Abstract
Electromagnetic radiation emitted by cell phone towers is a form of environmental pollution and is a new health hazard, especially to children and patients. The present studies were taken to estimate the microwave/RF pollution by measuring radiation power densities near schools and hospitals of Chandigarh city in India. The cell phone radiations were measured using a handheld portable power density meter TES 593 and specific absorption rates were estimated from the measured values. These values of electromagnetic radiation in the environment were compared with the levels at which biological system of humans and animals starts getting affected. The values were also compared with the international exposure limits set by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP). The highest measured power density was 11.48 mW/m2 which is 1,148% of the biological limit. The results indicated that the exposure levels in the city were below the ICNIRP limit, but much above the biological limit.
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Acknowledgments
The author is thankful to Sant Baba Bhag Singh Memorial Charitable Society, for providing funds and the necessary facilities to carry out this work. The author is also thankful to Dr B.R. Sood for his valuable suggestions in the preparation of this manuscript and Jagbir Kaur for the useful discussions.
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Dhami, A.K. Study of electromagnetic radiation pollution in an Indian city. Environ Monit Assess 184, 6507–6512 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-011-2436-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-011-2436-5