Study on Harmful effects

of mobile radiation
IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF
AISSE EXAMINATION
(BIOLOGY INVESTIGATORY PROJECT)
SUBMITTED BY

REGISTRATION NO:
 DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGY
Bonafide Certificate

This is to certify that _________, a student of class XII has

successfully completed the research on the project STUDY ON
HARMFUL EFFECTS OF MOBILE RADIATION under the
guidance of ________ during the year 20 -20 in partial
fulfillment of AISSE examination. Further I certify that this is a
record of bonafide work carried out by the student.

Date: PRINCIPAL

Internal Examiner External Examiner

 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The success and final outcome of his project required a lot

of guidance and assistance from many people and I am
extremely privileged to have got this all along the completion
of my project.

I owe my deep gratitude to my project guide __________

who guided me all along.

Then I thank my Institution and the Institutional Head for

helping and guiding me in the successful completion of my
project work.

Finally I thank all those who helped and supported me in

completing my project work.

Signature of the Teacher Student’s signature

 LIST OF CONTENTS

1. Introduction : What is Mobile Phone

2. History And Evolution Of The Mobile Phone
3. Some common features to all mobile handsets
4. Base Station and it’s Health Hazards
5. Mobile Phone Radiation And Health
6. Some of the Potential Side Effects of Exposure to Electromagnetic
Radiation:
7. Effects of Cell Phones as an Environmental Hazard
8. Effects of Mobile Radiation on Living Tissue
i. Radiation Absorption
ii. Thermal Effects
iii. Blood-Brain Barrier effects
iv. Cognitive Effects
v. Electromagnetic hypersensitivity
vi. Behavioural Effects
vii. Sperm count and sperm quality
9. Findings from famous studies
10. Tips for Reducing Potential Harmful Effects of Mobile Phone
Radiation
11. Conclusion
12. Bibliography
 Introduction
-Mobile phones
A handy invention
 A mobile phone is a phone 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 2019, worldwide
mobile phone subscriptions grew from zero to over 7.7 billion,
penetrating 100% of the global population and reaching the bottom of
the economic pyramid. In 2018, the top cell phone manufacturers were
Samsung, Huawei, Apple, Xiaomi and Oppo.

Early cell phones 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, cell phone 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 viewing.
Even the keyboard is being taken away, replaced by a touch screen
keyboard that only comes out when you need it.
Top 5 Company Shipments, Market Share, and Year-over-Year
Growth 2018 (shipments in millions):
Vendor 2Q18 Shipments 2Q18 Market Share
1. Samsung 71.5 20.9%
2. Huawei 54.2 15.8%
3. Apple 41.3 12.1%
4. Xiaomi 31.9 9.3%
5. OPPO 29.4 8.6%
Others 113.7 33.2%
Total 342.0 100.0%

Some common features to all mobile handsets:

The common components found on all phones are:
1. A battery, providing the power source for the phone functions.
2. An input mechanism to allow the user to interact with the phone.
3. The most common input mechanism is a keypad, but touch screens
are also found in most smart phones.
4. A screen which echoes the user's typing, displays text messages,
contacts and more.
5. Basic mobile phone services to allow users to make calls and send
text messages.
6. 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.
7. Individual GSM, WCDMA, iDEN and some satellite phone devices
are uniquely identified by an International Mobile Equipment Identity
(IMEI) number.
 History and
Evolution of the
Mobile Phone
In The Beginning
Many of the early cell phones were considered to be “car phones,” as
they were too large and cumbersome to carry around in a pocket or
purse. However, in 1983, the Motorola DynaTAC 8000x arrived on the
market. Though huge by today’s standards, it was considered the first
truly mobile phone because it was small enough to carry.
Though the DynaTac and subsequent models were smaller, mobile, and
ultimately cooler, they still had their faults. Bulky, luggable models like
the Nokia Mobira Talkman and the Motorola 2900 Bag Phone had
longer battery lives and more talk time, making them more popular at
the time. As the technology advanced, cell phone companies figured out
how to pack all the features their customers wanted into a smaller,
portable, more affordable model.
A Shifting Purpose
Early cell phones 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.

Changing Shape
Just in recent years, cell phone 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 viewing.
Even the keyboard is being taken away, replaced by a touch screen
keyboard that only comes out when you need it.
Health hazards
of
Base stations
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 phone and the
wider telephone network.

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 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 health regulations
governing the placement of base stations.
 Mobile phone
radiations 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 December 2018, there were more than
7.5 billion subscriptions worldwide. Mobile phones use electromagnetic
radiation in the microwave range. Other digital wireless systems, such as
data communication networks, produce similar radiation.

In 2011, 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 in June 2011 that "to date, no adverse
health effects have been established as being caused by mobile phone
use", a point they reiterated in October 2014. Some national radiation
advisory authorities have recommended measures to minimize exposure
to their citizens as a precautionary approach.
 Headaches Tumors Melanoma

Memory Loss Fatigue

CELL PHONE

HEALTH

HAZARDS

Genetic Damage Cardiovascular Stress

Behavioural Change Reduced Melatonin Break In Blood Brain

 Some of the Potential Side Effects of Exposure to
Electromagnetic Radiation:
• Blurry Vision

• Headaches

• Nausea

• Fatigue
• Neck Pain
• Memory Loss
• Leukemia
• 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
 Effects Of Cell Phones As An Environmental
Hazard
Toxic Leaching

The Natural Resources Defence Council observes that lead, mercury and
cadmium found in personal electronic devices such as mobile phones
can “release dangerous toxins into our air and water when burned or
deposited in landfills improperly.” In these situations, there can be
significant environmental impacts.
Effects of Mobile
Radiation on Living
Tissue
1. 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 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 USA, 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
molecular bonds or release electrons from their atoms.
2. 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 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.

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.
3. 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.

4. 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.
5. 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.
6. GENOTOXIC EFFECTS
In December 2004, a pan-European study named REFLEX (Risk
Evaluation of Potential Environmental Hazards from Low Energy
Electromagnetic Field (EMF) Exposure Using Sensitive in vitro
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.
7. BEHAVIOURAL EFFECTS
A study shows that exposure to excessive mobile radiation during
pregnancy can cause a risk of ADHD in child.

8. 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.
What Has Research
Shown About The
Possible Cancer-
Causing Effects Of
Radio Frequency
Energy???
Although there have been some concerns that radiofrequency energy
from cell phones held closely to the head may affect the brain and other
tissues, to date there is no evidence from studies of cells, animals, or
humans that radiofrequency energy can cause cancer.
It is generally accepted that damage to DNA is necessary for cancer to
develop. However, radiofrequency energy, unlike ionizing radiation,
does not cause DNA damage in cells, and it has not been found to cause
cancer in animals or to enhance the cancer-causing effects of known
chemical carcinogens in animals
Researchers have carried out several types of epidemiologic studies to
investigate the possibility of a relationship between cell phone use and
the risk of malignant (cancerous) brain tumors, such as gliomas, as well
as benign (noncancerous) tumors, such as acoustic neuromas (tumors in
the cells of the nerve responsible for hearing), most meningiomas
(tumors in the meninges, membranes that cover and protect the brain and
spinal cord), and parotid gland tumors (tumors in the salivary glands)
In one type of study, called a case-control study, cell phone use is
compared between people with these types of tumors and people without
them. In another type of study, called a cohort study, a large group of
people is followed over time and the rate of these tumors in people who
did and didn’t use cell phones is compared. Cancer incidence data can
also be analyzed over time to see if the rates of cancer changed in large
populations during the time that cell phone use increased dramatically.
The results of these studies have generally not provided clear evidence
of a relationship between cell phone use and cancer, but there have been
some statistically significant findings in certain subgroups of people.
 Findings from
Famous Research
Studies
 Findings from Famous Research Studies Are
Summarized Below

 The Interphone Study, conducted by a consortium of researchers

from 13 countries, is the largest health-related case-control study
of use of cell phones and head and neck tumors. Most published
analyses from this study have shown no statistically significant
increases in brain or central nervous system cancers related to
higher amounts of cell phone use. One recent analysis showed a
statistically significant, albeit modest, increase in the risk of
glioma among the small proportion of study participants who spent
the most total time on cell phone calls. However, the researchers
considered this finding inconclusive because they felt that the
amount of use reported by some respondents was unlikely and
because the participants who reported lower levels of use appeared
to have a slightly reduced risk of brain cancer compared with
people who did not use cell phones regularly. Another recent study
from the group found no relationship between brain tumor
locations and regions of the brain that were exposed to the highest
level of radiofrequency energy from cell phones.

GLIOMA
 A cohort study in Denmark linked billing information from more
than 358,000 cell phone subscribers with brain tumor incidence
data from the Danish Cancer Registry. The analyses found no
association between cell phone use and the incidence of glioma,
meningioma, or acoustic neuroma, even among people who had
been cell phone subscribers for 13 or more years.

Brain Tumor

Meningioma
 The prospective Million Women Study in the United Kingdom
found that self-reported cell phone use was not associated with an
increased risk of glioma, meningioma, or non-central nervous
system tumors. The researchers did find that the use of cell phones
for more than 5 years was associated with an increased risk of
acoustic neuroma, and that the risk of acoustic neuroma increased
with increasing duration of cell phone use. However, the incidence
of these tumors among men and women in the United Kingdom
did not increase during 1998 to 2008, even though cell phone use
increased dramatically over that decade.

Acoustic Neuroma

 An early case-control study in the United States was unable to

demonstrate a relationship between cell phone use and glioma or
meningioma.
 Some case-control studies in Sweden found statistically significant
trends of increasing brain cancer risk for the total amount of cell
phone use and the years of use among people who began using cell
phones before age 20. However, another large, case-control study
in Sweden did not find an increased risk of brain cancer among
people between the ages of 20 and 69. In addition, the international
CEFALO study, which compared children who were diagnosed
with brain cancer between ages 7 and 19 with similar children who
were not, found no relationship between their cell phone use and
risk for brain cancer.
 Studies of workers exposed to radiofrequency energy have shown
no evidence of increased risk of brain tumors among U.S. Navy
electronics technicians, aviation technicians, or fire control
technicians, those working in an electromagnetic pulse test
program, plastic-ware workers, cellular phone manufacturing
workers, or Navy personnel with a high probability of exposure to
radar.
 Cell Phones Reach The Market Without Safety
Testing

The cellular phone industry was born in the early 1980s, when
communications technology that had been developed for the Department
of Defense was put into commerce by companies focusing on profits.
This group, with big ideas but limited resources, pressured government
regulatory agencies—particularly the Food and Drug Administration
(FDA)—to allow cell phones to be sold without pre-market testing. The
rationale, known as the “low power exclusion,” distinguished cell
phones from dangerous microwave ovens based on the amount of power
used to push the microwaves. At that time, the only health effect seen
from microwaves involved high power strong enough to heat human
tissue. The pressure worked, and cell phones were exempted from any
type of regulatory oversight, an exemption that continues today.

Today there are more than two billion cell phone users being exposed
every day to the dangers of electromagnetic radiation (EMR)—dangers
government regulators and the cell phone industry refuse to admit exist.
Included are: genetic damage, brain dysfunction, brain tumours, and
other conditions such as sleep disorders and headaches.

Do children have a higher risk of developing cancer

due to cell phone use than adults?
In theory, children have the potential to be at greater risk than adults for
developing brain cancer from cell phones. Their nervous systems are
still developing and therefore more vulnerable to factors that may cause
cancer. Their heads are smaller than those of adults and therefore have a
greater proportional exposure to the field of radiofrequency radiation
that is emitted by cell phones. And children have the potential of
accumulating more years of cell phone exposure than adults do.
Tips for Reducing
Potential Harmful
Effects of Mobile
Phone Radiation
1. 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.
2. Place the mobile phone away from your body when on a call.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. Turn the mobile phone off when you don't need to use it.
6. Use a corded landline phone instead of a wireless phone, which also
emits radiation.
7. 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.
8. 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.
9. Do not allow children under 18 to use a mobile phone except in
emergencies.
10. 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 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 generations because of the ability of the
radiations to effect and mutate human DNA which have a high potential
to cause mutations and new diseases in the future generations. Mobile
radiations present a very high risk of brain cancer and tumours in
humans and most prominently in children below the age of 5 years.

Precautionary measure should be taken to protect one’s self and family

and friends from the harmful effects of mobile radiation.

Mobile radiation might not seem harmful in almost immediate effects

but is such a slow poison to cause harmful effects to us and even our
future generations, in the long run.
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

 www.google.co.in
 www.wikipedia.org
 www.lifeextension.com
 www.digitaltrends.com
 www.cancer.gov
 www.safespaceprotection.com