Power Density Measurement within Kaduna North Area of Kaduna State, Nigeria

Abstract

The measurement of possible presence of radiofrequency (RF) radiations from telecommunication base stations was carried out within Kaduna North Area of Kaduna State, to estimate the maximum level of power density from RF radiations to which the member of the populace within specific radius from the base transceiver station (BTS) are exposed to in relation to the existing guidelines to human exposure. Power density S (µWm-2) measurements were made at interval of 20 m to check the exposure level at public locations from 10 RF antenna sites starting from the foot of each BS to distance (radius) of 100 m using Aaronia Spectran HF-4060 Analyser and the electric field strength E (Vm-1) were calculated. The highest and lowest value obtained from measured mean power densities were 108.27 µWm-2 and 94.74 µWm-2 from a distance of 100 m and 40 m respectively. Also, the highest and lowest average electric field strength were 202.03 (Vm-1) and 188.99 (Vm-1) at 100 m and 40 m respectively. The result obtained, indicates that the measured values were far less than the permissible exposure limits for both workers and the general public as set by the International Commission on Non-ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP). These results shows that the exposure levels in these areas are low and as such will not pose significant health risks to the people living in the study area.