Dimensionless coefficients for assessing human exposure to radio-frequency electromagnetic fields indoors and outdoors in urban areas

2020 · Unclear · Insufficient evidence

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UnclearInsufficient evidencePaper 1600

Study snapshot

Publicationmanual · 2020

Study typeexposure_assessment

Reported directionUnclear

Evidence ratingInsufficient

Abstract

Dimensionless coefficients for assessing human exposure to radio-frequency electromagnetic fields indoors and outdoors in urban areas Paniagua JM, Rufo M, Jiménez A, Antolín A. Dimensionless coefficients for assessing human exposure to radio- frequency electromagnetic fields indoors and outdoors in urban areas. Environmental Research. 183, April 2020, 109188. Highlights • Residential areas were measured indoors and outdoors with a personal exposimeter. • Different protocols were used for indoor and outdoor measurements. • Electric field was systematically detected in the FM and downlink mobile phone bands. • Median exposure quotient was 2.5 10−6 outdoors and 1.6 10−6 indoors. • Exposure quotient: FM radio > downlink > DECT and WIFI. Abstract The main objective of this work was to evaluate human exposure to electromagnetic fields in a city of about one hundred thousand inhabitants, both inside and outside dwellings, using exposure quotients. To this end, a personal exposure meter was used, collecting data in different frequency bands, including radio and television broadcasting, mobile telephony, cordless telephones, and wireless communication networks. The indoor measurements were made with the exposure meter in a static position. Those outdoor were made by walking around the building with the exposure meter held by the operator. The median electric field was 0.200 V/m outdoors and 0.102 V/m indoors. The median of the ICNIRP exposure quotients for multiple-frequency sources was 25 x 10−6 outside and 16 x 10−6 inside. The proximity of the operator's body caused the readings of the electric field in the FM band to be overestimated by a factor of 1.35, and in the mobile telephony bands by factors from 0.76 to 1.02. The standard deviation of the measurements repeated inside a dwelling over five days was of the order of the exposure meter's standard uncertainty of calibration, but the spatial dispersion at the scale of a dwelling and of the city was much greater. The two main contributors to the exposure were FM radio followed by the "downlink" mobile telephony bands. Inside the dwellings, the DECT and WIFI bands contributed less. Exposure quotients are dimensionless parameters that characterize exposure, and reflect the relative weight of each service to that exposure. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

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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 directionunclear

PopulationNot supplied

Sample sizeNot supplied

ExposureRF

Evidence strengthInsufficientConfidence: 78% · Peer reviewed: yes

Main findings

In a city of about 100,000 inhabitants, median electric field was 0.200 V/m outdoors and 0.102 V/m indoors. The median ICNIRP exposure quotient for multiple-frequency sources was 25×10−6 outdoors and 16×10−6 indoors; main contributors were FM radio followed by downlink mobile telephony, with DECT and WiFi contributing less indoors. Operator body proximity affected readings (FM overestimated by factor 1.35; mobile telephony bands by factors 0.76 to 1.02).

Outcomes measured

Electric field strength (V/m) indoors and outdoors
ICNIRP exposure quotient (multiple-frequency sources)
Relative contribution of services/bands (FM, mobile downlink, DECT, WiFi)
Effect of operator body proximity on exposimeter readings
Temporal repeatability (5 days) and spatial dispersion of measurements

View raw extracted JSON

{
  "study_type": "exposure_assessment",
  "exposure": {
    "band": "RF",
    "source": "urban indoor/outdoor (broadcasting, mobile telephony downlink, DECT, WiFi)",
    "frequency_mhz": null,
    "sar_wkg": null,
    "duration": null
  },
  "population": null,
  "sample_size": null,
  "outcomes": [
    "Electric field strength (V/m) indoors and outdoors",
    "ICNIRP exposure quotient (multiple-frequency sources)",
    "Relative contribution of services/bands (FM, mobile downlink, DECT, WiFi)",
    "Effect of operator body proximity on exposimeter readings",
    "Temporal repeatability (5 days) and spatial dispersion of measurements"
  ],
  "main_findings": "In a city of about 100,000 inhabitants, median electric field was 0.200 V/m outdoors and 0.102 V/m indoors. The median ICNIRP exposure quotient for multiple-frequency sources was 25×10−6 outdoors and 16×10−6 indoors; main contributors were FM radio followed by downlink mobile telephony, with DECT and WiFi contributing less indoors. Operator body proximity affected readings (FM overestimated by factor 1.35; mobile telephony bands by factors 0.76 to 1.02).",
  "effect_direction": "unclear",
  "limitations": [],
  "evidence_strength": "insufficient",
  "confidence": 0.78,
  "peer_reviewed_likely": "yes",
  "keywords": [
    "personal exposimeter",
    "urban exposure",
    "indoor",
    "outdoor",
    "electric field",
    "ICNIRP",
    "exposure quotient",
    "FM radio",
    "mobile telephony downlink",
    "DECT",
    "WiFi"
  ],
  "suggested_hubs": [
    {
      "slug": "who-icnirp",
      "weight": 0.62,
      "reason": "Uses ICNIRP exposure quotients to characterize multi-band RF exposure."
    }
  ]
}

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Identifiers and source

DOI: Not supplied
PubMed: Not supplied

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