ANALYSIS OF THE SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION OF GLOBAL SYSTEM OF MOBILE COMMUNICATION BASE STATIONS IN ZARIA URBAN AREA, KADUNA STATE, NIGERIA.

Adamu, G.*, Usman, A.K., Sawa, B.A. and Abdulkareem, B.

The geographic spread of telecommunication masts, particularly Global System for Mobile communication (GSM) in urban Zaria has painted a very noticeable aerial picture of the city, yet worried of indiscriminate installation of the base stations and the claims that the masts radiate electromagnetic field (ETF) rays which are injurious to health, this study analyzed the spatial distribution of GSM base stations (masts) in Zaria Urban area, Kaduna State, Nigeria. The existing base stations (masts) were identified and mapped using World Health Organization (WHO) (2007) regulations for locating a GSM Base Stations; that Mast should be erected ten (10) metres away from the residential areas. Spatial data of the GSM base stations (masts), Quickbird Satellite image of urban Zaria, Record from field survey, Geographic Positioning System (GPS), various service providers and Nigeria Communication Commission (NCC) were used for the study. The criteria for the location and distribution of the base station masts were also tested using the 10m buffer zone tests. The result revealed 116 GSM Base Stations in the study area, out of which only 16 masts complied, while the remaining 100 do not comply with the standard of WHO. Finally the spatial distribution of these facilities within the residential areas also exposes such areas to the effect of electromagnetic radiations. The regulatory agencies should keep checks on service providers that violate the 10m of siting GSM Base stations away from residential areas and remove the wrongly sited masts. Finally there should be proper awareness to the public media and schools on the possible health risk of electromagnetic radiations for people living close to GSM Base stations.

Key words: Distributions, GIS, GSM Base Station, Health Hazard.