Evaluating electromagnetic pollution level of Irancell BTS antennas in different locations (Shahinshahr city study)

Our surroundings are full of natural electromagnetic fields and man-made sources,
including cell phones and radio communications. Mobile phone company service
providers have set up BTS sites that may have radiation harmful to the environment and
human health. Therefore, the level of exposure to these invisible waves is significant. The
present study was conducted to investigate the amount of electromagnetic pollution
caused by Irancell BTS antennas in Shahinshahr city. The density of electromagnetic
waves emitted from all 34 Irancell sites in this city was measured with a radio frequency
meter (ETS-Lindgren-HI2200) at distances of 30, 70, 150 and 170 meters in different
areas to compare with the national standard of Iran, which is in accordance with the
ICNIRP standard. Since the obtained data were not normal, non-parametric statistical
tests, Wilcoxon's sign rank, Cross-Cal-Wallis, Mann-Whitney and sign test were used to
check significance. According to the radiation pattern, the highest density of waves was
at a distance of 150 meters, and with increasing distance, the density of waves decreases
due to greater propagation. The results showed that the density of waves emitted from
these sites is much lower than the permissible limit of Iran's national standard. The density
of the waves in the commercial area was higher than the residential area, and the density
of the waves from the shared sites was higher than the single Irancell sites, The amount
of waves inside the building was much lower than outside the same building and the
amount of radiation emitted from the rooftop sites was not different from the greenfield
sites. Due to the fact that the wave density is lower than the national standard of Iran (440
μW/cm²), it can be said that Irancell sites in this city are safe in terms of thermal effects.