Ministry of National Defense Republic of Korea

[MND] Only 0.007% of the criteria from 1.6 kilometers away

Measured considering a 1.5-km distance from the reserved site in Seongju to private houses

0.0003W/㎡ average value, much lower than the max. one

The US military said, “Guam presents rather unfavorable conditions, it could be lower if the altitude was different.”

Simulation had ‘Safe’ result with an altitude of 350m, which is similar to Seongju

A measurement of radar electromagnetic waves in the US Army’s THAAD base in Guam, taken in the presence of a group of reporters, showed that the level was extremely safe, reaching 0.007% of the maximum allowable amount to ensure human safety.

The US released ‘Site Armadillo,’ a THAAD battery deployed in Anderson Airbase, Guam, on the morning of July 18, local time, to our MND officials and the media, also allowing electromagnetic wave measurement. This marked the first time that the US military had released an overseas THAAD battery to other countries.

“The safety criteria of the THAAD battery that will be deployed in Seongju area, Gyeongsangbuk-do will be the same level as in Guam. As well, we’re going to thoroughly examine whether the safety area has been properly set,” commented a US official.

The measurement of electromagnetic waves was performed at a vacant lot within the training center 1.6km away from AN/TPY-2 radar. It was considered that the distance between the THAAD battery in Seongju and private houses is 1.5km.

As the THAAD radar began to operate, the Chief of Radio Management and Control in the 7th Air Force Communication Service Group measured the average and maximum values for 6 minutes using broadband electromagnetic waves measuring equipment. As a result, the max. value was 0.0007W/㎡, which corresponds to 0.007% of the amount set in ‘Guidelines for Limiting Human Exposure’ announced by the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning. The average showed a much lower value, 0.0003W/㎡. Considering that the average value of everyday electromagnetic waves that do not emit a radar beam was 0.0088W/㎡, during the measurement of electromagnetic waves of Patriot and Green Pine radars conducted on July 14 in Korea, the effects of THAAD radar can do no harm from a distance of 1.6km.

A MND official underlined the safety, saying that 0.007% of the standard is the level we can see in daily life. The US representative explained, “The altitude difference between the THAAD deployment and measurement area is almost horizontal, and a modest rate was detected despite the unfavorable conditions of having a lot of satellite observation radar in the surroundings. If there is an altitude difference from the radar, the electromagnetic wave figure would fall more.”

The US forces also publicized the results of a simulation with radar installed at an altitude of 350m and emitting beams at an angle of 5 degrees, which was performed by the Korea-US joint working group, in order to create similar conditions with Seongju battery. According to the results, the lowest danger height that can contact with the radar beam from 100 meters away, a personnel control sector, was 359m; 394m from 500 meters away, no ground installation area; 664m and 787m from 3,600 meters and 5,500 meters away, uncontrolled personnel restricted area, respectively. This means that no radar beam reached altitudes lower than these.

A US forces spokesperson said, “Many US soldiers are living near radar; our overseas THAAD deployment needs to go through follow-up verification by the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) because we have to protect residents living around the base. We’ll do a proper examination to set the right safety zone for the deployment area in Korea as well.”

Major general Robert Hedelund, Assistant Chief of Staff of US forces in Korea, said, “The THAAD battery does not harm the health or safety of the operators, the soldiers or the citizens. The safety criteria applied to the Guam base are even higher than the criteria set by the US government, and we are going to apply that same safety criteria to Korea. Korea and the US military have been taking considerable pains to realize this visit for weeks, even up to several hours ago. It was very important to open the THAAD battery to the media, which is something we have never allowed before.”

By Chul-Hwan, Kim < droid001@dema.mil.kr >
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