As a result of scientific and technological developments and due to the ease of life they provide, electrical devices and communication tools that have gained a permanent place in our lives have harmful effects as well as benefits. All these devices are a source of electromagnetic pollution and this pollution has become a part of our lives.
Electromagnetic pollution was first introduced to our country with high voltage lines. In the 1990s, the process continued with the granting of broadcasting permission to private radios and televisions. With the introduction of cell phones, the establishment of base stations caused electromagnetic field pollution to reach a more risky level and started to attract people's attention. As the number of active antennas such as base stations, TV transmitters, wireless devices, etc. that enable mobile communication increases, people are increasingly concerned about electromagnetic exposure and their health.
In order to regulate electromagnetic pollution in our country and to specify limit values, the Information and Communication Technologies Authority (ICTA) has set out the method and limit values for electromagnetic pollution measurement with the "Regulation on Determination, Control and Supervision of Exposure Limit Values According to International Standards of Electromagnetic Field Intensity Arising from Electronic Communication Devices" published in the Official Gazette dated April 21, 2011 and numbered 27912. According to this regulation, which has been updated over the years, the broadband total electric field value of the environment obtained by broadband measurement methods is measured instantaneously and compared with the limit values. If the electromagnetic pollution level exceeds the single device limit levels specified in the regulation, frequency selective measurement must be performed instantaneously for a single device. However, the existing regulation does not provide detailed information on how to perform frequency selective measurement and does not mention the detection of electromagnetic fields in maximum traffic. This paves the way for very different and inconsistent results due to different measurement operators or different measurement times.
On the other hand, the measurement of electromagnetic pollution levels of base stations providing mobile communication should be performed at maximum power instead of instantaneous measurements and exposure assessment should be performed in this way. It is not possible to artificially set a base station to maximum load; therefore, two important methods have been developed to determine the measured instantaneous exposure and extrapolate it to the maximum load. One of these methods is the "frequency selective spectrum measurement with maximum power calculation" method, which shows the share of each individual service provider in the total area level in the total area level in base stations where many mobile telephony service providers use common antenna groups and in similar environments where the areas they contain are unknown. Another method is the "maximum power calculated decoder measurement" method. However, due to the development of new technologies and insufficient frequency bandwidth, different sectors of antennas are now being served by using different power levels on the same spectrum. Therefore, frequency selective measurement is no longer sufficient for accurate measurement of target frequency and target power values, and the use of decoder measurement method has become mandatory especially for UMTS (3G) and LTE (4G) broadcasts.
Within the scope of the "Frequency Selective Electromagnetic Pollution Measurement System" project, which we started in 2017 as TÜBİTAK UME, Electromagnetic Laboratory, it is aimed to reach the level of measurement method used in Europe and to perform electromagnetic pollution measurements with high accuracy and low uncertainty. As a result of the project, frequency selective and decoder measurement systems with maximum power calculation were integrated into TÜBİTAK UME.
The aim of this workshop is to share the knowledge and experience gained within the scope of the project, to raise awareness on the shortcomings of the regulation implemented in Turkey and to present new contributions to the regulation in order to overcome these shortcomings.
For this purpose, "National Workshop on Frequency Selective Electromagnetic Pollution Measurements" will be held on November 21, 2019 at TÜBİTAK UME, where the studies and outputs of this project will be presented and your opinions and suggestions will be discussed. For participation, you can register by filling out the "Participant Pre-Registration Form" in the attachment and returning to the e-mail address below until November 1, 2019.
We look forward to your participation in the workshop to be organized on electromagnetic pollution measurements, which are of serious importance for our country.
Email address for participation in the workshop: ume.emr@tubitak.gov.tr
Participation is free of charge.
TUBITAK UME
Electromagnetics Laboratory
