European exposure standard to electromagnetic field applied to satellite earth stations

The first European standard on exposure to electromagnetic fields (CENELEC prestandard ENV 50166-2) was finalised in January 1995. This paper describes a study conducted to apply this newly developed prestandard to the case of satellite earth stations, in order to gain experience on the applicability of this standard in a practical situation. First, a theoretical study was conducted to estimate the potential of various types of antennas to exceed the limits. For mobile earth stations for which the limits can be exceeded close to the antenna, measurements were conducted on different kinds of antennas to determine the hazardous zone, both in term of occupation and the general public. For these antennas, a mathematical model is proposed to define this hazardous zone as a function of the antenna elevation. Finally, the validity of this purely theoretical model is discussed, improvements and adjustments are proposed to correspond closely with the measurements results