Representativeness and repeatability of microenvironmental personal and head exposures to RF EMF

2018 · Unclear · Insufficient evidence

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UnclearInsufficient evidencePaper 2111

Study snapshot

Publicationmanual · 2018

Study typeexposure_assessment

Reported directionUnclear

Evidence ratingInsufficient

Abstract

Representativeness and repeatability of microenvironmental personal and head exposures to RF EMF Thielens A, Van den Bossche M, Brzozek C, Bhatt CR, Abramson MJ, Benke G, Martens L, Joseph W. Representativeness and repeatability of microenvironmental personal and head exposures to radio-frequency electromagnetic fields. Environ Res. 2018 Apr;162:81-96. doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2017.12.017. Highlights • First time assessment of head exposure to RF-EMF in uncontrolled environments, in 15 microenvironments in Melbourne, Australia. • We show that our measurement protocol is repeatable over time. • We show that the paths selected in our protocol are representative for the larger areas in which they are defined. • Exposure to RF-EMF is higher in more dense urban areas than in less populated suburban areas in the outskirts of the city. Abstract The aims of this study were to: i) investigate the repeatability and representativeness of personal radio frequency-electromagnetic fields (RF-EMFs) exposure measurements, across different microenvironments, ii) perform simultaneous evaluations of personal RF-EMF exposures for the whole body and the head, iii) validate the data obtained with a head-worn personal distributed exposimeter (PDE) against those obtained with an on- body worn personal exposimeter (PEM). Data on personal and head RF-EMF exposures were collected by performing measurements across 15 microenvironments in Melbourne, Australia. A body-worn PEM and a head- worn PDE were used for measuring body and head exposures, respectively. The summary statistics obtained for total RF-EMF exposure showed a high representativeness (r2 > 0.66 for two paths in the same area) and a high repeatability over time (r2 > 0.87 for repetitions of the same path). The median head exposure in the 900MHz downlink band ranged between 0.06V/m and 0.31V/m. The results obtained during simultaneous measurements using the two devices showed high correlations (0.42 < r2 < 0.94). The highest mean total RF-EMF exposure was measured in Melbourne's central business district (0.89V/m), whereas the lowest mean total exposure was measured in a suburban residential area (0.05V/m). This study shows that personal RF-EMF microenvironmental measurements in multiple microenvironments have high representativeness and repeatability over time. The personal RF-EMF exposure levels (i.e. body and head exposures) demonstrated moderate to high correlations. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov Also see: Cell Phone Towers are Largest Contributor to Environmental Radiofrequency Radiation

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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 · 900 MHz

Evidence strengthInsufficientConfidence: 74% · Peer reviewed: yes

Main findings

Across 15 microenvironments in Melbourne (Australia), total RF-EMF exposure summary statistics showed high representativeness (r2 > 0.66 for two paths in the same area) and high repeatability over time (r2 > 0.87 for repetitions of the same path). Median head exposure in the 900 MHz downlink band ranged from 0.06 V/m to 0.31 V/m, and simultaneous measurements from head-worn and body-worn devices were correlated (0.42 < r2 < 0.94). Mean total exposure was highest in the central business district (0.89 V/m) and lowest in a suburban residential area (0.05 V/m).

Outcomes measured

Personal (whole-body) RF-EMF exposure levels
Head RF-EMF exposure levels
Representativeness of exposure measurements across paths within areas (r2)
Repeatability of exposure measurements over time (r2)
Correlation/validation between head-worn PDE and body-worn PEM measurements (r2)
Microenvironmental differences in mean/median exposure (V/m)

View raw extracted JSON

{
  "study_type": "exposure_assessment",
  "exposure": {
    "band": "RF",
    "source": "microenvironmental (environmental RF sources); personal and head exposure measured with exposimeters",
    "frequency_mhz": 900,
    "sar_wkg": null,
    "duration": null
  },
  "population": null,
  "sample_size": null,
  "outcomes": [
    "Personal (whole-body) RF-EMF exposure levels",
    "Head RF-EMF exposure levels",
    "Representativeness of exposure measurements across paths within areas (r2)",
    "Repeatability of exposure measurements over time (r2)",
    "Correlation/validation between head-worn PDE and body-worn PEM measurements (r2)",
    "Microenvironmental differences in mean/median exposure (V/m)"
  ],
  "main_findings": "Across 15 microenvironments in Melbourne (Australia), total RF-EMF exposure summary statistics showed high representativeness (r2 > 0.66 for two paths in the same area) and high repeatability over time (r2 > 0.87 for repetitions of the same path). Median head exposure in the 900 MHz downlink band ranged from 0.06 V/m to 0.31 V/m, and simultaneous measurements from head-worn and body-worn devices were correlated (0.42 < r2 < 0.94). Mean total exposure was highest in the central business district (0.89 V/m) and lowest in a suburban residential area (0.05 V/m).",
  "effect_direction": "unclear",
  "limitations": [],
  "evidence_strength": "insufficient",
  "confidence": 0.74,
  "peer_reviewed_likely": "yes",
  "keywords": [
    "RF-EMF",
    "radio-frequency electromagnetic fields",
    "personal exposure",
    "head exposure",
    "microenvironments",
    "exposimeter",
    "PDE",
    "PEM",
    "repeatability",
    "representativeness",
    "Melbourne",
    "900 MHz downlink",
    "V/m"
  ],
  "suggested_hubs": [
    {
      "slug": "exposure-assessment",
      "weight": 0.9,
      "reason": "Study evaluates measurement protocol repeatability/representativeness and compares personal/head exposimeters across microenvironments."
    },
    {
      "slug": "occupational-exposure",
      "weight": 0.2,
      "reason": "Includes measurements in multiple microenvironments (not explicitly occupational, but may include workplace-like settings); not clearly stated."
    }
  ]
}

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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.envres.2017.12.017
PubMed: Not supplied

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