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electromagnetic Radiation from Cell towers

a brief discussion and explanation of relevant technical issues is presented here to help readers in better understanding of the effects of electromagnetic radiation from cellphone towers

Gp Capt (Retd) K.C. Bhasin

f late, a lot of concern has been voiced in electronic as well as print media about uninhibited installation of cellphone towers in thickly populated areas of many cities in India. There is a perception relating to existence of a high level of electromagnetic radiation in the vicinity of these towers, which may cause adverse biological effects. In the absence of suitable policy directives for cell tower installations, monitoring, effective control and execution at all levels by governmental bodies, such mushrooming of cellphone transmitting towers could create a sense of panic amongst general public. As the cellphone base in India is expanding at nearly 17 per cent per annum (it may cross 500 million subscribers by the end of this year), the requirement for cellphone towers will also grow proportionately. It is therefore high time that a strict regulatory regime is established as early as possible to avoid possible fallout. There is a need for not only controlling the haphazard installation of the towers but also undertaking systematic study for measurements of the radiation levels in some selected high-population-density urban areas to ensure that the power density levels are well below the prescribed threshold limits. The results need to be made available for public education and scrutiny. The present threshold limits prescribed by the government are considered to be rather too generous (one of the highest

towers. While Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) maintains that the alleged health hazard from EM radiation from cellphone towers and mobile phones is a misconception, devoid of any underlying basis in reality, however, many others do not share their views and cite the same and other documents to stress their viewpoint. For readers to form their own independFig.1: Spectrum of EM Radiation ent and informed opinion, a certain amount of technical Table-I background and knowledge Power Density Conversion is necessary. The following between Units text briefly covers technical Conversion between W/m, mW/cm and W/cm aspects of the entire matter.
0,000.01 W/m 0,000.1 W/m 0,001 W/m 0,01 W/m 0,1 W/m 1 W/m 10 W/m 100 W/m 1.000 W/m 10.000 W/m 100.000 W/m 0,000.001 mW/cm 0,000.01 mW/cm 0,000.1 mW/cm 0,001 mW/cm 0,01 mW/cm 0,1 mW/cm 1 mW/cm 10 mW/cm 100 mW/cm 1.000 mW/cm 10.000 mW/cm 0,001 W/cm 0,01 W/cm 0,1 W/cm 1 W/cm 10 W/cm 100 W/cm 1.000 W/cm 10.000 W/cm 100.000 W/cm 1.000.000 W/cm 10.000.000 W/cm

ionising and nonionising radiation

Fig. 1 shows different forms of electromagnetic energy in the entire spectrum of EM radiation with the range of frequencies, their energies, effects and sources. W/m = watts per square metre, mW/cm = milliwatts When referring to bioper square centimetre, W/cm = microwatts per square logic radiation exposures, centimetre EM radiation is divided into two types: ionising and nonionising. Because the human body is in the world), and hence there is a need composed of about 60 per cent water, to review and remedy the situation ionising and non-ionising radiations and not wait until it becomes the subrefer to whether the RF energy is high ject matter of a public-interest petition enough to break chemical bonds of in the light of possible environmental water (ionising) or not (non-ionising). adverse effects. Technically, ionising radiation is the In the aftermath of the court verdict amount of energy that can remove an relating to Bhopal tragedy and the key electron from a water molecule (1.216 clause in the pending nuclear liability kilojoules/mol), and non-ionising radibill, there is a growing concern about ation is anything less than that amount. harmful affects of radiation from the
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Examples of ionising radiation include alpha particle radiation, beta particle radiation, neutrons, gamma rays and X-rays. Examples of non-ionising radiation are sound waves, visible light, RF and microwaves. The RF spectrum covers the range of about 3 kHz to 300 GHz. The cellphone frequencies are the sets of frequency ranges within the UHF band (300 MHz and 3 GHz or 3000 MHz) of RF spectrum. Nonionising radiation is considered to be harmless below the levels that cause heating. Higher levels of non-ionising radiation are dangerous in direct exposure, although the degree of danger is a subject of debate. Concept of EM radiation from an antenna. Most of us are aware that a current-carrying conductor is associated with a magnetic field. As current in the conductor changes, the magnetic field also changes, and a changing magnetic field produces a changing electric field around itself. The changing electric field is again associated with a changing magnetic field. Thus the two fields are self-sustaining. The phenomenon is shown in Fig. 2. To understand how electromagnetic radiation takes place, consider an antenna (say, a dipole) to be a capacitor whose plates have been taken apart. The associated EM fields are called induction fields, which need a conductor (here, it is antenna) to support them. At low frequencies, the collapsing E and H fields return all the energy supplied to the induction field to the antenna. No energy from the induction field is radiated from the antenna. The EM fields associated with the antenna vary when the generator voltage goes through one complete cycle (360). Corresponding H- and E-field amplitude variations on time scale are shown in Fig. 3. When the frequency of AC voltage source is made sufficiently high, the induction field is produced as described above. However, the generator voltage reverses direction before the electric field has had time to collapse
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Fig. 2: EM field surrounding a conductor carrying varying current

Fig. 3: Time-varying H and E fields around antenna

Fig. 4: Repulsion of collapsing E field

Fig. 5: Induction field components

Fig. 6: Radiation field components

completely. The direction of new electric lines of force is such as to repel the previous collapsing electric field (along

with its H-field counterpart) into space as depicted in Fig. 4. (Note that for brevity, only E field is shown; the accompanying H field is not shown.) Phase relationships between H- and E-field components of induction and radiation fields along with direction of their propagation are shown in Figs 5 and 6, respectively. Polarisation. The orientation of an electric field vector in the plane orthogonal to the direction of propagation is called polarisation. If the electric field vector is always oriented in a given direction, the wave is linearly (either horizontally or vertically) polarised. If the electric field vector rotates around the direction of propagation, maintaining a constant magnitude, the wave is circularly polarised. If the extremity of the electric field vector traces an ellipse, the wave is elliptically polarised. The electric field vector rotates either clockwise or counter-clockwise. It is difficult to predict the orientation of the electric field in the near-field region as the transmitting antenna cannot be considered as a point source in this region. However, in the far-field region, the antenna behaves like a point source, and the electric and magnetic components of the field become orthogonal to the direction of propagation and their polarisation characteristics do not vary with distance. EM field regions surrounding an antenna. The space surrounding an antenna is generally subdivided into three regionsreactive near-field,

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Radiating far-field. The field region beyond radiating near-field is radiating far-field, which theoretically extends to infinity. Here the field pattern is essentially independent of the distance from the antenna. In the farfield region, the field components are transverse and propagate as a plane wave (refer Fig. 5). The radiating farfield decays inversely as its distance from the antenna.
Fig. 7: Near-field (NF) and far-field (FF) regions of antennae

Cellular base station frequency bands

Region-wise, majority of cellphone networks across the world use GSM 900 and GSM 1800MHz bands, including Europe, Asia (including India), Australia, Middle East and Africa, while GSM 850 and GSM 1900MHz bands are used in the United States, Canada, Mexico and most countries of South America. Additionally, the ITU has identified 1885-2025MHz and 2110-2200MHz bands for 3G development. Of this, the 1920-1980MHz band paired with the 2110-2170MHz band (also known as 2.1GHz band, see Fig. 8) was identified as the core band for development of 3G, and the same has recently been auctioned by the government of India. The 2.1GHz band could make use of

Fig. 8: 2.1GHz band for 3G communications

radiating near-field and radiating farfieldas shown in Fig. 7. (Note that the boundaries shown in the figure are indicative and not well-defined.) Reactive near-field. It is the region immediately surrounding the antenna wherein the reactive field predominates. Reactive near-field pattern is spherical and decays rapidly with the distance from antenna. Radial limit R1 of reactive near-field is given by: R1 = 0.62 D3/ where D is the largest dimension of the antenna and is the wavelength. (To be valid, D must be large compared to the wavelength.) Radiating near-field. This region lies between the reactive near-field region and the far-field region wherein radiation field predominates (in the presence of reactive field). Here the radial field component may be appreciable, while the field pattern is dependent upon the distance from the antenna. Radial limit R2 of the radiating near-field is given by: R2 = 2 D2/

either W-CDMA (wide-band code-division multiple-access) or CDMA-2000 access technology. Thus changeover to 3G will entail seamless upgradation of 2G/2.5G access technology to 3G access technologies and availability of matching handsets. Far field of cellphone antennae. Start of far-field (distance 2D2/l) for cellphone frequency bands of interest, namely, 900, 1800 and 2100 MHz (corresponding to l=0.333, 0.166 and 0.143 metres, respectively), can be computed easily from the knowledge of larger dimensions of the antennae; typically, 2.25 metres for 900 MHz and 1.35 metres covering both 1800 and 2100MHz bands (refer the cellphone antennae product details on the website of Kaveri Telecom Products, Bengaluru). The far-field start distances work out to be 30.5 metres for 900MHz antenna and 25.5 metres for 1800 and 21MHz band antennae.

e field, h field and power density in far-field region

From practical viewpoint, for power density measurements, we shall only be concerned with the far-field region. In the far-field region (>2D2/l), the E (electric field intensity) and H (magnetic field intensity) vectors and the direction of propagation are mutually perpendicular to each other; and the quotient of the amplitude of E/H is constant throughout the far-field space. In free space, the ratio of their amplitudes (E/H = 120p ohms or 377 ohms) is refered to as characteristic impedance Z0 of free space. Power density (PD), i.e., the power per unit area normal to the direction of propagation, is related to the electric and magnetic fields as: PD=|E|.|H|= E2/377 = 377H2 watt/m2...Eq. (1) where E is measured in volts (RMS) per metre and H in ampere (RMS) per metre. Thus by measuring either electric field intensity (V/m) or H-field intensity (A/m) at a far-field location, power density PD (watts per square metre) can
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Definitions of electric and magnetic field strengths

Electric field strength. The standard unit of electric field (E-field) strength is volt per metre (V/m). An E field of 1V/m is represented by a potential difference of 1V existing between two points that are 1 metre apart. Magnetic field strength. When current flows in a conductor, it is always accompanied by a magnetic field. The strength, or intensity, of this field is proportional to the amount of current and inversely proportional to the distance from the conductor. The unit of magnetic field (H field) is ampere per metre (Am1).

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be calculated as per Eq. 1. More elaborate definitions of electric and magnetic field strength/ intensity are given in the Box. The concept of power density at distance D from an isotropic radiator radiating power P in space will be clear from the spherical model of free space with an isotropical antenna at its centre as shown in Fig. 9. If one uses any other type of antenna with known gain, the power density in the line of shoot (maximum power) can be obtained by multiplying the power density due to the isotropic radiator by true antenna gain for the specific antenna (refer Fig. 10) used. Conversion between units and subunits. Table I shows conversions between power density units expressed as W/m, mW/cm and W/cm. Practical base station antennae (Fig. 11). Several types of antennae are used for cellphone communications; e.g., panel-shaped sector antennae or pole-shaped omnidirectional antennae. Dish antennae form terminals for point-to-point microwave links that communicate with other base stations and link the network together. Sometimes the base stations are connected together using buried cables instead of microwave links. Beam shapes and directions. The power from antennae used with macrocellular base stations is radiated in conical fan-shaped beams directed towards the horizon with a slight downward tilt (see Fig. 12). The EM wave strengths below the antennae and at the base of masts are much lower than directly in front of the antennae. The beams from the antennae spread out with distance and tend to reach ground level at distances in the range of 50-300 metres from the antennae. The power levels at distance D can be calculated easily using Eq. (4) in Fig. 9 if power fed into the antenna and antenna gain are known. Typically, base station towers or structures are 15-50m high. A cellphone base station may utilise several
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base stations. These antennae are rectangular panels, about 30125 cm in dimension. The total RF power that could be transmitted from each transmitting antenna at a cell site depends on the number of radio channels (transmitters) that have been authorised and the power of each transmitter. Typically, for a cellphone base station, a maximum of 21 channels per sector (depending on the system) could be used. Thus for a typical cell site utilising sector antennae, each of the three transmitting antennae Fig. 9: EM radiation from isotropic antenna and its equations could be connected to up to 21 transmitters (or a total of 63 transmitters per site). Furthermore, while a typical base station could have as many as 63 transmitters, not all of the transmitters would be expected to operate simultaneously, thus reducing overall emission levels. The maximum power radiated in any direction usually does not exceed 50 watts. Macro, micro and pico cells. Base Fig. 10: Absolute gain true and dB values of stations communicate with mobile typical antennae phones within a defined area or cell. There can be three types of cellsmacro, micro and pico cellsdepending upon their size and the radiated power from the antenna. Macro cells provide the Fig. 11: Practical base station antennae main structure for the base station network with power outputs of tens of watts to communicate with cell phones up to about 35 km. These would have higher level of EM radiation and hence require more stringent monitoring. Fig. 12: Typical cellular antenna beam shape Micro cells are used to infill and improve the main network, omnidirectional antennae. In urban especially where the volume of trafareas, cellphone service providers comfic (calls) is high. These are good for monly use sector antennae for their
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phenomenon, RF safety standards are generally most restrictive at these frequencies. In a biological body, SAR depends on several exposure parameters, vis-vis, frequency, intensity and polarisation of EM radiation, as also on shape, size and electrical Fig.14: Variation of ICNIRP specified reference level for power properties of the body. It density as a function of frequency is not readily measurable in living people. Usually, only research laboratories make SAR measurements because these are relatively difficult and require specialised equipment and conditions; e.g., implantable E-field probes and mathematical/physical Fig. 15: ICNIRP-based field strength and power density levels at models such as the ones frequencies of interest shown in Fig. 13. SAR ous and unproven. Further research measurement is more relevant for is needed to determine the effects and measuring EM radiation effect on parts their possible relevance, if any, to huof the human body from cellphones. man health. For further information, you may refer Quantification of biological effect. to Armstrong Laboratorys dosimetry The rate at which RF energy is actually handbook and International Electroabsorbed in the human body is called technical Commissions document IEC the specific absorption rate (SAR)the 62209-1 (2005) on the Internet. fundamental dosimetric unit of RF EM radiation compliance levpower deposition. It is usually exels. The National Council on Rapressed in units of watts per kilogram diation Protection and Measurements (W/kg) or milliwatts per gram (mW/ (NCRP), USA, the Institute of Electrigm). cal and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) The average SAR (for whole body) and the International Commission on is defined as total energy transferred to Non-Ionising Radiation Protection the whole body per unit time divided (ICNIRP) have adopted a whole-body by total body mass. In MKS units: SAR value of 4 watts per kilogram (4W/kg) as a threshold level of ex E2in posure at which harmful biological SAR = W/kg effects may occur. Exposure threshold limits in terms of field strength and where is the tissue conductivity power density were then derived from (Siemens/m), Ein is RMS value of the this value. Under the circumstances, internal electric field intensity (V/m) it is more practical and convenient and is the tissue density (kg/ to measure related radiated power m3). Note that in the range of 80-100 density or E field or H field (averaged MHz, SAR is maximum under these over a stipulated period for workers conditions (resonance). The resonance and general public) in the far-field refrequency shifts to 30-40MHz range gion of interest at a cell site to ensure when a man is in contact with conductcompliance with stipulated levels ing ground. Because of the resonance
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Fig. 13: Typical SAR limit test model (courtesy: Compliance Engineering)

such public places as airports, railway stations and shopping malls. Their number is rapidly increasing in line with the growth in demand for mobile phones. Micro cell base stations emit less power (typically 5W) and their range is a few hundred metres (typically 300 metres). The EM radiation levels are expected to be much lower than the specified threshold. Pico cells. Pico cells provide more localised coverage than micro cells. These are normally found inside buildings where coverage is poor or where there are a large number of users, such as airport terminals, train stations or shopping centres. They have lower power output than micro cells (typically 2 watts). The EM radiation levels are supposed to be even lower than in micro cells. Biological effects from cellphone transmitting antennae. Exposure to very high levels of RF radiation can be harmful due to the ability of RF energy to rapidly heat biological tissues. Adverse effects (tissue damage) in humans could occur during exposure to high RF levels because of the bodys inability to cope up with or dissipate the excessive heat that could be generated. The eyes and the testes are particularly vulnerable to RF heating because of the relative lack of blood flow in these organs to dissipate the excessive heat. At relatively low levels of RF radiation exposure, the evidence of harmful biological effects is ambigu-

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exposure limits for RF Fields (900MHz)
limit 0,000.45 W/m 0,001 W/m Country BUND recommendation 1997 Precautionary limit in Austria Exposure limit in Russia ECOLOG-recommendation 1998 (Germany)Switzerland Exposure limit in Poland Exposure limit in Italy, Belgium Exposure limit in CSSR Exposure limit in New Zealand Exposure limit in Canada (Safety Code 6, 1997) Exposure limit in Germany, India as per ICNIRP recommendation 1998

Table II

exposure limits for RF Fields (>2000MHz)

limit 10 W/m Country Exposure limit in India and ICNIRP recommendation 1998

Table IV

limits, which are amongst the worst in the world.

eMR measurements
Generally, the unit used for characterising the total electromagnetic field is the power density. Power density is most appropriately used when the point of measurement is far away from an antenna to be located in the far-field zone of the antenna (say, 10 metres or more from the antenna). Since power density (PD) can be easily derived from electric field intensity (E in RMS volt per metre) using equation PD = E2/377 W/m2, we may instead measure the electric field intensity and derive power density value therefrom. An important point worth noting is that if multiple field sources (TV, FM or other cell towers) exist, special procedures must be used. Multiple sources may include near- and farfield conditions. Performing correct measurements requires consideration of frequency, polarisation, modulation, and on and off times of each source. Interference from other sources outside the frequency range that the instrument is designed to measure can greatly degrade measurement accuracy. This interference, called outof-band interference, is important in areas where multiple signals are present. Simultaneous exposures to fields of different frequencies are additive in their effects. Hence to determine that compliance limits are not exceeded, ensure that E-field strength is measured at all relevant frequencies and summation done using the following equation: 1 MHz i = 100 kHz Ei c
2

Value applicable at 20,000 MHz to 300 GHz. Covers 2.1GHz band of 3G spectrum

0,02 W/m 0,045 W/m

e-field Reference levels

Frequency range 1-25 Hz 0,025-3 kHz 0,003-1 MHz 1-10 MHz 10-400 MHz 400-2000 MHz 2-300 GHz e-field strength (V/m) 10000 250/f 87 87/ f 28 1,375 f 61

Table V

0,1 W/m 0,16 W/m 0,24 W/m 2 W/m 3 W/m 4.5 W/m

exposure limits for RF Fields (1800MHz)

limit 0,000.9 W/m 0,001 W/m Country BUND recommendation 1997 Precautionary limit in Austria Exposure limit in Russia ECOLOG-recommendation 1998 (Germany)Switzerland Exposure limit in Poland Exposure limit in Italy, Belgium Exposure limit in CSSR Exposure limit in New Zealand Exposure limit in Canada (Safety Code 6, 1997) Exposure limit in Germany and India based on ICNIRP recommendation 1998

Table III

0,02 W/m 0,09 W/m

0,1 W/m 0,16 W/m 0,24 W/m 2 W/m 3 W/m 9 W/m

(rather than measuring SAR). Here workers refer to maintenance and installation staff. The threshold limits adopted by ICNIRP (for workers and
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general public) for cellphone frequencies of interest are shown in the form of graph and table in Figs 14 and 15, respectively. The reference levels recommended by ICNIRP have been adopted by India and several other countries. Guidelines based on ICNIRP-specified levels have been issued by the Ministry of Communication & IT for compliance by service providers based on the recommendations of Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). Relevant test and measurement procedures of EMR have been issued by the Telecommuncation Engineering Centre (TEC). The power density limits adopted by some of the other nations are cited in Tables II through IV (some figures may be approximate). From these exposure limits, it is observed that standards adopted by east European countries (PD1W/m) and few others are based on precautionary approaches. The crusaders against the radiation hazards from mobile towers accordingly want the Indian government to adopt precautionary standards rather than ICNIRP-specified

300 GHz i > 1 MHz

Ei EL,i

where Ei is the electric field strength measured at frequency i, E L,i is the corresponding E-field reference value from Table V (based on ICNIRPrecommended E-field levels) and C = 87/f V/m. If the overall sum is less than unity, compliance limits are not exceeded.

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equipment is suitable to cover the Frequency Coverage broadband entire frequency band of Table V, a number of reputed manufacturers antennae alongwith Desirable (HP, Norda, Rohde & Schwarz, etc) antenna Factor and Gain in db market suitable spectrum analysant. type Freq. range aF (db) Gain (db) ers with optional accessories such Biconical 30-300 MHz >10 1-4 as antennae with detector probe to cover a broad band of frequenLog300 MHz to 15 - 20 4-8 periodic 1 GHz cies of interest. The three types of broadband antennae, as shown Dual 1 GHz to >25 >15 ridgeguide 18 GHz in Fig. 16, cover a large enough range of frequencies as shown in Table VI. Tri-axial antenna probe. Another type of antenna/probe that is increasingly being favoured for use with spectrum analyser is the tri-axial isotropic antenna/ probe, which is made by three independent Fig. 16: Typical E-field measurement setup broadband sensing elements placed orthogonal to each other. It simplifies the measurement procedure that ideally determine the RMS field strength independently of direction and polarisation of the radiation source since it affords measurement of E-field components along all three axes (X, Y and Z). In fact, the output of each element is measured in three consecutive time intervals, assuming the Fig. 17: Isotropic antenna AT3000 (passive probe, 203000 field components stationary MHz) for the measurement duration. This does away with the need for orienting the antenna in the plane of incident electric field. Detectors. Two main types of detectors generally used with these antennae are thermocouples and Schottky diodes; bolometric devices are rarely used. All three respond to square of Fig. 18: Antenna factor concept voltage induced into the antenna and hence they can be directly A typical test setup for electric converted to equivalent power denfield measurement is shown in Fig. 16. sity. Schottky diodes can also convert Although no single technique or test

Table VI

the RMS value of the detected field components into a DC voltage. By using diodes instead of thermocouples, it is possible to handle a much wider dynamic range of field strength (typically, 60 dB). Thermocouples can also get damaged more easily than diodes at high power levels. Spectrum analyser. The most commonly used spectrum analysers for this function are the ones wherein the input signal is swept through the selected frequency span, sampling all signal components successively in time. E-field strength. The RMS voltage from the sensor (antenna + diode detector) in conjunction with spectrum analyser is converted into equivalent electric field strength (RMS) value using equation: E=AFV where E is the electric field strength in volts/metre, V is the voltage received by the spectrum analyser and AF is the antenna factor. The unit of AF is 1/ metre. The antenna factor is antennaspecific and normaly supplied by the manufacturer. E=AFV in dB becomes E (dBV/m)= AF (dB)/m + V (dB). For example, if the voltage received is -30 dBV and AF is 10 dB/m, then E is -20 dBV/m. Antenna factor. It is defined as the ratio of incident electric field strength (upon an antenna) to the voltage that is produced at the antennas terminals into a 50-ohm load (see Fig. 18). The antenna factor is simply a ratio with unit of 1/m; since E is expressed in V/m units, AF = E/V= V/m V=1/m. Antenna factor can also be derived from the knowledge of antenna gain by using the following relationship: AF=E/V=(9.73)/ (G ) The above is the ratio version with the dimension of 1/m. (Note that gain (G) is a ratio in the above equation and not dB; for example, G=1.64 for a dipole.) The more commonly used logarithmic version with the AF dimensions of dB/m and G as ratio is: AF (in dB/m)= 20 Log [9.73/(G )]
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