School and hospital premises would soon be out of bounds for mobile phone towers, the installation of which would now be governed according to international norms. The Government has adopted a new set of guidelines for limiting the exposure of human beings to electromagnetic radiation emitted by mobile phones and their base stations. The new guidelines ask telecom companies to avoid installing base stations in schools or hospital premises because children and patients are more susceptible to electromagnetic fields. The guidelines, which are likely to come into force soon, will also make it mandatory for the telecom companies to seek the approval of Resident Welfare Associations before installing the base station in a residential area. "A person cannot just rent out his premises or roof top for the installation of a mobile tower. He will have to seek the approval of the people in his neighbourhood who will be affected by the radiation being emitted,' said V B Gupta of the Karma Jyot Seva Trust, an NGO which had filed a public interest litigation in the Supreme Court to force the Government to enact proper guidelines as prescribed by the International Commission on Non-Ionising Radiation Protection (ICNIRP). In many parts of the country, human beings are exposed to radiation which is much above the accepted ICNIRP limits of 450 microwatt/square cm. A recent study in Delhi discovered that in some parts of the city, radiation levels were as high as 7,620 microwatt/square cm, exposing citizens to a number of health hazards, including cancers and tumours. The Supreme Court is yet to give its final verdict in the case but during the hearing it had asked the Centre the reason for absence of any norms for limiting the ill-effects of radiation on public health. After detailed discussions, the Telecom Commission, on May 27 this year, adopted ICNIRP guidelines regarding basic restrictions and reference levels for limiting exposure to electromagnetic radiations. The new guidelines ask telecom companies to share resources among themselves instead of installing multiple transmitting towers in the same locality. They also direct companies not to install base stations in narrow lanes to minimise risks caused by natural disasters, and to ensure that the towers are at least three metres away from nearby buildings and the same distance above the ground or roof. Identifiable signboards must also be provided at the site of the base stations to discourage the presence of people in the area for longer periods.