Spatial Exposure of EMF from Phone Base Stations in the North of Libreville, Gabon
Abstract
The electromagnetic environment became dense with the spread of its artificial sources in urban and rural areas. More and more publications are describing their unfavourable effects, including human well-being deterioration, disruption of the nervous system functions or cancer occurrence. Also, there is a legal loophole related to electromagnetic fields (EMF) in many countries. The aim of this contribution is to map people's exposure to EMF from phone base stations in the north of Libreville, Gabon. Data on phone base station emissions have been collected with Spectran 6080HF, processed with MCS Spectrum Analyser 2.1.6, transferred in a WPS spreadsheet, and converted to a shape file before mapping them in ArcMap and examining spatial concentration in QGis. Phone base station emissions vary in space and time between 0 to 488,09 V/m from June to December 2021. The threshold of phone base station emissions standards is exceeded at different periods for all mobile phone network operators, by the Salzburg Resolution and Gabonese standards. Furthermore, the concentration of EMF exposure varies in space and concerns more Akanda than Libreville. This fact explains the spatio-temporal variation of people at risk, as all types of districts and social classes are concerned. Based on the precautionary principle, and because this risk is a matter of accumulation of exposure, it is important to revise standards and raise awareness of EMF pollution as cancer cases and related diseases have grown amidst struggling health systems for years
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Copyright (c) 2024 Nadine Nicole Ndonghan Iyangui, Sylvestre Biffot, Igor Ndong, Christian Ekogha
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