The Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) yesterday released a survey showing that the electromagnetic wave intensity of mobile telephone base station emissions are below recommended levels.
Still, officials suggested people stay away from such stations to minimize the effects electromagnetic waves have on the human body.
With more than 23,500 base stations already in the country, the establishment of new stations is being hindered by rising opposition to the perceived health dangers of the electromagnetic radiation they emit.
In June, the Cabinet even encouraged government agencies to spare office building space for telecommunications providers for the establishment of new base stations.
To map the distribution of electromagnetic waves from existing base stations, the EPA carried out a comprehensive survey between May of last year and April this year.
The EPA randomly picked 1,925 900 Megahertz (MHz) and 1800 MHz base stations in three urban areas, including Taipei, Taichung and Kaohsiung, and tested the intensity of the electromagnetic waves they emit.
Base stations are built by six major telecommunication providers: state-run Chunghwa Telecom Co (中華電信), the Taiwan Cellular Corp (台灣大哥大), Far EasTone Co Ltd (遠傳電信), TransAsia Telecommunication (泛亞電信), KG Telecommunications Co (和信電訊) and Mobitai Communications Corp (東信電訊).
The results suggest that the emissions are much lower than the recommended reference levels for non-ionizing radiation in the environment, which were announced by the EPA in January last year.
For 1,800 MHz base stations, intensities of electromagnetic waves in Taipei, Taichung and Kaohsiung are one-51,150th, one 39,232nd, and one-156,300th, respectively, of the national acceptable level, which is 0.9 micro watts per cm2.
For 900 MHz base stations, intensities of electromagnetic waves in Taipei, Taichung and Kaohsiung are respectively one-77,935th, one-36,028th, and one-99,337th of the nationally acceptable level, which is 0.45 micro watt per cm2.
"Scientific evidence suggests that people have no reason to fear the establishment of base stations because the test results are far lower than nationally allowable levels," said Wang Pih (王碧), director general of the EPA's National Institute of Environmental Analysis at a press conference yesterday.
Wang said that the survey would be more complete when data from base stations in more remote areas, such as small townships in eastern Taiwan, were included.
Cheng Huei-sheng (程惠生), a researcher at the institute, said that follow-up research was necessary because base stations in the countryside tend to emit stronger electromagnetic waves to ensure the quality of mobile communications.
However, EPA officials said that none of the recent reviews in other countries have concluded that exposure to electromagnetic fields from mobile phones or their base stations cause any adverse health consequences, citing information released by the World Health Organization in January.
For those still concerned about their exposure to electromagnetic fields, officials said, the best approach is to stay away from the stations.
"Just like noise, heat, or other forms of energy existing in the environment, as the distance from electromagnetic waves increases, the intensity becomes correspondingly less intense," said EPA Deputy Administrator Chang Chu-enn (張祖恩).
EPA officials suggested that people stay more than 1m away from the base stations to avoid being exposed to high-energy electromagnetic waves.
An alleged US government plan to encourage Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) to form a joint venture with Intel to boost US chipmaking would place the Taiwanese foundry giant in a more disadvantageous position than proposed tariffs on imported chips, a semiconductor expert said yesterday. If TSMC forms a joint venture with its US rival, it faces the risk of technology outflow, said Liu Pei-chen (劉佩真), a researcher at the Taiwan Industry Economics Database of the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research. A report by international financial services firm Baird said that Asia semiconductor supply chain talks suggest that the US government would
Starlux Airlines on Tuesday announced it is to launch new direct flights from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport to Ontario, California, on June 2. The carrier said it plans to deploy the new-generation Airbus A350 on the Taipei-Ontario route. The Airbus A350 features a total of 306 seats, including four in first class, 26 in business class, 36 in premium economy and 240 in economy. According to Starlux’s initial schedule, four flights would run between Taoyuan and Ontario per week: Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. Flights are to depart from Taoyuan at 8:05pm and arrive in California at 5:05pm (local time), while return flights
Nearly 800 Indian tourists are to arrive this week on an incentive tour organized by Indian company Asian Painted Ltd, making it the largest tour group from the South Asian nation to visit since the COVID-19 pandemic. The travelers are scheduled to arrive in six batches from Sunday to Feb. 25 for five-day tours, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. The tour would take the travelers, most of whom are visiting Taiwan for the first time, to several tourist sites in Taipei and Yilan County, including tea houses in Taipei’s Maokong (貓空), Dadaocheng (大稻埕) and Ximending (西門町) areas. They would also visit
HOSPITAL VISITS: Shin Kong Mitsukoshi pledged to give the families of the four people who died NT$11m each and provide support for staff working at the time The central government would assist local governments to enhance public safety, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday as he visited people in hospital who were injured in an explosion at a department store in Taichung on Thursday. A suspected gas explosion occurred on the 12th floor of the Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Zhonggang department store in Taichung at 11:33am on Thursday, killing four people and injuring 36. Of the 40 casualties, 39 were hospitalized, Ministry of Health and Welfare data showed. Three died after out-of-hospital cardiac arrests, the data showed. As of 6am yesterday, 25 of those injured had been discharged from hospital, leaving 11