ARPANSA EME report

Mobile devices work by sending and receiving low power radio signals, directly to a mobile base station. The radio signal generated by mobile phone base station antennas is often referred to as radiofrequency Electromagnetic Energy (EME).

Like many other things, base stations (and more specifically, EME levels) are subject to a safety standard regulated by the Australian Federal Government. The safety standards are determined by the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA), and are often referred to as the ARPANSA Standard. The regulations cover lots of radio services including AM and FM radio, police, fire and ambulance communications as well as mobile phones, wireless devices and mobile base stations.

An EME compliance report (also referred to as an Environmental EME Report) must be produced for deployment of all mobile telecommunications infrastructure including wireless base stations, small cells and antennas.

The report is produced according to a methodology developed by ARPANSA. The report shows the maximum calculated levels for a specific installation and compares them against the exposure limits in the ARPANSA Standard.

It shows the total cumulative EME level at interval distances out to 500m from all wireless network transmitters on the site, all operating at their maximum power, and specific points of interest can be calculated to account for differences in elevation.

The ARPANSA EME Report is a useful tool for understanding site specific calculated EME levels and comparisons to the safety standard.

View a sample environmental EME report

ARPANSA states “The ARPANSA RF Standard provides limits of exposure which must be complied with by all radio installations, including wireless base stations and small cells.  The limits for EME exposure given in the ARPANSA Standard are intended to provide protection for people of all ages and medical conditions when exposed 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. The EME Report shows the maximum calculated levels for a specific installation and compares them against the exposure limits in the ARPANSA Standard.”

Site specific ARPANSA EME Reports are available from our Radio Frequency National Site Archive (RFNSA). Click the link below:

RFNSA

 

For further information about the EME Report, click the link below:

ARPANSA environmental EME reports