Evaluation of RF electromagnetic field exposure levels from cellular base stations in Korea.
Kim BC, Park SO. · 2010
View Original AbstractCell tower radiation measured at 0.15% of safety guidelines, but current guidelines don't account for long-term biological effects.
Plain English Summary
Korean researchers measured radiofrequency radiation levels from cell phone towers at 50 locations where the public had expressed health concerns. They found the highest exposure level was 1.5 volts per meter, which represents just 0.15% of international safety guidelines. The study suggests that actual exposure levels from cell towers are far below regulatory limits, even at locations where people were worried about potential health effects.
Why This Matters
This measurement study provides important context for the ongoing debate about cell tower safety, but it also highlights a critical gap in our understanding. While the measured exposure levels were indeed very low compared to current regulatory standards, this doesn't necessarily mean they're safe. The ICNIRP guidelines these researchers used as their benchmark were established primarily to prevent immediate heating effects, not the long-term biological effects that hundreds of peer-reviewed studies have documented at much lower exposure levels. What this means for you is that living near a cell tower may expose you to RF radiation levels that regulatory agencies consider acceptable, but that growing scientific evidence suggests could still pose health risks over time. The reality is that 'below regulatory limits' and 'biologically safe' are not the same thing, especially when those limits haven't been updated to reflect decades of research on non-thermal biological effects.
Exposure Details
- Electric Field
- 1.5 V/m
- Source/Device
- CDMA800 and CDMA1800
Study Details
This article presents the measurement results of human exposure to CDMA800 and CDMA1800 signals at locations in Korea where the general public has expressed concern.
Measurements were performed at 50 locations across the country to compare the electromagnetic field ...
At each site, the distances between the nearest single or co-located base station and measurement po...
Show BibTeX
@article{bc_2010_evaluation_of_rf_electromagnetic_1100,
author = {Kim BC and Park SO.},
title = {Evaluation of RF electromagnetic field exposure levels from cellular base stations in Korea.},
year = {2010},
url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20564176/},
}