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(IVAR) - Final Report - Strategic Environmental Research and ...

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Methods<br />

The US military 27 designates three categories of safety hazards from radio frequency (RF)<br />

radiation emitted by radars <strong>and</strong> other electronic devices:<br />

• Hazards of Electromagnetic Radiation to Fuels (HERF) – fuel vapors ignited by RFinduced<br />

arcs.<br />

• Hazards of Electromagnetic Radiation to Ordnance (HERO) – RF causing premature<br />

actuation of electro-explosive devices.<br />

• Hazards of Electromagnetic Radiation to Personnel (HERP) – increases in overall body<br />

temperature or the temperature of specific organs, <strong>and</strong> shock or burns from RF-induced<br />

electrical currents or voltages in conductive objects.<br />

To demonstrate SE3.2, we contacted personnel at each of the principal <strong>IVAR</strong> study locations to<br />

determine the procedures they followed to minimize the risk of these three hazards from the<br />

radar(s) operating at their locations. The results we present below from NAS Patuxent River are<br />

representative of the requirements at other military facilities, <strong>and</strong> in particular, military airfields.<br />

Results<br />

The following procedures apply to radars, including avian radars, located at l<strong>and</strong>-based military<br />

facilities. At civil airports (e.g., SEA) the FAA procedures regarding minimizing radiation<br />

hazards cover similar considerations using different terminology, with two principal differences.<br />

• Permission to operate any RF-emitting device at a military facility, including radars, must<br />

be obtained from the frequency coordinator for that facility. At civil airports (<strong>and</strong><br />

elsewhere), the operator must apply for a license from the Federal Communications<br />

Commission (FCC) to operate an X-b<strong>and</strong> radar on l<strong>and</strong>.<br />

• Conditions involving ordnance (i.e., HERO) would not normally be a concern at civil<br />

airports.<br />

The primary consideration regarding potential RF hazards from avian radars on military l<strong>and</strong>s is<br />

the radar’s location: Where is the radar in relation to the people <strong>and</strong> explosives it might affect<br />

Once the proposed location(s) of the radar is (are) known, those hazards can be evaluated.<br />

Before they received their BirdRad radar at NASPR, the Natural Resources staff submitted a<br />

request to the Air Operations. Based on that request, Air Operations personnel calculated the<br />

HERF, HERO, <strong>and</strong> HERP distances for a 50 kW X-b<strong>and</strong> radar <strong>and</strong> determined in what zone the<br />

radar would be located. Air Operations also set conditions under which the radar would need to<br />

be "silenced" (i.e., in St<strong>and</strong>by mode) for specific airfield conditions. For example, if HERO<br />

Condition #2 was set for the airfield <strong>and</strong> the radar was in one of the affected zones, the Natural<br />

Resources staff is required to shut down the radar until that HERO condition is lifted.<br />

Once this review was complete, Air Operations added the Natural Resources staff to the HERO<br />

“phone tree” so that someone would notify the Natural Resources staff anytime the HERO<br />

condition on the airfield changed. Air Operations also requires that the Natural Resources staff<br />

to have a base radio with them whenever they are at the trailer operating the radar, again in case<br />

the HERO condition on the airfield changes.<br />

27<br />

See for example http://safetycenter.navy.mil/acquisition/RFR/index.asp<br />

263

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