Journal of Natural Environment

Evaluating electromagnetic pollution level of Irancell BTS antennas in different locations (Shahinshahr city study)

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Department of Natural Resources, Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan, Iran.

2 Department of Electrical Engineering, Faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan, Iran.

3 Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Arak Azad Islamic University, Arak, Iran.

10.22059/jne.2024.373262.2654

Abstract

Our surroundings are full of natural electromagnetic fields and man-made sources, including cell phones and radio communications. Mobile phone company service providers have set up BTS sites that may have radiation harmful to the environment and human health. Therefore, the level of exposure to these invisible waves is significant. The present study was conducted to investigate the amount of electromagnetic pollution caused by Irancell BTS antennas in Shahinshahr city. The density of electromagnetic waves emitted from all 34 Irancell sites in this city was measured with a radio frequency meter (ETS-Lindgren-HI2200) at distances of 30, 70, 150 and 170 meters in different areas to compare with the national standard of Iran, which is in accordance with the ICNIRP standard. Since the obtained data were not normal, non-parametric statistical tests, Wilcoxon's sign rank, Cross-Cal-Wallis, Mann-Whitney and sign test were used to check significance. According to the radiation pattern, the highest density of waves was at a distance of 150 meters, and with increasing distance, the density of waves decreases due to greater propagation. The results showed that the density of waves emitted from these sites is much lower than the permissible limit of Iran's national standard. The density of the waves in the commercial area was higher than the residential area, and the density of the waves from the shared sites was higher than the single Irancell sites, The amount of waves inside the building was much lower than outside the same building and the amount of radiation emitted from the rooftop sites was not different from the greenfield sites. Due to the fact that the wave density is lower than the national standard of Iran (440 μW/cm²), it can be said that Irancell sites in this city are safe in terms of thermal effects.

Keywords

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Journal of Natural Environment
Volume 78, Monitoring and Management of Natural Environmental Pollutants
June 2025
Pages 63-74