Did you know that sunburn is much more hazardous than a cell tower nearby?

Among all kinds of phobias, nomophobia is gaining particular popularity today. This means the fear of being left without a phone and unable to reach loved ones. 

People do not want to be without communication and at the same time they are afraid of the proximity of mobile phone towers. This type of anxiety is called "radiophobia", a manifestation of hypochondriacal syndrome. Even despite normal results of medical examinations, a hypochondriacs experience constant anxiety and fear for their life and health, and that can significantly affect their lifestyle and public conduct. 

The Internet is full of information that excites the minds of hypochondriacs. Articles about the supposed harm of base stations written by abstract "Canadian, Swedish, British" scientists can be found on thousands of dubious sites.

Is it worth being afraid of?

There are a huge number of radiation sources near every person. People use laptops, TVs, routers, microwave ovens and cell phones every day. All these objects emit a certain background. In short – everything that creates comfort in our homes and helps us work more productively and relax more interestingly. However, for some reason, people most often express their concerns about base stations, although their electromagnetic radiation is weaker than that of microwave ovens.

It is much more dangerous to sunbathe than to be near a base station.

Good to know

Radio waves are not dangerous for humans, they cannot cause cell mutations, and they do not affect DNA. You can read about this in the 9th grade physics textbook. Thousands of scientific studies have not found any negative impact of cellular network signals on the human body, which is also confirmed by the World Health Organization.

It is radiation that is harmful to humans, i.e. radiation in the form of a stream of charged particles and ionizing radiation (like in an X-ray room).

The word "radio waves" is simply "unlucky" because of its similarity to the word "radiation". The words sound quite alike but their concepts are completely different.

However, if citizens have concerns about electromagnetic radiation from the nearest base station, measurements are made and information meetings with residents are held. As the engineers of the O! Mobile Operator reported, specialists of the Department of Disease Prevention and State Sanitary and Epidemiological Surveillance under the Ministry of Health of the Kyrgyz Republic, as well as the Service for Regulation and Supervision of the Communication Industry under the Ministry of Digital Development of the Kyrgyz Republic go there together with engineers of telecom service providers. In addition, specialists of ARMOT LLC, an independent certified accredited laboratory for measuring physical factors, come.

Radiophobes themselves are dangerous

It would seem that everyone wants high-quality calls and high-speed Internet.

However, while some users are happy about the installation of new base stations in their areas, others are indignant and talk about harm to health. Unfortunately, there are often cases of attacks on communication engineers and vandalism in Kyrgyzstan. People see the equipment and go out to fight with the installation team, radiophobes break expensive equipment and metal structures, and cut wires. As a result of their actions, certain areas may be left without communication and emergency services during emergencies.

It reaches the point of absurdity. At first, residents demand the station be removed because of radiophobia. But when it is dismantled, they start complaining about poor communication and internet quality.

Did you know that…  

• Kyrgyzstan is among those applying the strictest standards in the world for the maximum permissible level of electromagnetic radiation at a person's location, 10 μW/cm². While in the USA, Europe, Japan and Korea, it is tens or even hundreds of times higher: 200-1000 μW/cm².

• The level of electromagnetic radiation from a microwave oven is 120 to 180 μW/cm². This is tens of times higher than that from a base station.

Scientists, engineers and researchers say concerns about radiation from base stations are unfounded.

All equipment used by the O! company is purchased from leading global brand manufacturers who also focus on the global standards applied by world-known standardization organizations.

All base stations are placed in mandatory compliance with sanitary norms and requirements. Base stations several times undergo independent examination. It is only subject to positive conclusion confirming that the equipment will not affect human health, the work may begin. Further inspections are carried out regularly, once in three years.

Base station commissioning stages

1. First, an independent physical measurement laboratory carries out preliminary calculations of EMI levels;

2. After that, the project is examined by the Department of Disease Prevention and the State Sanitary and Epidemiological Surveillance of the Ministry of Health of the Kyrgyz Republic;

3. The construction of a communication facility only starts after passing an examination and receiving approval from relevant government agencies;

4. After the construction is completed, a certified laboratory performs actual measurements of the base station EMI. Base station operation is subject to acceptable EMI levels.

How to relieve groundless anxiety?

The key to physical and psychological health lies in simple things that everyone knows about, but few people do. These include adequate sleep, a balanced diet, regular physical activity, whether it’s a weekly visit to the gym or a half-hour leisurely walk every evening, and favorite activities and hobbies that help you relax.

But, the main method of combatting one’s fear is to learn more about the technology and realize the benefits of using it.

The importance of mobile communication today is hard to overestimate: it is an opportunity to call an ambulance, reach relatives abroad, study remotely and have access to information from all over the world, work and develop a business. A smartphone has long ceased to be just a device for calls but has rather turned into a full-fledged tool for searching for information and entertainment online, and a device that can replace a wallet. We can use a mobile phone to pay any bill including for electricity, gas or water. This allows you to save energy on bank visits and, accordingly, the most valuable, your time.