INFORMAL REPORT ON OBSERVATIONS AND RF FIELD INTENSITY MEASUREMENTS MADE AT A COMMERCIAL FM/TV TOWER LOCATED IN EL PASO, TEXAS
Z. Glaser, R. Curtis · 1978
Early documentation of potentially dangerous RF exposure levels at broadcast towers highlighted occupational safety concerns that remain relevant today.
Plain English Summary
This 1978 technical report documented radiofrequency field intensity measurements at a commercial FM/TV broadcast tower in El Paso, Texas, focusing on occupational exposure levels for workers. The study represents early efforts to quantify RF exposure levels at broadcast facilities, which can emit extremely high power levels that may pose health risks to maintenance workers and nearby residents.
Why This Matters
This report represents a crucial early documentation of RF exposure levels at broadcast facilities, conducted during a period when occupational safety standards for radiofrequency radiation were still being developed. Commercial FM and TV towers operate at power levels that can be thousands of times higher than cell phone base stations, creating intense RF fields in their immediate vicinity. Workers climbing these towers for maintenance face some of the highest occupational RF exposures possible. The fact that OSHA was involved suggests growing awareness in the late 1970s that these exposures might pose health risks. What makes this particularly relevant today is that many people live within a few miles of these high-power broadcast facilities, yet the long-term health effects of chronic exposure to these elevated RF levels remain poorly understood.
Finding
RF levels in the monitoring building were well below the present OSHA guideline of 10 mW/cm². RF levels measured on the transmitting antenna tower (located on a mountaintop north of the city) exceeded the OSHA guideline by a factor of 10.
In their words
“RF levels in the monitoring building were well below the present OSHA guideline of 10 mW/cm². RF levels measured on the transmitting antenna tower (located on a mountaintop north of the city) exceeded the OSHA guideline by a factor of 10.”
Figures from the Original Paper
Diagram extracted from the original research document.
Exposure Information
Specific exposure levels were not quantified in this study. Duration: approximately two hours
Study Details
To determine if employees working in the monitoring building at the base of the transmitting antenna tower, or employees working on the antenna tower itself, are exposed to hazardous levels of radiofrequency (RF) energy.
RF field intensity measurements were made at a commercial FM/TV broadcast transmitter station and tr...
RF levels in the monitoring building were well below the present OSHA guideline of 10 mW/cm². RF lev...
Workers should not be permitted to climb the tower while the antennas are energized. The station manager indicated compliance would be no problem since they could schedule most maintenance during off-hours. The study recommends a comprehensive study of RF/microwave tower climbers and measurement of magnetic and electric fields on and around the tower, as well as determination of any health effects in workers who regularly climb transmission towers.
Show BibTeX
@article{informal_report_on_observations_and_rf_field_intensity_measurements_made_at_a_co_g4469,
author = {Z. Glaser and R. Curtis},
title = {INFORMAL REPORT ON OBSERVATIONS AND RF FIELD INTENSITY MEASUREMENTS MADE AT A COMMERCIAL FM/TV TOWER LOCATED IN EL PASO, TEXAS},
year = {1978},
}