|
"My 30+ years experience with weather
radars has been limited to magnetron-based systems and personally,
I like the idea of your lower powered, solid state electronics. Tens
of kilovolts and spurious x-rays always frightened me - especially
with the covers off!"
Brian J. Mott, Managing Director
Meteorological Engineering Limited
This portion of our website is intended
to create awareness regarding the potential health hazards associated
with high-powered Doppler weather radar systems. Today you can watch
television across the country and see hundreds of televisions stations
with their own LIVE Doppler weather radar system. But users of some
of these "high-powered" (250,000 watts and more) radars
neglect to mention the possible safety and health hazards that are
an intrinsic byproduct of these systems.
Exposure studies conducted during the 1980's indicate a possible correlation
between escalating cancer rates and increasing levels of radiation
in our environment. We cannot eliminate radiation completely from
our environment, but we can reduce health risks substantially by controlling
our exposure to it.
How can microwave radiation exposure be reduced? Our company, Advanced
Designs Corporation, provides solid-state, digital radars using very
low power (by factors of over 1000 times less) that are far below
the Federal Communications Commission limits for microwave radiation.
ADC has been in the radar business for 25 years. Though it
appears to be self-serving, our research indicates that broadcasters
using other vendors' high-powered radars do not even realize that
these radars may actually exceed the FCC standards for safe exposure
levels and may pose a heath risk (at the very least to those that
must work on these units). The graph below shows the comparison between
radiation output for the high powered radars versus the ADC low power,
solid-state radar, and references the FCC microwave radiation exposure
limits. One proactive action that can be taken is to make your local
broadcasters aware of your concern about the use of these unnecessary
high-powered Doppler radars. Some of these radars have ERPs (Effective
Radiated Power) of over 10 GIGAWATTS (OR 10 BILLION watts).
* Controlled limits apply in situations
where persons are exposed as a consequence of their employment provided
those persons are fully aware of the potential for exposure and can
exercise control over their exposure.
** Uncontrolled limits apply in situations
where the general public may be exposed, or where persons that are exposed
as a consequence of their employment may not be fully aware of the potential
for exposure or cannot exercise control over their exposure.
High Power radar computations derived
from: PRF = 259, Ppk = 250 KW (or Ppk = 1000 KW), Pulsewidth = 2 microseconds;
W = 4Pav/A; Pav = Ppk PRF PW. ADC Solid State radar specifications can
be found here.
*** Some high powered systems' operating
modes may produce even higher levels.
The chart above references FCC
documents which can be found online at:
www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Engineering_Technology/Orders/1996/fcc96326.txt
|
