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[TowerTalk] Vatican to cut broadcasts over ecological fight

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Subject: [TowerTalk] Vatican to cut broadcasts over ecological fight
From: fabio.mantovani@inwind.it (Fabio Mantovani, IZ4AFW)
Date: Mon, 09 Apr 2001 22:17:11 +0200
At 18.14 09/04/01 +0000, you wrote:
>This is from Reuters.
>[...]
>
>This is really interesting.  Without details, it seems to go against
>the type of RF exposure limits in a number of ways and the report
>seems technically inaccurate.
Here in Italy there is an excessive excitement about Radio Vaticana and RF 
exposure in these days...

>1) The FCC exposure limit is huge at Broadcast band frequencies. 50Kw
>US stations have no trouble meeting it.  On 160M one can be within
>inches of the antenna at 1.5KW and not exceed the limit.
Someone says Radio Vaticana uses about 500kW. I think people is somewhat 
worried because of the big antennas (supports for curtain antennas are 
about 100 meters high, and they are several supports, not just one of course).

>This all came about because of "cluster" lukemia deaths in areas
>surrounding the Vatican.
>
>Italy has the EU's toughest limits on exposure.
Yes, it's 6 V/m (!!). Some evidence about leukemia deaths in children near 
the radio station was found in a epidemiologic study. It was reported a x6 
number of leukemia disease in children in a 2 km radius from the station. 
Don't know how many cases were analyzed.
Anyway, it seems that some toxic or radioactive waste is located near the 
radio station.

>Measurements of Vatican radio exceeded the limits by a factor of 3.
It's about 23 V/m in the houses nearest Vatican antennas, and even more 
outside of the houses; anyway we have to say that houses were built *after* 
the radio station. They were built years ago abusively and then they were 
remitted recently.

>The Vatican is not part of Italy but Italy is imposing their limits on
>them.
This is a complex question. Vatican is not part of Italy but antennas are 
on an Italian territory which was given to Vatican a lot of years ago. 
Moreover, all of electric power is given to Radio Vaticana by Italy.

>I wonder what the limits are for amateur radio frequencies.  Are they
>met by our fellow Italian hams?
In Italy maximum legal power is 300 W. A study by CNR (Research National 
Council) says there are no problems with these power levels just a few 
meters away from antennas.
Actually limits for amateur radio are the same ones of the fixed services, 
i.e. 6 V/m.
Hams here are really worried about this, but we are not as important as you 
in the USA for our government, and we are far less than you. ARI (our 
association, similar to ARRL) has not as much power as ARRL has.... and 
these are big problems now!

>73 de Brian/K3KO

73 & Ciao,
    Fabio
    IZ4AFW

  Effugere nemo id potest, quod futurum est. (Publilio Siro)


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