Measurement and modeling of exposure levels of radiofrequency emissions from fourth generation long term evolution base stations in three regions of the southern part of Ghana

Abstract

The analysis of electric field strengths and power densities at one hundred and fifty (150) Fourth Generation Long Time Evolution (4G LTE) base stations in three urban and densely populated regions of the southern part of Ghana (Greater Accra, Ashanti and Western) was carried out using an Anritsu Spectrum Master coupled to a handheld log-periodic antenna. The measurements were taken around the base stations and at public access points, chosen to represent the highest levels of exposure to which a person might be subjected to. The results of electric field strength measurement for the various base stations varied from as low as 8.52E-09 + 8.52E -10 mV/m from a site in the Western region to as high as 2.81E-02 + 2.81E-03 mV/m from a site in the Ashanti region. The corresponding power densities were 3.42E-08 mW/m2 and 1.13E-01 mW/m2 respectively. The results however, comply with the ICNIRP recommended limits of 38.89 V/m and 4 W/m2 for electric field strength and power density for 800 MHz frequency band respectively. The results also showed a good correlation between measurement and theoretical models for the prediction of power density levels at base station, even though the levels from the measured results were on the average less than that of the predicted values.