Cell Tower Radiation What Are Cellular Phone Towers?

The widespread use of cellular telephones has led on to the placement of cellular telephone towers in several communities. These towers, also called "base stations," consist of radios, computerized switching kit, and antennas that receive and broadcast radio frequency signals. When a person makes a cellular telephone call, a signal is sent from the telephone's antenna to the base station antenna.

The base station replies to this signal by allotting it an available radio frequency channel. Transmission and reception of these radio signals transfer the voice info to the base station. Next, the voice signals are sent to a switching center, which transfers the call to its destination. For further info on the telephones themselves, please see the American Cancer Society document, "Cellular Phones." Cellular telephone towers are typically mounted either on top or on the side of existing structures, for example trees, water tanks, or tall buildings. The antennas have to be positioned high enough so they can adequately cover the area.

Base stations generally range in height from 150-270 feet. Cellular telephones operate at the radio frequency ( RF ) part of the electro-magnetic range. This is non-ionizing radiation. Other examples of the non-ionizing part of the electric range include AM and FM radio waves, microwaves, and infrared waves from heat lamps. Unlike x-rays and gamma rays ( which are examples of ionizing radiation ), radio waves have not enough energy to smash the bonds that hold molecules ( like DNA ) in cells together.

In a similar fashion , since RF of this frequency contains comparatively low energy, it doesn't enter tissues.

At extremely extreme levels of exposure, RF could cause warming of tissues, much as a heat lamp does. The wavelength of cell telephone waves is about one foot and the frequency is roughly eight hundred to 900 MHz, though newer models may use higher frequencies up to 2,200 MHz. How Are Folks Exposed to Radio frequency power from Cellular Telephone Towers? As folk use cellular telephones to make telephone calls, signals are transmitted backwards and forwards to the base station.

The radio waves produced at the base station are emitted into the environment, where folk can be exposed. The power from a cellular telephone antenna, like that of other telecommunication antennas, is directed toward the horizon ( parallel to the ground ), with some downward scatter. Base station antennas use higher power levels than other sorts of land-mobile antennas, but lower levels than radio and TV broadcast stations.

The power density decreases with enlarging distance from the antenna. As a consequence, the level of exposure to radio waves at ground zero is terribly low compared to the level near to the antenna. Public exposure to radio waves from cellular telephone antennas is slight for many reasons. The power levels are comparatively low, the antennas are mounted at way above ground level, and the signals are broadcast intermittently, instead of continually.

Agencies like the nation's Council on Radiation Protections and Measurements, the Intnl Radiation Protection organization, the Institute of Electric and Electronics Engineers, and the American National Standards Institute, have established axioms for exposure to RF radiation originating from cellular communications base stations. These guiding principles were engineered to protect employees, as well as the public, from most likely damaging radio frequency.
The suggested exposure boundaries are in the range of .41-.45 milliwatts per square centimeter ( mW / cm2 ) for cellular radio frequencies.

Exposures that surpass these commended standards can occasionally be encountered on the rooftops of buildings where base stations are mounted. If this is the case, access to these areas should be limited. The power density within buildings where a base station is mounted is often ten to a hundred times lower than the level outside depending on the construction materials of the building.

Wood or cement block decreases the exposure level of RF radiation by an element of roughly 10. The power density behind an antenna is hundreds to thousands of times lower than in front. , if an antenna is mounted on the side of a building, the exposure level in the room at once behind the wall is often well below the endorsed exposure boundaries.