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Radio Frequency

In situ occupational and general public exposure to VHF/UHF transmission for air traffic communication.

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Joseph W, Goeminne F, Verloock L, Vermeeren G, Martens L. · 2012

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All measured electric-field values at VHF/UHF air traffic control transmission centres satisfied international radiation protection guidelines.

Plain English Summary

Summary written for general audiences

Researchers investigated occupational and general public exposure to VHF/UHF radio transmissions used for air traffic control communication, conducting measurements at three transmission centres. Electric fields ranged from 0.2 to 21.1 V m(-1) for workers and from 0.007 to 8.0 V m(-1) for the general public, with averages of 5.2 V m(-1) and 0.7 V m(-1) respectively. All measured values satisfied the International Commission on Non-ionizing Radiation Protection guidelines.

Why This Matters

Researchers monitored the temporal behaviour of the VHF signals over six days to determine a realistic worst-case duty cycle of 29%. Periods of high exposure corresponded with high aircraft traffic, occurring from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. and in the evening. The researchers noted that these systems produce different human exposure patterns from those of classical broadcasting.

Exposure Details

Electric Field
0.2 to 21.1, 0.007 to 8.0 V/m
Exposure Duration
6 days

Study Details

Occupational and general public exposure due to very high frequency (VHF)/ultra high frequency (UHF) transmission centres for verbal communication for air traffic control is investigated in situ for the first time.

These systems are used for communication with aircraft, resulting in different human exposure from t...

By investigating the temporal behaviour of the VHF signals for 6 d, a realistic worst-case duty cycl...

Cite This Study
Joseph W, Goeminne F, Verloock L, Vermeeren G, Martens L. (2012). In situ occupational and general public exposure to VHF/UHF transmission for air traffic communication. Radiat Prot Dosimetry.151(3):411-419, 2012.
Show BibTeX
@article{w_2012_in_situ_occupational_and_1080,
  author = {Joseph W and Goeminne F and Verloock L and Vermeeren G and Martens L.},
  title = {In situ occupational and general public exposure to VHF/UHF transmission for air traffic communication.},
  year = {2012},
  
  url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22492820/},
}
PubMed: 22492820

Cited By (5 papers)

Quick Questions About This Study

All measured electric-field values satisfied the International Commission on Non-ionizing Radiation Protection guidelines.
Fields for occupational exposure ranged from 0.2 to 21.1 V m(-1), with an average of 5.2 V m(-1).
General public exposure ranged from 0.007 to 8.0 V m(-1), with an average of 0.7 V m(-1).
Periods of high exposure corresponding with high aircraft traffic occurred from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. and in the evening.
By monitoring the temporal behaviour of VHF signals for six days, a realistic worst-case duty cycle of 29% was determined.