How harmful are mobile antennas to public health?

After the first three mobile radiotelephone stations appeared in Kirovograd in 1996, the intensive development of this type of communication in the region began.

At present, the leading mobile operators: &Ukrainian Mobile Communications (MTS), &Kyivstar J.S.M., &Astelit and others provide access to mobile radiotelephone communications almost throughout the region. Recently, the use of mobile phones for access to the Internet has been gaining significant momentum.

It is clear that this is accompanied by the emergence of a large number of base stations, which form a cellular radiotelephone network, which in turn causes an increase in citizens' appeals regarding the possible negative impact of base station antennas on human health.

The State Sanitary and Epidemiological Service of the region, which is responsible for monitoring compliance with sanitary legislation in order to prevent the harmful effects of hazardous factors on human health, when supervising the activities of mobile base stations, is guided by the State Sanitary Norms and Rules for the Protection of the Population from the Effects of Electromagnetic Radiation, approved by the Order of the Minister of Health of Ukraine dated 01. 08. 96, No. 239 (hereinafter referred to as "sanitary norms"), which define the maximum permissible levels of electromagnetic radiation (hereinafter referred to as "EMF") for the population, requirements for the placement of radio facilities and the organization of their sanitary protection zones and building restriction zones, methods of monitoring the levels of electromagnetic fields in the environment.

The main issue that causes most of the population's inquiries is the placement of base station transmitting antennas. For further clarification of this issue, two definitions should be considered: a sanitary protection zone and a building restriction zone around a radio facility.

The sanitary protection zone is the area where the maximum permissible EMF levels are exceeded at a height of up to two meters from the ground surface. According to sanitary standards, the maximum permissible level of EMF generated by the transmitting antennas of base stations is 2.5 microwatts per square centimeter (2.5 µW/cm2) for the population.

The building restriction zone is the area where the maximum permissible EMF levels for the population are exceeded at a height of more than 2 m from the ground surface. The outer boundary of this zone is determined relative to the maximum height of the buildings of prospective development, at the height of the upper floor, where the EMF levels do not exceed the maximum permissible levels.

Next, you should pay attention to the features of mobile radiotelephone antennas.

Base station transmit and receive antennas, unlike radio and television antennas, which radiate electromagnetic energy evenly in all directions (circular pattern), have a directional radiation pattern. This means that the maximum energy emitted by the antenna is distributed in a spatially limited direction. Most antennas used in mobile communications radiate maximum energy in an angle of up to 7? in the vertical and up to 65? in the horizontal plane. It follows that when antennas are located above 10 m from the ground, EMF levels at a height of up to 2 m are reduced to the maximum permissible levels.

It can be noted that in the region, the lowest height where the maximum permissible EMF levels are exceeded is 9 meters (base station in Pryiutivka village of Oleksa-Sandriya district, 2 Korystivske highway), the highest is up to 50 meters, where antennas are installed on 60-meter high masts.

Thus, there are no mobile phone base stations in the region that require a sanitary protection zone.

As for the restricted development zone, residential, public and industrial buildings are allowed to be located there if their height does not exceed the height of the restricted zone and EMF levels on the upper floors do not exceed the maximum permissible levels.

At the same time, it should be noted that under the same conditions, antennas are allowed to be placed on the roofs of residential, public and other buildings, provided that there is a reinforced concrete floor and a technical floor. In this case, base station transmitters may be located in isolated rooms on technical floors.

According to the sanitary standards, when choosing a location and developing a base station construction project, building restriction zones are determined in the directions of radiation of transmitting antennas by calculations based on the methodology approved by the Ministry of Health.

The location of the base station and its construction project must be approved by the state sanitary supervision authorities. It should be noted that the design organizations that develop these documents usually do not violate the requirements of sanitary standards regarding the placement of transmitting antennas. In some cases, when there is a risk of negative impact of antenna radiation on human health, the projects are amended according to the proposals of the sanitary service, for example: increasing the height of the antennas at the base station of Kyivstar in Oleksandriya at 11 Lenina str. Lenina, 11, the same for the base station of UMZ at 28 Geroyev Stalingradu Street in Kirovograd, changing the direction of radiation of the antennas of the base station of Ukrtelecom at 1A Kirova Street and the base station of UMZ at 11 Koroleva Street in Kirovograd, etc.

When a base station is put into operation, or after its reconstruction, it is mandatory to measure the actual levels of electromagnetic radiation at the points of their greatest possible impact on the population.

According to the results of measurements carried out over the past ten years, the levels of electromagnetic radiation in residential areas, in residential and public buildings in the area of possible impact of base station transmitting antennas ranged from 0.32 to 1.6 μW/cm2, while the maximum permissible level for the population is 2.5 μW/cm2.

At present, no cases have been registered in the region when the operation of mobile radiotelephone base stations violated the State Sanitary Norms and Rules for the Protection of the Population from the Effects of Electromagnetic Radiation.