Bioelectromagnetics 29:579^582 (2008)

Brief Communication
Methods of Evaluating Human Exposure to
Electromagnetic Fields Radiated from
Operating Base Stations in Korea
Byung Chan Kim,1* Hyung-Do Choi,1 and Seong-Ook Park2
1
EM Environment ResearchTeam, Electronics and
Telecommunications Research Institute, Daejeon, Korea
2
School of Engineering, Information and Communications University, Daejeon, Korea
This article presents measurement methods used to determine the human exposure to electromagnetic
fields radiated from operating base stations. In Korea, when evaluating the human exposure to
electromagnetic fields from operating base stations, the measurement procedure is different between
the following cases: in situ measurement and electromagnetic environment measurement.
When performing an in situ measurement, compliance with human exposure limits is determined
by the spatially averaged field value obtained within the space occupied by humans at one
arbitrary position, but when performing an electromagnetic environment measurement, it is
determined by the maximum value at the highest field position selected from several places.
Bioelectromagnetics 29:579582, 2008.
2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Key words: in situ measurement; electromagnetic environment measurement; compliance

In Korea, depending on a base stations opera-
tional state, its radiated electromagnetic field can be
evaluated by three methods: certification test when a
base station gets on to the market, electromagnetic
environment measurement when a base station is
put into service, and in situ measurement when a
base station is offering a service. A certification test is
the same as a performance verification test carried out
in an anechoic chamber. In situ measurement is a
human exposure assessment. The electromagnetic
environment measurement, which includes construc-
tion completion permit, periodical, and modification
inspections, is an electromagnetic environment evalua-
tion focused on a base station. In situ and electro-
magnetic environment measurement methods are
intended to target operating base stations.
Despite the advice of the WHO [WHO Fact sheet
No.304, 2006], in Korea there are increasing public
concerns about the possible hazards of electromagnetic
fields radiated from nearby base stations. The Korean
government has encouraged its scientists to perform
related research. Currently, Korea has established
national measurement standards as the Telecommuni-
cations Technology Associations (TTA) standard
[TTAS.KO-06.0125, 2006] and the Radio Research
Laboratory (RRL) notice [RRL Notice 2007-49, 2007].
This article presents the techniques for in situ measure-
ment and electromagnetic environment measurement
for the general public in far-field.
The purpose of in situ measurement is to evaluate
the total human exposure to electromagnetic fields
radiated from base stations, using various technologies
such as CDMA, WCDMA, High Speed Downlink
Packet Access (HSDPA), Wireless Broadband Internet
(WiBro), and WLAN. The evaluations are conducted
in residential areas to determine compliance with
the reference levels provided by the International
Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection
(ICNIRP) [ICNIRP, 1998]. To compare the total human
exposure with ICNIRP guidelines, the spatial average
Grant sponsor: Ministry of Information and Communications
(MIC) of Korea.
*Correspondence to: Byung Chan Kim, EM Environment
Research Team, Electronics and Telecommunications Research
Institute, 161 Gajeong-Dong, Yuseong-Gu, Daejeon 305-700,
Korea. E-mail: bckima@etri.re.kr
Received for review 4 September 2007; Final revision received
14 February 2008
DOI 10.1002/bem.20416
Published online 15 April 2008 in Wiley InterScience
(www.interscience.wiley.com).

0 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

580 Kim et al.
value is calculated using several data measured within
the space occupied by a human body. The spatial
average value is then compared with the reference
levels. However, the measured average value changes
depending on the measurement method (not only
number of points); therefore, when evaluating the total
human exposure to a base station, it is very important to
determine the averaging area and the number of points.
However, there is no consistent global standard related
to the measurement protocol for spatial averaging.
Many governments and global or regional standard
organizations such as the International Telecommuni-
cation Union-Telecommunication Standardization Sec-
tor (ITU-T), Institute of Electrical and Electronics
Engineers (IEEE), International Electrotechnical Com-
mission (IEC), and European Committee for Electro-
technical Standardization (CENELEC) are making
efforts to harmonize various standards.
The Korean TTA standard, which was established
in December 2006 and adopted by ITU-T in May 2007,
assumes the spatial average of three heights, 1.1 m,
1.5 m, and 1.7 m, the number of basic measurement
point, three (one dimension), and that of precise
measurement, nine (two dimension). In case of precise
measurement the area is within 0.4 m (horizontal) by
0.6 m (vertical) and the points are placed 0.2 m apart at
each height. In addition, to consider incident fields from
any direction and polarization, an isotopic probe is
used in the measurement system. Moreover, to separate
each electromagnetic field source under the multi-
frequency environment, a spectrum analyzer connected
to the probe is used for a narrowband measurement
and the detection mode of the spectrum analyzer is set
to root mean square. The ICNIRP guidelines indicate
that electromagnetic fields should be averaged over
6 min. Therefore, as the number of points increases,
the time needed to complete the measurement also
increases. For this reason, in Korea, if any averaged
value between 1 and 6 min is nearly the same (under
0.5 dB), 1 min is considered sufficient to measure
human exposure to base stations. Additionally, to
consider different field levels due to traffic variation
at different times of the day, the fluctuation range
of the antenna input power is obtained from operators
and considered in the report on the measurement
results.
For example, a CDMA base station transmitting in
the frequency range of 869894 MHz was installed in a
rural area. This site configuration is called single type
base station, for it has only one transmitting frequency
at a site. In addition, this base station has no nearby base
stations (within a radius of 500 m) that use the same
transmitting frequency. To evaluate the exposure levels
around a certain area, an isotropic probe was set up at a
Bioelectromagnetics
height of 1.5 m over the ground considering whether
general public are passing by or not, and then the
highest electric field position (HEFP) was detected by
coarse scanning within three times the wavelength of
the lowest transmitting frequency. After determining
HEFP, spectrum of the base station signal is checked
to compare with the information obtained before the
measurement (this information includes transmitting
frequency, surroundings of the measurement position).
The selected position is in the middle of a farming road
where residents frequently pass by. To confirm the
possibility of reducing the measurement time, a 6-min
averaged value was compared with that of a 1-min value
before performing the real measurement. Through this
procedure, a 1 min measurement time was selected
because the difference between 6 and 1 min values was
less than 0.4 dB. The time averaged values measured
for 1 min in nine points was 0.18, 0.12, 0.16, 0.18, 0.12,
0.13, 0.15, 0.11, and 0.13 V/m. Therefore, the spatial
average value is 0.144 V/m. At the frequency range
of 869894 MHz, the recommended reference level
is in the range of 40.5341.11 V/m. To consider
the worst case, the lowest value was selected; hence
the calculated exposure ratio (ER) is (0.144/40.53)2
1.3E-5. Hence, this area is determined to comply
with the reference levels for general public since the
ER is lower than 1.0. If other base station signals
had been detected in this area, their ER would have to
be added to the base station of interest to get a total
value.
The method of electromagnetic environment
measurement, which was established in June 2007,
differs from that of in situ measurement. While an in situ
measurement is performed at one arbitrarily determined
position within a residential area in the vicinity of the
base station under multi-frequency environment and
assumes the spatially averaged field value of three or
nine points, the electromagnetic environment measure-
ment is performed at several positions (at the same
height, 1.5 m) selected along the line of sight (LOS)
with each constant step from so-called measurement
start position (MSP) up to the location where general
public access is permitted under single frequency
environment. Additional measurements were con-
ducted at the height of 1.1, 1.5, and 1.7 m (one
dimension), at the position with the highest value, and
the maximum measured value was taken. MSP refers to
the point where we start the measurement in the vicinity
of base stations. It can be determined considering the
antenna tilt angle and the installation height above
ground (y and h in Fig. 1). However, based on practical
considerations, performing the measurement at dis-
tances greater than five times the calculated compliance
boundary (CB) is very difficult. Most measurements
 Evaluating Exposure to Base Stations 581

Fig. 1. Example of predicted Electric field strength at 5R (MSP) and PMFP (antenna gain: 19 dBi,
transmitting power: 30 W, system loss:4 dB, antenna height overground (h): 20 m, tilt angle (y):158).

have been performed within the distance of five times
CB (5R), using the equation below.
r from the base of the antenna support, and at the
AP10G=10
R 1
4pS
where R is the distance of calculated CB (on the ground)
[m], A the ground reflection coefficient (2.56) [FCC,
1997], P the antenna transmitting power (including
system loss) [W], G the antenna gain [dBi], and S the
reference level of power density [W/m2]. It should be
noted that the CB calculation is based on separation
from the radiating antenna, but to guide practical
measurements, the Korean notice projects these distance
to ground or walkway level around the antenna support.
As shown in Figure 1, the electromagnetic
field strength at 5R is 4.35% of that at 1 m distance
possible maximum field position (PMFP), which
may not exist if an antenna has no tilt, the field
strength is 1.34%. At PMFP, the attenuation rate of
electric field strength is larger than at 5R, so it is very
reasonable to start measurement from 5R. Moreover,
considering the real environment around base stations,
the attenuation rates are thought to be more severe at
PMFP.
In addition, the selection criteria of a MSP differ
based on the type of antenna, but it is commonly
determined within the course of LOS. Figure 2 shows
MSP selection criteria of two types of antennas, sector

Fig. 2. MSPof a sectorantenna and an omni-antenna.

Bioelectromagnetics
582 Kim et al.
TABLE 1. Measurement Step According to the Frequency
Transmitting frequency <80 MHz
Measurement step Max (l*, d/40)
*l is wavelength of base station signal, and d is the ground distance from the center of the base station
antenna to MSP.
antenna and omni-antenna. In the case of a sector
antenna, a MSP is selected at each sector; but an omni-
antenna selects a MSP within one course of LOS
considering the propagation environment.
After MSP is selected, the measurement is
performed approaching the base station with a regular
step as shown in Table 1 [EN50400, 2006]. At this time,
other conditions such as detecting mode and
measurement time were identical to those of in situ
measurement.
For example, a base station of interest has been
installed on the rooftop of a building in a dense
residential area (operating frequency: 869894 MHz),
and it has the transmitting power of 10 W (system loss:
4 dB) and the antenna gain of 11.85 dBi. The height of
the installed antenna is 23 m over the ground, and 2 m
above the rooftop. The measurement was performed at
distances of 8, 6, 4, and 2 m on the rooftop approaching
the antenna with a constant step of 2 m, and the
measured values are 7.3, 8.8, 10.4, and 12.0 V/m,
respectively. At the distance of 2 m, the value used is
1.5 m measurement height which is the maximum field
value from measurement at 1.1, 1.5, 1.7 m. At the other
distances the field value is measured only at the height
of 1.5 m. The reference value of the electric field
strength is 40.53 V/m in the frequency range of the
target base station, and the measured maximum value
is 12.0 V/m at the distance of 2 m. Therefore, ER is
(12.0/40.53)2 8.8E-2. Hence, this base station can be
considered to comply with the reference level since ER
is lower than 1.0.
In conclusion, two different methods of evaluating
the compliance with operating base stations are being
applied in Korea. In situ measurement, which focuses
on human beings, is performed at one arbitrarily
determined position in the residential area in the
Bioelectromagnetics
9003000 >3
80900 MHz MHz GHz
Max (2 m, d/40) 1m 0.5 m
vicinity of a base station. The electromagnetic environ-
ment measurement focusing on a base station is carried
out at several positions in regular steps approaching the
base station.
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