Cow dung chips will reduce radiation from phones.

There is no scientific evidence to suggest cow dung chips absorb radiations from cellphones.

There is no scientific evidence to suggest cow dung chips absorb radiations from cellphones.In Oct 2020, Rashtriya Kamdhenu Aayog (RKA) chairman Vallabhbhai Kathiria unveiled a ''chip'' made of cow dung and claimed that it reduces radiation from mobile handsets and it will be a safeguard against diseases.

Speaking at the launch of a nationwide campaign ''Kamdhenu Deepawali Abhiyan'', which is aimed at promoting cow dung products, Vallabhbhai Kathiria said: "Cow dung will protect everyone, it is anti-radiation... It is scientifically proven...This is a radiation chip that can be used in mobile phones to reduce radiation. It will be safeguarded against diseases."

In an interview with Huffington Post in August 2016, scientist Virander S. Chauhan, former director of the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology refuted claims of cow dung having the ability to absorb alpha, beta, and gamma rays. He said there was no basis behind the claim that cow dung can protect people from radiation.

"In order to prove any such theory, someone has to first conduct an experiment. Apply cow dung to one sample of mobile phones and measure their emissions against phones that are not coated with dung," he said. "Then publish the results in a peer-reviewed scientific journal. Only then can one say anything on the matter."

Physicist Vikram Soni, Professor Emeritus at Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi, and author of the book Naturally: Tread Softly on the Planet, also dismissed the theory that cow dung possessed radiation absorption capabilities. He said, "Emissions from the digestive tracts of cows include methane and other greenhouse gases, but cows are not known to produce dung that can absorb radiation. While cow dung might have insulating properties, which is the reason for it to be applied on walls of houses, and even antiseptic features, it is unlikely to absorb radioactivity."

Dr. S Krishnaswamy, a senior professor of Bioinformatics from Madurai Kamaraj University told The Quint that radiations coming out of mobile handsets are not alpha, beta or gamma rays but non-ionising radio waves.

Following Kathiria's announcement, more than 600 scientists and science educators wrote to him in seeking scientific evidence to back his claim that cow dung chips could reduce radiation from cell phones.

Besides, there are no scientific studies yet that present concrete evidence that cow dung can effectively absorb radiation from cell phones.