ID Number		1687
Study Type		Engineering & Physics
Model		Occupational exposure of mobile phone tower workers
Details		Mobile phone base station towers were evaluated in terms of possible occupational exposure to tower workers. The authors specifically address medium and low height towers that tend to transmit less than high power antennas. The authors report that although transmissions were within ICNIRP limits for occupational exposure, they note that several other antennas (ham radio, TV broadcast) are often co-localized on these tower sites and must also be considered when assessing total occupational exposure. They also recommend personal dosimeters for workers. In a related study, the authors again measured occupational exposures from rooftop antennas could be exceeded in immediate proximity (< 0.5 meters) and should be positioned or elevated to a height that humans cannot come in direct contact with the main beam. Finally, the authors provide a practical method for evaluating RF exposure of mast workers using simple RF exposure and barometric pressure meters (one on the ground and one attached to the worker to correlate with RF exposure readings). The authors report the resulting exposure vs altitude output is a useful approximation of tower exposure.
Findings		Not Applicable to Bioeffects
Status		Completed With Publication
Principal Investigator		University of Kupio, Finland - maila.hietanen@occuphealth.fi
Funding Agency		Private/Instit.
Country		FINLAND
References		Alanko, T et al. Rad Prot Dos., (2008) 132:324-327 Alanko, T et al. Ann Telecommun., (2008) 63:125-132 Alanko, T et al. Radiat Prot Dosimetry., (2007) 123:537-539
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