Assessment of Radiated Electromagnetic Waves from Base Station Antennas using Calculation and Field Measurement Techniques

Abstract

For about a century now, several telecommunication devices have been developed by engineers and scientists to assist man for easy information communication and reception. A popular one among the telecommunication devices is the base station antennas which uses radiofrequency electromagnetic wave energy to broadcast radio information signals during operation. The main concern of these BS antennas and their cellular phone devices is the possible adverse human and public health effect of the amount of electromagnetic (EM) wave radiations that emanate from them, especially at proximity during usage. The exposure to EM waves emanating from BSs is a continuous process, and it irradiates the entire body parts and tissues exposed to them at different levels based on position and separation distance. In this work, a combination of both analytical calculation and field strength measurement approach is proposed to the amount EM waves radiation from a randomly selected BS antennas operating in a typical urban residential area of Benin City. With calculation method, highest power density values for operator A and B are 2.34 and 1.17W/m 2 . By means of field measurement, highest power density values are 0.0016 W/m 2 , 0.0024 W/m 2 , 0.0021 W/m 2 for operator A and 0.0019 W/m 2 , 0.0021W/m 2 , 0.0004 W/m 2 for operator B. By comparing the above results with the recommended safety limit of 9W/m 2 by ICNIRP for the public, it is clear that the level of electromagnetic radiation from the investigated antennas are safe for human health.