Assessment of RF EMF exposure from personal measurements considering the body shadowing effect in Korean children and parents

2018 · Unclear · Moderate evidence

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UnclearModerate evidencePaper 1853

Study snapshot

Publicationmanual · 2018

Study typeexposure_assessment

Reported directionUnclear

Evidence ratingModerate

Abstract

Assessment of RF EMF exposure from personal measurements considering the body shadowing effect in Korean children and parents Choi J, Hwang JH, Lim H, Joo H, Yang HS, Lee YH, Eeftens M, Struchen B, Röösli M, Lee AK, Choi HD, Kwon JH, Ha M. Assessment of radiofrequency electromagnetic field exposure from personal measurements considering the body shadowing effect in Korean children and parents. Sci Total Environ. 2018 Jun 15;627:1544-1551. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.01.318. Abstract We aimed to assess the personal radiofrequency electromagnetic field (RF-EMF) exposure levels of children and adults through their activities, with consideration to the body shadowing effect. We recruited 50 child-adult pairs, living in Seoul, Cheonan, and Ulsan, South Korea. RF-EMF measurements were performed between September and December 2016, using a portable exposure meter tailored to capture 14 Korean radiofrequency (RF) bands ranging from 87.5 to 5875MHz. The participants carried the device for 48h and kept a time-activity diary using a smartphone application in flight mode. To enhance accuracy of the exposure assessment, the body shadowing effect was compensated during the statistical analysis with the measured RF-EMF exposure. The compensation was conducted using the hybrid model that represents the decrease of the exposure level due to the body shadowing effect. A generalized linear mixed model was used to compare the RF-EMF exposure levels by subjects and activities. The arithmetic (geometric) means of the total power density were 174.9 (36.6) μW/m2 for all participants, 226.9 (44.6) for fathers, 245.4 (44.8) for mothers, and 116.2 (30.1) for children. By compensating for the body shadowing effect, the total RF-EMF exposure increased marginally, approximately 1.4 times. Each frequency band contribution to total RF-EMF exposure consisted of 76.7%, 2.4%, 9.9%, 5.0%, 3.3%, and 2.6% for downlink, uplink, WiFi, FM Radio, TV, and WiBro bands, respectively. Among the three regions, total RF-EMF exposure was highest in Seoul, and among the activities, it was highest in the metro, followed by foot/bicycle, bus/car, and outside. The contribution of base-station exposure to total RF-EMF exposure was the highest both in parents and children. Total and base-station RF-EMF exposure levels in Korea were higher than those reported in European countries. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

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 directionunclear

PopulationKorean children and parents (child-adult pairs) living in Seoul, Cheonan, and Ulsan, South Korea

Sample size100

ExposureRF · 48h personal monitoring

Evidence strengthModerateConfidence: 78% · Peer reviewed: yes

Main findings

In 50 child-adult pairs carrying a portable exposure meter for 48h, arithmetic (geometric) mean total power density was 174.9 (36.6) μW/m2 overall; 226.9 (44.6) for fathers, 245.4 (44.8) for mothers, and 116.2 (30.1) for children. Compensating for body shadowing increased estimated total RF-EMF exposure by ~1.4×. Downlink contributed 76.7% of total exposure, followed by uplink (2.4%), WiFi (9.9%), FM radio (5.0%), TV (3.3%), and WiBro (2.6%); exposure was highest in Seoul and during metro travel, and base-station exposure contributed the most in both parents and children; levels were reported as higher than those in European countries.

Outcomes measured

Personal RF-EMF exposure levels (total power density, μW/m2)
Frequency-band contributions to total RF-EMF exposure
Exposure differences by region and activity
Effect of body shadowing compensation on measured exposure

Limitations

Exposure measured over 48h only
Participants limited to 50 child-adult pairs from three Korean regions
Body shadowing compensation based on a hybrid model (model-based adjustment)
Time-activity diary recorded via smartphone application (potential reporting limitations)

View raw extracted JSON

{
  "study_type": "exposure_assessment",
  "exposure": {
    "band": "RF",
    "source": "personal measurements (multiple sources including base stations, uplink, WiFi, broadcast)",
    "frequency_mhz": null,
    "sar_wkg": null,
    "duration": "48h personal monitoring"
  },
  "population": "Korean children and parents (child-adult pairs) living in Seoul, Cheonan, and Ulsan, South Korea",
  "sample_size": 100,
  "outcomes": [
    "Personal RF-EMF exposure levels (total power density, μW/m2)",
    "Frequency-band contributions to total RF-EMF exposure",
    "Exposure differences by region and activity",
    "Effect of body shadowing compensation on measured exposure"
  ],
  "main_findings": "In 50 child-adult pairs carrying a portable exposure meter for 48h, arithmetic (geometric) mean total power density was 174.9 (36.6) μW/m2 overall; 226.9 (44.6) for fathers, 245.4 (44.8) for mothers, and 116.2 (30.1) for children. Compensating for body shadowing increased estimated total RF-EMF exposure by ~1.4×. Downlink contributed 76.7% of total exposure, followed by uplink (2.4%), WiFi (9.9%), FM radio (5.0%), TV (3.3%), and WiBro (2.6%); exposure was highest in Seoul and during metro travel, and base-station exposure contributed the most in both parents and children; levels were reported as higher than those in European countries.",
  "effect_direction": "unclear",
  "limitations": [
    "Exposure measured over 48h only",
    "Participants limited to 50 child-adult pairs from three Korean regions",
    "Body shadowing compensation based on a hybrid model (model-based adjustment)",
    "Time-activity diary recorded via smartphone application (potential reporting limitations)"
  ],
  "evidence_strength": "moderate",
  "confidence": 0.78,
  "peer_reviewed_likely": "yes",
  "keywords": [
    "RF-EMF",
    "personal exposure meter",
    "body shadowing effect",
    "children",
    "parents",
    "Korea",
    "time-activity diary",
    "base station",
    "downlink",
    "uplink",
    "WiFi",
    "power density"
  ],
  "suggested_hubs": [
    {
      "slug": "school-wi-fi",
      "weight": 0.22,
      "reason": "WiFi band contribution to personal RF-EMF exposure was quantified (though not specifically school-based)."
    },
    {
      "slug": "occupational-exposure",
      "weight": 0,
      "reason": null
    },
    {
      "slug": "smart-meters",
      "weight": 0,
      "reason": null
    },
    {
      "slug": "5g-policy",
      "weight": 0,
      "reason": null
    },
    {
      "slug": "who-icnirp",
      "weight": 0,
      "reason": null
    }
  ]
}

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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: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.01.318
PubMed: Not supplied

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