He made this remarks at the 11th Knowledge Forum organized by the Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications yesterday at the Coconut Grove Regency Hotel.
The Knowledge Forum was under the theme: Improving Customer Experience by Safeguarding Telecoms Infrastructure. Dr. Amoako’s remarks were in response to concerns from some participants about the correlation between RFR emissions and its effect on human health.
According to him, several WHO research and reviews classifies Telecommunication infrastructure as 2B+ have concluded that there is no clear evidence of detrimental health effects in humans exposed to RFR from telecom towers and mobile handsets.
According to him, several WHO research and reviews classifies Telecommunication infrastructure as 2B+ have concluded that there is no clear evidence of detrimental health effects in humans exposed to RFR from telecom towers and mobile handsets. “Overall, there is no evidence of harmful biological effects that could be associated with health hazards” – and that “exposure to base stations does not cause health effects.”
The simple reason given was that the exposure levels are very low – typically 10,000 times lower than what could be harmful to humans. However, he warned against excessive use of mobile phone especially at bedtime hours, which prevents especially children from having the minimum hours of sleep for good brain function.
He noted that radiations from telecom towers were non-ionizing and did not disrupt the molecular structure of biological material.
Besides that, the globally recognized, independent International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) has released guidelines that provide levels of RFR exposure that are regarded as safe for humans.
According to statement on the “Guidelines for limiting exposure to time-varying electric, magnetic and electromagnetic fields (up to 300 GHz)”, no confirmed study, to date, had shown adverse health effects at exposure levels below ICNIRP, and emissions in Ghana were well within the ICNIRP levels. (https://www.icnirp.org)
Acting Chief Executive of Environmental Protection Agency; Mr. John Pwamang also made pronouncements to the effect that telecom mast radiations scare in Ghana is due to gross misconception and is not supported by empirical evidence.
Public concern about the health impact of RFR from telecom towers, vis-a-vis the need for quality telecom service, presents a rather complex puzzle for anyone to deal with; Mr. Derek Laryea, Head of Research at Telecoms Chamber laments. According to Mr. Laryea, much as telecommunication is desirable for national development, it seems a few Ghanaians are not ready to coexist with telecom infrastructure, without which the required quality mobile network service cannot be possible.
Experts from the telecommunications industry who made presentation at the Forum said the number of towers is woefully inadequate to assure quality service. They therefore appeal to individuals and communities who agitate and prevents telecom infrastructure roll out in their locality to desist from such actions as it would impact delivery of quality of service.
Source:Telecoms Chamber News Desk
