Legal Issues of Environmental Monitoring and Improving the Electromagnetic Safety of Urbanized Areas Near Mobile Operator Base Stations: An International Perspective

This article presents the results of an analysis of international approaches to environmental monitoring and ensuring the electromagnetic safety of urbanized areas near cellular base stations. The authors consider key international regulatory documents, including the recommendations of the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP 2020), EU Directive 2013/35/EU, as well as national standards of Russia, the USA, China and the countries of the European Union. A comparative analysis of approaches to the standardization of electromagnetic fields in different countries is carried out, general trends and regional features are revealed, and it is also shown that the maximum permissible levels of electromagnetic fields in the Russian Federation established by SanPiN 1.2.3685-21 and SanPiN 2.1.8/2.2.4.1190-03 are the most stringent compared to foreign recommendations, which is due to differences in methodological approaches to hygienic rationing. The paper also focuses on the need to use modern methods of instrumental monitoring, taking into account the spatial overlap of base station sectors. The study examines integration processes within the EAEU, BRICS and SCO, where uniform approaches to electromagnetic safety and harmonization of technical regulations are formed and the need to harmonize national electromagnetic safety standards with international standards in the context of the deployment of 5G networks is justified. At the same time, the authors proposed areas for improving monitoring systems using the Internet of things and geographic information technologies.