The rapid spread of smartphones and laptops has made communication easy but has raised concerns about the possible health effects of exposure to radio frequency (RF) radiation since high RF shields are known to have deleterious effects on the human body.
TUV Rheinland India’s testing lab at Bangalore is equipped to evaluate products for their Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) for wireless devices. SAR measures the amount of RF energy absorbed by human body tissue close to the wireless transmitter.
TUV Rheinland India is a member of the German TUV Rheinland Group. Headquartered in Bangalore, the company is active in 23 locations in India.
Mobile base stations (towers) can also cause serious damage to the environment. Moreover, if limits are not maintained on radiation emission, in-car infotainment, the technology that makes today’s cars intelligent, location aware and connected to the Internet, can also introduce a new kind of radiation.
The Ministry of Communications and Information Technology and the Department of Telecommunications recently revised the SAR limits for all mobile handsets used in India. The new limit is more stringent than the earlier requirements, which were in line with European Standards.
Given the change in regulation, all mobile handsets manufactured in India or imported will have to be checked for SAR evaluation, said Enrico Ruhle, Managing Director, TUV Rheinland India.
Kalyan Varma, General Manager, TUV Rheinland India said, “Sustained exposure to radiation can cause serious harm to human beings. In India, awareness among handset and tablet makers even ris not 100 per cent.”
”Mobile devices made outside and legally entering India should comply with the limits, but the mechanism to check domestically made devices does not exist. As a result, a lot of devices may not be falling in line with the limits,” Varma said.
The company works with semi-Governmental bodies such as the Automotive Research Association of India to hold seminars and educate the public, especially about keeping smartphones and tablets at a distance while sleeping.