Residential exposure to radiofrequency fields from mobile phone base stations, and broadcast transmitters: a population-based survey with personal meter.
Viel JF, Clerc S, Barrera C, Rymzhanova R, Moissonnier M, Hours M, Cardis E. · 2009
View Original AbstractCell tower radiation peaks at 280-1000 meters away, not directly underneath towers, making distance a poor predictor of exposure.
Plain English Summary
French researchers measured cell phone radiation in 200 homes for 24 hours using personal meters. They found radiation levels peaked at specific distances from cell towers (280-1000 meters away) rather than decreasing steadily with distance, showing proximity alone doesn't predict exposure levels.
Why This Matters
This study exposes a critical flaw in how we assess EMF exposure from cell towers. For years, both researchers and regulators have assumed that distance equals safety - the farther you live from a tower, the lower your exposure. The reality is far more complex. The science demonstrates that cell tower radiation actually peaks at intermediate distances due to how the antenna beam patterns interact with the ground. This means some people living 280 to 1000 meters from towers may experience higher exposure than those living directly underneath them. What this means for you is that proximity alone cannot determine your EMF exposure level. The maximum exposures measured (1.5 V/m) were well below current safety limits, but this research highlights how little we actually understand about real-world exposure patterns. If you're concerned about cell tower exposure, actual measurement trumps distance calculations every time.
Exposure Details
- Electric Field
- 0.05, 1.5 V/m
- Exposure Duration
- 24 hours
Study Details
The main goal of this study was to characterise the distribution of residential exposure from antennas using personal exposure meters.
A total of 200 randomly selected people were enrolled. Each participant was supplied with a personal...
Much of the time, the recorded field strength was below the detection level (0.05 V/m), the FM band ...
Despite numerous limiting factors entailing a high variability in radiofrequency exposure assessment, but owing to a sound statistical technique, we found that exposures from GSM and DCS base stations increase with distance in the near source zone, to a maximum where the main beam intersects the ground. We believe these results will contribute to the ongoing public debate over the location of base stations and their associated emissions.
Show BibTeX
@article{jf_2009_residential_exposure_to_radiofrequency_1409,
author = {Viel JF and Clerc S and Barrera C and Rymzhanova R and Moissonnier M and Hours M and Cardis E.},
title = {Residential exposure to radiofrequency fields from mobile phone base stations, and broadcast transmitters: a population-based survey with personal meter.},
year = {2009},
url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19336431/},
}