Assessment of RF radiation levels in the vicinity of 60 GSM mobile phone base stations in Iran.
Nayyeri V, Hashemi SM, Borna M, Jalilian HR, Soleimani M · 2013
View Original AbstractCell towers in Tehran meet current safety standards, but those standards may not protect against non-thermal biological effects.
Plain English Summary
Iranian researchers measured radiofrequency radiation levels at 900 locations around 60 cell phone towers in Tehran, focusing on areas near hospitals and schools. They found all radiation levels were below international safety guidelines established by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP). The study aimed to address public concerns about potential health risks from the growing number of cell towers in urban areas.
Why This Matters
This measurement study represents the type of compliance monitoring that regulatory agencies rely on to assure the public that cell tower emissions stay within established limits. However, what this research doesn't address is whether those ICNIRP guidelines themselves are adequate for protecting human health. The science demonstrates that biological effects can occur at exposure levels well below current safety standards, which were designed primarily to prevent heating effects rather than the non-thermal biological impacts that concern many researchers today. While it's reassuring that operators in Tehran are following international guidelines, you don't have to accept that compliance with outdated standards guarantees safety. The reality is that these guidelines haven't been substantially updated since the 1990s, despite thousands of studies showing biological effects at much lower exposure levels.
Exposure Information
Specific exposure levels were not quantified in this study.
Study Details
Increasing development of mobile communication infrastructure while enhancing availability of the technology raises concerns among the public, who see more cell towers erected each day, about possible health effects of electromagnetic radiations. Thereon, a survey of radio-frequency radiation from 60 GSM base stations was carried out in Tehran, Iran at several places mostly located in major medical and educational centres.
Measurements were performed at 15 locations near each base station site, i.e. 900 locations in total...
The results were compared with the relevant guideline of International Commission on Non-Ionising Ra...
Show BibTeX
@article{v_2013_assessment_of_rf_radiation_2463,
author = {Nayyeri V and Hashemi SM and Borna M and Jalilian HR and Soleimani M},
title = {Assessment of RF radiation levels in the vicinity of 60 GSM mobile phone base stations in Iran.},
year = {2013},
url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23222504/},
}