Monitoring of RF/Microwave field strength at schools in a pilot district in Samsun/Turkey

2016 · No effect · Insufficient evidence

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No effectInsufficient evidencePaper 1377

Study snapshot

Publicationmanual · 2016

Study typeexposure_assessment

Reported directionNo effect

Evidence ratingInsufficient

Abstract

Monitoring of RF/Microwave field strength at schools in a pilot district in Samsun/Turkey Çetin Kurnaz, Begüm Korunur Engiz, Murat Cem Bozkurt. Monitoring of RF/Microwave field strength at schools in a pilot district in Samsun/Turkey. Microwave Symposium (MMS), 2016 16th Mediterranean. 14-16 Nov 2016. Abstract As a result of the growing usage of wireless devices and a large number of WLANs installations at schools; determining the exposure levels to students and staff from these systems has become more crucial than before. Since microwave radio links are used to provide connection between wireless devices, proper assessment of exposure to microwave emissions must be carried out. For this reason, in this study electromagnetic radiation (EMR) measurements were conducted at 92 different schools in Ilkadim district twice in 2016 using PMM 8053 EMR meter. The changes in and statistical properties of electric field strengths (E) are determined on the basis of these measurements. The maximum Es (Emax) are 5.39 V/m and 3.04 V/m for each measurement while the maximum average Es (Eavg) are 2.22 and 2.25 V/m. Even though the measured E levels are below the limits that are determined by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP); for providing a wide margin of protection and evaluating the health risks they may cause, regular control/measurement of exposed EMR levels is recommended. Excerpt The pie chart showing the distributions of all EMR sources is given in Fig.5. As seen from the figure, 99.16% of total EMR in the medium is emitted by base stations which use 800MHz (LTE800), 900MHz (GSM900), 1800MHz (GSM1800) and 2100MHz (UMTS2100) frequency bands. Among the four of them, GSM900 has the most contribution with 36.49%. [Note: The paper did not discuss the extent Wi-Fi was used in these schools. WLAN was found to emit 0.024 V/m on average.] ieeexplore.ieee.org

Machine Enhanced Logic

AI evidence extraction

Structured fields below were generated from the paper’s abstract and metadata to make the evidence easier to inspect. Automated extraction may be incomplete or incorrect; verify important details against the original paper.

Study typeexposure_assessment

Effect directionno_effect

PopulationStudents and staff (school environment)

Sample size92

ExposureRF/microwave · Two measurement rounds in 2016

Evidence strengthInsufficientConfidence: 74% · Peer reviewed: yes

Main findings

EMR measurements were conducted at 92 schools twice in 2016. Reported maxima were Emax 5.39 V/m and 3.04 V/m across the two rounds; maximum average field strengths (Eavg) were 2.22 and 2.25 V/m. The excerpt states 99.16% of total EMR was attributed to base stations operating at 800, 900, 1800, and 2100 MHz, with GSM900 contributing 36.49%; measured levels were below ICNIRP limits.

Outcomes measured

Electric field strength (V/m)
Maximum electric field strength (Emax)
Average electric field strength (Eavg)
Distribution of EMR sources by frequency band (LTE800, GSM900, GSM1800, UMTS2100)

Limitations

No health outcomes were assessed (exposure monitoring only).
Specific measurement protocol details (e.g., locations within schools, time of day, averaging time) are not provided in the abstract.
Wi-Fi/WLAN contribution is not fully described in the abstract (only a note indicating WLAN average 0.024 V/m).
Frequency-specific field strength values are not fully reported in the abstract.

View raw extracted JSON

{
  "study_type": "exposure_assessment",
  "exposure": {
    "band": "RF/microwave",
    "source": "schools (environmental RF from base stations; WLAN mentioned)",
    "frequency_mhz": null,
    "sar_wkg": null,
    "duration": "Two measurement rounds in 2016"
  },
  "population": "Students and staff (school environment)",
  "sample_size": 92,
  "outcomes": [
    "Electric field strength (V/m)",
    "Maximum electric field strength (Emax)",
    "Average electric field strength (Eavg)",
    "Distribution of EMR sources by frequency band (LTE800, GSM900, GSM1800, UMTS2100)"
  ],
  "main_findings": "EMR measurements were conducted at 92 schools twice in 2016. Reported maxima were Emax 5.39 V/m and 3.04 V/m across the two rounds; maximum average field strengths (Eavg) were 2.22 and 2.25 V/m. The excerpt states 99.16% of total EMR was attributed to base stations operating at 800, 900, 1800, and 2100 MHz, with GSM900 contributing 36.49%; measured levels were below ICNIRP limits.",
  "effect_direction": "no_effect",
  "limitations": [
    "No health outcomes were assessed (exposure monitoring only).",
    "Specific measurement protocol details (e.g., locations within schools, time of day, averaging time) are not provided in the abstract.",
    "Wi-Fi/WLAN contribution is not fully described in the abstract (only a note indicating WLAN average 0.024 V/m).",
    "Frequency-specific field strength values are not fully reported in the abstract."
  ],
  "evidence_strength": "insufficient",
  "confidence": 0.74,
  "peer_reviewed_likely": "yes",
  "keywords": [
    "RF",
    "microwave",
    "electric field strength",
    "schools",
    "WLAN",
    "base stations",
    "ICNIRP",
    "Turkey",
    "Samsun",
    "Ilkadim",
    "LTE800",
    "GSM900",
    "GSM1800",
    "UMTS2100",
    "PMM 8053"
  ],
  "suggested_hubs": [
    {
      "slug": "school-wi-fi",
      "weight": 0.6,
      "reason": "School exposure context; WLAN installations mentioned though contribution appears small."
    },
    {
      "slug": "who-icnirp",
      "weight": 0.7,
      "reason": "Results interpreted relative to ICNIRP limits."
    }
  ]
}

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AI-extracted fields are generated from the abstract and metadata and may be incomplete or incorrect. This material is for informational purposes and is not medical advice.

Identifiers and source

DOI: Not supplied
PubMed: Not supplied

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