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Atmospheric pollution from the major mobile telecommunication companies in Tanzania
KASEBELE, M. & MWEGOHA, W. J. S.
Abstract
The extent of pollution from five major mobile telephone companies in Tanzania was investigated. These
companies are Airtel, tIGO, Zantel, Sasatel and Vodacom. The parameters measured were the noise levels, NOx
concentrations, and Particulate matter. The noise levels and exhaust gases were determined at 10 different Base Stations, 2
Base Stations (BSs) for each company. Results show high noise levels, with maximum hourly average of 83dB (Tigo 2 BS)
and minimum hourly average of 61.4dB (Vodacom BS) as compared to the permissible 45dB. Moreover, there is an increased
noise level of hourly means of 82dB (Zantel BS), 70dB (Sasatel BS) and 72dB (Tigo 1 BS). However, concentrations of gases
at the stack exit were low at all sampling points with maximum hourly average of 0.18mg/m3(NO) and 0.135mg/m3(NO2)
compared to the permissible 250mg/m3. The applied Gaussian model provided an approximation of the contribution of the BS
generators to the atmosphere to range from 0.0006μg/m3 and 0.001 μg/m3 (Vodacom BSs) at 300m from the source to
0.35μg/m3 and 0.014μg/m3 at (TIGO BSs) 10m from the source for both NO and NO2 respectively while the measured values
ranged from 0μg/m3 (Sasatel BSs) to 10 μg/m3 (Vodacom BSs) for both (NO) and(NO2) at 2.5m from the source. The released
levels of the PM2.5 caused a significant rise in PM2.5 level in the ambient air concentration of indoor and outdoor environments
with an hourly average increase ranging from 0.04 mg/m3 (Sasatel BSs) to about 0.25mg/m3 (Tigo BSs) above the standard of
0.1mg/m3. It is concluded that there are high noise levels and particulate emissions from these companies at varying degrees.
It is recommended that a minimum of 15m distance between the Base stations and nearby residence be kept so as to achieve a
permissible noise level of 45dB. © JASEM
Keywords
Air, Base stations, Mobile Telephone, Noise, Particulates
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