Detailed measurements of exposure to electromagnetic radiation of the population of Neapoli-Sykies area

Abstract

Introduction The exposure to electromagnetic fields is of great concern to the majority of population due the large expansion of the use of mobile phones and telecommunication antennas. Purpose The purpose of this study was to measure the intensity of electromagnetic fields to the municipality of Neapoli-Sykies and perform detailed measurements at specific places of interest on two different times. Material and method The study took place in 3 stages. a) A quick check of the whole area of the municipality. An isotropic aerial was put on a wooden tripod and fastened on the roof of a car. The aerial was connected to the spectrum analyser FSH4, R&S. Each measurement covering the range 30 MHz–3 GHz lasted two minutes while the car was still. The exact position was acquired using a GPS device. The resulting data and measurement values of 1.109 points were entered in a geographic information system. b) Detailed measurements. At a second stage we acquired analytical measurements of each of eight frequency regions at 150 specific points of interest, namely base station antennas, schools, playgrounds and sport facilities. c) Detailed measurements in a later time. The detailed measurements were repeated after six months and all were entered in the same geographic information system. Results All measurements of the first stage, covering the frequency zone of 30 MHz–3 GHz, were well below the lowest limit of 21,7 V/m. The measurements of the second stage were also below the proposed limits of each region and they were no statistical differences between the two measurements for each point. Conclusion The intensities of electromagnetic fields on the whole and on every specific region are below the national limits.