Assessment of Human Exposure to Radio Frequency Radiation from Mobile Based Transceiving Stations

Telecommunication has become an integral part of our lives which helps to provide and access a wide range of services including communication, entertainment, information and education. The widespread use of mobile phones and the installation of radio transmission antennas have raised global concerns about potential health risks associated with exposure to electromagnetic radiation. The objective of this study was to evaluate human exposure to radiofrequency (RF) radiation emitted by mobile base transceiver stations in Iba Community, Ojo Local Government Area, Lagos, Nigeria. An assessment was carried out by measuring the power density, electric field strength, and magnetic field strength over a distance of 100m from four base stations using TES 92 Electrosmog broadband survey meter. The results of the measurements were analysed and a model was developed to describe the distribution of RF radiation around a base station. The measured power densities spanned from the lowest to the highest values, 2.649mW/m2 to 34.950mW/m2 for MBTS 1, 4.427mW/m2 to 28.370mW/m2 for MBTS 2, 3.486mW/m2 to 37.120mW/m2 for MBTS 3, and 0.089mW/m2 to 17.730mW/m2 for MBTS 4 respectively with the highest value being approximately 0.8% of the ICNIRP limit of 4.5W/m2 . All the results were found to be below 4.5W/m2 for power density stipulated by the International Commission for Non Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP). The correlation coefficient values of -0.5342, -0.5378, -0.4552 and -0.3465 also revealed that the RF emission should not present significant human health concern.