RF EME ENVIRONMENTAL SURVEY REPORT

IN RELATION TO THE ENVIRONMENTAL RF EME LEVELS AROUND THE GEELONG DISTRICT REPORT NO: 00028
Oct 2006

Prepared by

Ashok Selliah RF EME Consultant

Melbourne: Suite 5, Clay Drive, Doncaster, Vic 3108 ISO17025 Accreditation No. 15500 Phone: (03) 9848 9788 Fax: (03) 9844 4988

www.radhaz.com.au

RF EME Environmental Survey Report Geelong District

Oct 2006

RF EME ENVIRONMENTAL SURVEY REPORT

IN RELATION TO THE ENVIRONMENTAL RF EME LEVELS AROUND THE GEELONG DISTRICT
Survey date 24 Oct 06 Report No. 00028

Measurement Officers

Brendon Woods Ashok Selliah

Authorised NATA Signatory

Brendon Woods Principal Consultant Radhaz Consulting Pty Ltd

This document is issued in accordance with NATAs accreditation requirements. Accredited for compliance with ISO/IEC 17025.

This report may not be copied or reproduced whole or in part without the permission of RADHAZ Consulting Propriety Limited.

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Contents
1. Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 4 2. Federal Government Legal Requirements................................................................................ 4 3 4 5 Measurements........................................................................................................................... 4 Measurement Results................................................................................................................ 6 Summary................................................................................................................................... 7

APPENDIX A ................................................................................................................................. 8 APPENDIX B ............................................................................................................................... 11 APPENDIX C ............................................................................................................................... 12

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RF EME Environmental Survey Report Geelong District

Oct 2006

1. Introduction
Mr Mike Wood of Telstra Corporation Pty Ltd (Telstra) requested RADHAZ Consulting Pty Ltd, as independent consultants, undertake radiofrequency electromagnetic energy (RF EME) measurements of existing RF EME levels at specific locations in Geelong district of Victoria. The purpose of this report is to table the measured RF EME levels caused by the existing RF services (including Radio, Television, Mobiles, etc.) at four locations in the locality of Geelong. The measured levels in the report are compared to the General Public RF EME limits recommended by ARPANSA in their RPS3 document.

2. Federal Government Legal Requirements

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has conditions on the operation of radiocommunications transmitters. These conditions regulate the exposure of the general public to RF EME levels produced by all licensed RF transmitters. Licensed RF transmitter operators are required to ensure that the general public is not exposed to RF EME levels from their service in excess of prescribed limits. The prescribed limits are the reference field strength levels from the ARPANSA Radiation Protection Standard RPS3; Standard for Maximum Exposure Levels to Radio Frequency Fields 3 kHz to 300 GHz (2002). Further information can be gained from the ACMA and ARPANSA web sites: http://www.acma.gov.au/ACMAINTER:STANDARD:pc=PC_2798 http://www.arpansa.gov.au/pubs/rps/rps3.pdf

3
3.1

Measurements
Survey Equipment Spectrum Analyzer 100kHz 3.3GHz Micronix MSA338 S/n M0000437 Calibration Date October 2005 ETS Log-Periodic Dipole Array Antenna EMCO Biconnical Antenna EMCO Loop Antenna 5m Low Loss Feeder Tail Tripod

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3.2

Method 3.2.1 The narrow band (spectral) Measurements were performed at a height of 1.5m above ground level at the locations listed in Table 1 (Refer to Appendix A Diagram 1). Measurements were performed at a height of 1.5m above ground level at the locations specified in Table 1. The band of frequencies between 500kHz and 2.2GHz were measured, which includes mobile phone transmissions, TV, FM radio, AM radio, paging and other existing radio services operating in the area. Radio signals generated by GSM base stations have a constant power control channel and other radio (traffic) channels to provide for additional telephone calls. The traffic channels vary in power and duration depending on the number of users making telephone calls. The measurements in this report are of the mobile control channels so as to achieve a stable and accurate reading. Typical power variations over a day due to other mobile traffic channels average at 30%. To account for these variations a factor of 4 has been applied. The survey locations were chosen to provide indicative levels of EME within the Geelong district, which included mobiles, broadcast (TV and Radio), Police and emergency services. Measurements of mobile services covered all operators - Telstra 3G, GSM900, GSM1800, CDMA800, WCDMA850, Optus - GSM900, GSM1800, Hutchison 3G, Vodafone - GSM900 and GSM1800 services. Some mobile phone base station signals (3G, CDMA) use spread spectrum technologies. The amplitude of these signals varies with the amount and nature of the mobile phone call. These signals were recorded, as they existed at the time of the measurement. Measurements were taken as per Australian Standard AS 2772.2 1988 Radiofrequency radiation Part 2: Principles and Methods of Measurement 300 kHz to 100 GHz. All Micronix spectrum analyser measurements were recorded in dBm, converted to equivalent power density and the percentage of the ARPANSA RPS3 Standard. Due to the changing exposure limit with frequency, cumulative exposure can only be expressed in terms of percentage of the exposure limits. A reported value of 100 percent would indicate that the exposure level was at the allowable limit. The exposure limits are shown on Table 7 of RPS3, this can be viewed at: http://www.arpansa.gov.au/pubs/rps/rps3.pdf.

3.2.2

3.2.3

3.2.4

3.2.5

3.2.6

3.2.7

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4 Measurement Results
The levels shown in Table 1 should be seen as indicative only and represent the fraction of the RPS3 general public limit for that specific location under the operating conditions for that particular time. RF EME levels vary significantly over small distances, while every effort is made to capture the highest level at a given location; it is possible that localised high levels may be missed. The Radio signals generated by GSM and CDMA signals will fluctuate due to changing traffic levels. The traffic channels vary in power and duration depending on the number of users making telephone calls. Trials conducted by ARPANSA found that the average power can vary by a factor of +30% over a day due to change in mobile traffic conditions. Generally, the reported measured levels will over estimate the average RF EME level in a given area. Broadcast services such as TV and radio transmit at a constant power and vary little over a given area depending on the topography. UHF and VHF services recorded in the area were a combination of press-to-talk and constant transmit. Table 1 below tabulates the cumulative RF EME measured at each location. Charts 1 4 in Appendix A shows the contribution each band of frequencies (services) makes to produce the cumulative level at each location. Chart 5 shows a spectral trace of all radio signals over the band 15 MHz to 1000 MHz. The vertical axis of the chart indicates the amplitude of the measured signal; where the higher the peak the greater the amplitude E.g. 40 dBm is 100 times greater than 60 dBm. The horizontal axis indicates the frequency in MHz. This type of chart provides the data necessary for producing the pie chart. In reality, many more radio signals can be present but were not being transmitted at the time of the survey and consequently not recorded. Due to their constancy and higher power, public broadcast signals (TV and radio) usually contribute the greater amount of RF EME. Measured levels of 20dB or less than the maximum peak of a particular service are not included because they represent less than 1% of the total power density. The measurements have an uncertainty of 3dB. Conversion to field strength and the fraction of the RPS3 general public limit is achieved by a formula that takes into account the gain of the receiving antenna, cable loss and spectrum analyser/receiver calibration. RadHaz Consulting permanently stores all measurement equipment calibration details, site maps and recorded measurement scans.

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RF EME Environmental Survey Report Geelong District

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Table 1: Locations and measured cumulative RF EME levels Measurement Locations Full Spectrum Measurements 1. Richmond oval Carpark Geelong South 2. Leopold Cemetery carpark (opposite Catholic church.) 3.Grovedale Area opposite 8 Polley Crt 4. Sports Ground Shannon Ave Geelong West Existing environmental levels as a % of ARPANSA General Public Exposure Limit 0.000288 0.002430 0.000598 0.009593 Times below General Public Exposure Limit

347,222 41,152 167,224 10,424

UHF Services Only 5. Geelong town ship - opposite Ambulance and CFA buildings - McKillop St 6. Fenwick St Opposite School Note:

0.419131 0.002556

238 39,123

1) Percentages based on the total measured power density from all mobile and radio services with respect to the ARPANSA general public exposure limits. 2) Refer to Appendix A for layout of measurement locations. 3) A value of 100% indicates the General Public Limit. 4) Measured levels of 20dB or less than the maximum peak of a particular service is not included because they represent less than 1% of the total power density. 5) Values rounded off to 6 decimal places 6) Locations 1-4 include all services operating between 400KHz 2.2GHz. 7) Locations 5 & 6 include UHF services only 400MHz band

5 Summary
5.1 The maximum cumulative RF EME level measured within the Geelong district at the four locations from all existing radio and mobile telephone services operating in the area was 0.009593 (10,424 times less) of the allowable ARPANSA General Public Exposure Limit. 5.2 According to ARPANSA and the World Health Organisation levels as low as these are not known to cause adverse health effects. 5.3 Spot measurements of UHF and VHF services were conducted within the Geelong town site around existing transmit facilities (refer Appendix C). The maximum RF EME recorded for UHF services only was 0.419131% (238 times less) measured at a distance of approximately 20m from the Ambulance Depot along McKillop St, Geelong.

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APPENDIX A Measured levels by service expressed as a percentage of RPS3 General Public limits
Chart 1 - Richmond Oval, Geelong: Ambient RF EME Levels

9.659%

Total Cumulative RF EME = 0.000288% of RPS3 of General Public Limit

AM FM UHF & VHF TV 30.218% UHF & VHF Services Mobile 57.497%

0.250% 2.376%

Chart 2 - Leopold Cemetery Carpark, Geelong: Ambient RF EME Levels

1.8752% 0.429% 0.007% 0.270%

Total Cumulative RF EME = 0.00243% of RPS3 General Public Limit

AM FM UHF & VHF TV UHF & VHF Services Mobile

97.418%

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Chart 3 - Grovedale Area, Geelong: Ambient RF EME Levels

Total Cumulative RF EME = 0.00056% of RPS3 of General Public Limit

25.950%

AM FM 44.403% UHF & VHF TV UHF & VHF Services 1.074% 0.797% Mobile

27.775%

Chart 4 - Shannon Avenue, Geelong West: Ambient RF EME Levels

2.393% 0.068% 0.036%

Total Cumulative RF EME = 0.0096% of RPS3 of General Public Limit

30.908%

AM FM UHF & VHF TV UHF & VHF Services Mobile

66.594%

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Chart 5 Location 1 Richmond Oval Car Park Full Spectrum

Note: This is a spectral trace of all radio signals over the band 400KHz to 2.2GHz. This plot is a typical representation of radio communication systems present in the community.

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APPENDIX B Location Map Survey locations

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APPENDIX C

UHF & VHF Services currently operating in the Geelong Area

Rural Ambulance: Australian Federal Police: 489.925MHz 484.725MHz 488.438MHz 483.175MHz Barwon Water Authority: 450.775MHz 460.275MHz 475.050MHz

76.49MHz 460.578MHz 412.475MHz 451.075MHz 403.025MHz

Victoria Police

Victorian State Emergency Services: 459.100MHz 468.600MHz 468.625MHz 468.650MHz 2.57650MHz 3.73050MHz 3.7335MHz 3.7365MHz 3.7445MHz 4.5685MHz 4.5745MHz 459.15MHz

CFA:

469.000MHz 459.500MHz 459.575MHz 469.275MHz 459.775MHz

450.60000MHz 460.10000MHz 160.98750MHz 161.12500MHz 161.01250MHz 161.21250MHz 148.21250MHz

Note: All services shown at their operating frequencies as given in the ACMA website.

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