spectrum and is less likely to damage DNA or cells directly. Other examples include radio waves, microwaves, infrared radiation, and visible light.
Ionizing radiation: Found at the high-energy end of the electromagnetic spectrum, it has enough energy to remove tightly bound electrons from atoms, which can damage or kill cells and DNA directly. X-rays and gamma rays are examples.

Mobile Phone Radiation:

Mobile phones communicate by transmitting radio frequency (RF) waves, which is a type of non-ionizing radiation. There are two main sources of RF waves from mobile phones:

Antennas: The main source of RF waves. The closer the antenna is to the user’s head, the more the user is exposed to RF waves.

Base stations: These are fixed structures that communicate with the mobile phones and can result in RF exposure, albeit typically at levels far lower than those from mobile phones.

Potential Side Effects of Exposure to Electromagnetic Radiation

Blurry Vision
Headaches
Nausea
Fatigue
Neck Pain
Memory Loss
Leukaemia
Rare Brain Cancers
Enzyme Changes That Affect DNA
Birth Defects
Changes in Metabolism
Increased Risk for Alzheimer’s Disease
Increased Risk for Heart Conditions
Neurological Hormone Changes Linked Impaired Brain Function

WHAT IS BASE STATION

A base station, also known as a cell tower or cell site, is a key component of a cellular network. It’s a fixed radio transmitter and receiver that provides wireless communication between mobile devices, such as smartphones, and the network infrastructure. Base stations are typically mounted on tall structures, like towers or rooftops, to cover a specific geographic area known as a cell.

Here’s how a base station works:

Signal Transmission: The base station transmits and receives radio signals over a specific range of frequencies. These signals carry voice, data, and other information to and from mobile devices within its coverage area.

Coverage Area: Each base station serves a defined coverage area or cell. When a mobile device is within this cell’s range, it can connect to the base station.

Handoff: As a mobile device moves, it may transition from one cell to another. To maintain a continuous connection, the network system performs a handoff, transferring the connection seamlessly from one base station to another.

Multiple Base Stations: To provide widespread coverage, cellular networks consist of numerous base stations strategically placed to ensure overlapping coverage and minimal signal dropouts.

Base stations play a crucial role in enabling mobile communication by creating a network of cells that collectively cover a large geographic area. They are a fundamental component of modern telecommunications systems, allowing people to make calls, send texts, access the internet, and use various mobile services while on the move.

HEALTH HAZARDS OF BASE STATION

Another area of concern is the radiation emitted by the fixed infrastructure used in mobile telephony, such as base stations (Mobile Tower) and their antennas, which provide the link to and from 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 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 health regulations governing the placement of base stations.

EFFECT OF MOBILE RADIATION ON LIVING TISSUE

Radiation Absorption Part of the radio waves emitted by a mobile telephone handset are 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 cell phone 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.

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.

In the India, the Department of Telecom 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 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 does not have this temperature regulation mechanism and exposure of duration has been reported to produce cataracts in rabbits’ eyes at SAR values from , which produced lenticular temperatures of . This has known to cause premature cataract in humans.

An image via thermal scans showing heating of the facial skin after 4 hours of phone usage.

Thermal effects have also known to cause harm to ear drum and impair hearing in the long term.

Blood–Brain Barrier Effects Swedish researchers from Lund University have studied the effects of mobile radiation on the brain. They found a leakage of albumin into the brain via a permeated blood–brain barrier. This confirms earlier work on the blood–brain barrier by Allan Frey, Oscar and Hawkins, and Albert and Kerns.
Prof Leszczynski of Finland’s radiation and nuclear safety authority found that, at the maximum legal limit for mobile radiation, one protein in particular, HSP 27, was affected. HSP 27 played a critical role in the integrity of the blood-brain barrier.

Cognitive Effects A 2009 study, examined the effects of exposure to radiofrequency radiation (RFR) emitted by standard GSM cell phones on the cognitive functions of humans.
The study confirmed longer (slower) response times to a spatial working memory task when exposed to RFR from a standard GSM cellular phone placed next to the head of male subjects, and showed that longer duration of exposure to RFR may increase the effects on performance.
Right-handed subjects exposed to RFR on the left side of their head on average had significantly longer response times when compared to exposure to the right side and sham-exposure.

Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity Some users of mobile handsets 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 and that current research cannot separate the symptoms from nocebo effects.

Genotoxic Effects In December 2004, a pan-European study named REFLEX (Risk Evaluation of Potential Environmental Hazards from Low Energy Electromagnetic Field Exposure Using Sensitive invitro Methods), involving 12 collaborating laboratories in several countries showed some compelling evidence of DNA damage of cells in in-vitro cultures, when exposed between 0.3 to 2 watts/kg, whole-sample average. There were indications, but not rigorous evidence of other cell changes, including damage to chromosomes, alterations in the activity of certain genes and a boosted rate of cell division.

Australian research conducted in 2009, by subjecting in vitro samples of human spermatozoa to radio-frequency radiation at 1.8 GHz and specific absorption rates (SAR) of 0.4 to 27.5 W/kg showed a correlation between increasing SAR and decreased motility and vitality in sperm, increased oxidative stress and 8-Oxo-2′-deoxyguanosine markers, stimulating DNA base adduct formation and increased DNA fragmentation.

Behavioural Effects 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.

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 or bras. 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 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 other line answers. The device emits more radiation before a call goes through.

CONCLUSION

The conclusion from the investigatory project indicates that mobile radiation poses a significant threat to human health. While the immediate effects might not be noticeable, the long-term consequences can be severe due to the radiation’s potential to affect and mutate human DNA. Such mutations carry the risk of spawning new diseases that can impact future generations.

There is a heightened risk of brain tumours and cancer linked to mobile radiation, especially in children below the age of 5. It’s essential to understand that while the damage from mobile radiation might not manifest immediately, it acts insidiously over time, affecting current and future generations.

Therefore, it’s crucial to adopt precautionary measures to shield ourselves, our families, and friends from the detrimental effects of mobile radiation.