Abstract
Multiple harmful health effects can have on the population from non-ionizing radiation (NIR) sources. To date, there has been no extensive data collection about NIR emitted from base transceiver stations in Dhaka City, Bangladesh. This study aims to remedy that by collecting data and comparing the processed data to the international standards, International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) guidelines, and standards of other countries. For this, measurement data were collected from 361 different publicly accessible locations in Dhaka City applying a convenience sampling approach. The measured average electric field exceeded the 1800 MHz threshold values of 36.84, 33.5, and 7.5% of the time compared with the thresholds of China, India, and Japan, respectively, followed by the measured average electromagnetic field values, which were 57, 52, and 29%, respectively. No exceedance was seen for radiofrequency power flux for the investigated countries. Approximately 35% of the calculated average specific energy absorption rate values exceeded the ICNIRP recommended public exposure limit of 0.08 W/kg. Based on this data, it is suggested that detailed NIR exposure regulations need to be created and proper oversight and enforcement over operators are required to avoid potential health effects.
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Data availability
Most of the measured significant data that support the findings of this study are included in the manuscript. All other measured/analyzed data generated during the current study are available from the authors upon reasonable request.
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Acknowledgements
We thank Dr. Md. Quamruzzaman for his continued consultation and Ms. Nazmoon Nahar Sumiya for her help with the cartographical aspects of this study. The authors further acknowledge the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) for their permission to carry out this research.
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This work was supported by the Centennial Research Grant, University of Dhaka, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
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Md. Shafiqul Islam: conceptualization, methodology, investigation, writing-review and editing, supervision. Animesh Pal: conceptualization, methodology, investigation, writing-review and editing, supervision. Mohammad Shams Noor: data collection, formal analysis, writing-original draft. Istiak Uddin Sazzad: data collection, formal analysis, software, writing-original draft.
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Islam, M., Pal, A., Noor, M.S. et al. Measurement and risk perception of non-ionizing radiation from base transceiver stations in Dhaka City of Bangladesh. Environ Monit Assess 195, 1190 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-023-11812-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-023-11812-7