|
Summary
of the Personal Communications Services Cell Site Radiofrequency
Radiation Survey at the Hi-Nella Water Tower at Atlantic
& Vassar Avenues
Hi-Nella, New Jersey Conducted February 8, 2001
|
At the request of Congressman
Robert Andrews' office, an inspector from the NJDEP performed
a radiofrequency (RF) radiation survey on February 8, 2001
of the areas surrounding the Hi-Nella water tower, located
at Atlantic & Vassar Avenues in Hi-Nella, New Jersey.
Mounted on the water tower were personal communications services
(PCS) antennas from AT&T and VoiceStream (formerly Omnipoint).
Community members had raised concerns due to the fact that
the Samuel S. Yellin School in Stratford, New Jersey, was
located on property immediately adjacent to the water tower. |
The objective of the survey was to determine whether
or not the ground levels of RF radiation emitted by the PCS
antennas were below the regulatory limits specified in the
New Jersey Administrative Code 7:28-42, Radio Frequency Radiation. Persons interested
in a brief background on PCS can visit our summary of Cellular Radio Systems. Readings were taken
throughout the fenced in area surrounding the water tower.
All readings were taken on the ground since public access
to the water tower is restricted. |
|
 The highest reading
obtained was 2 v/m, which when multiplied by the correction
factor of 0.98 and then squared, becomes 3.84 v2/m2
which is equivalent to 0.96 microwatts/cm2.
The New Jersey regulatory limit for radiation of this frequency
is 20,000 v2/m2 which means that the
readings obtained were 0.02% of the regulatory limit.
It was conveyed by AT&T at the time of the inspection,
that for a worst case estimate of their field levels (all
channels operating continuously), the raw readings could
be multiplied by a factor of 6, which would have brought
the maximum reading up to 12 v/m. Although a representative
from VoiceStream was not present for the inspection, they
submitted a report which mathematically predicted their
worst case exposure level to be 29.69 microwatts/cm2
(or 118 v2/m2.) It should be
noted that these worst case predictions grossly overestimate
anticipated levels, even with all channels operating at
full power.
|
In
conclusion, the ground-level RF radiation fields measured
on February 8, 2001, near the Hi-Nella water tower cell site
are far below the regulatory limits specified in N.J.A.C.
7:28-42, Radio Frequency Radiation.
The chart below summarizes the findings and includes the NJ
regulatory limits. |
|
|
|
For
additional information on RF radiation, the Federal Communications
Commission has a document; "Questions and Answers about
Biological Effects and Potential Hazards of Radiofrequency
Electromagnetic Fields" available for download
from their website. This document is in PDF format
so you will need a copy of Adobe's PDF Reader to view it.
Please note that this document is written and distributed
by the FCC, not the NJDEP.
Back
to Nonionizing Radiaiton Sections Main Page
|
|
