The use of mobile telephones has become increasingly common over the last ten years. As usage has increased, so too has concerns over the safety of radio waves which radiate from mobile phones and base stations. A mobile phone is a radio transmitter and receiver, which is in contact with a mobile telephone network via base stations. A mobile phone and base station transmit radio frequency radiation. The user of a mobile phone is exposed to radio frequency radiation when the phone is in close proximity with the body. For more, read
Base stations radiate straight aheadThe antennae of base stations are designed to radiate straight ahead opening into a fan-shaped radiation cone, with as little radiation as possible going in other directions. In practice, maximum permitted exposure levels in the cone are exceeded only within ten metres of the antennae and then only in front of a relatively powerful transmitting antenna installed on a roof. An antenna mounted behind the outer wall of your own house does not produce significant exposure, as the radiation that is sent backwards is very weak and the walls of the house absorb the radio waves. The highest power density measured by STUK on this kind of set-up has been about a thousandth of the maximum value permitted.
PublicationsRadiation safety of handheld mobile phones and base stations Matkapuhelimet ja tukiasemat (pdf) (in Finnish) |
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