PUTRAJAYA:The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) has reiterated that telecommunications towers near housing areas will not cause health problems.
In a statement, it said the towers were constructed or placed following existing guidelines.
“This includes the distance between the tower and the housing area.
“The Radio Frequency Electromagnetic Field (RF-EMF) emission level from telecommunications towers in the country are also under control at all times, which is below the recommended limit in the guideline set by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP),” it added.
MCMC said mobile communications technology used radio frequencies clustered under the non-ionising radiation (NIR) category.
“It does not have enough energy to induce change in molecules in living matter or body cells.
“In addition, continuous exposure to NIR does not cause long-term damage to human tissues.”
The commission said scientists all over the world had carried out about 24,000 studies on the effects of EMF emitted by the telecommunications transmitters on biological systems in the last 30 years.
Based on these studies, it said the World Health Organisation (WHO) had concluded that exposure to EMF from telecommunications transmitters did not affect biological systems or pose any health impacts.
The Health Ministry has also concurred that there was no scientific and concrete evidence to support allegations of potential health hazards caused by radiation from the telecommunications transmitters.
“The radio frequency (RF) transmission level test conducted by the Malaysian Nuclear Agency (ANM) across the country also found that radiation level in areas close to the transmitters are very low and are at a safe level,” it added.
MCMA also gave assurances that it was always monitoring the construction, placement and radiation level emitted by communications transmitters.
It urged the public to always refer to a trusted source or qualified expert endorsed by the government to prevent misunderstanding about the RF-EMF issue.