RF Safe

Temporal Change of Outdoor Rf-Emf Levels Four in European Countries: A Microenvironmental Measurement Study

SSRN Electronic Journal · 2024 · No effect · Low evidence

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No effectLow evidencePaper 2664

Across repeated walking-route exposimeter measurements in 4 European countries, the data did not suggest significant changes in exposure from mobile base stations (total downlink) between 2016 and 2023. Median mobile base station exposure values were reported…

Study snapshot

PublicationSSRN Electronic Journal · 2024
Study typeexposure_assessment
Reported directionNo effect
Evidence ratingLow

Abstract

Category: Environmental Epidemiology Tags: RF-EMF, electromagnetic fields, outdoor exposure, longitudinal study, mobile base station, microenvironment, Western Europe DOI: 10.2139/ssrn.5146655 URL: ssrn.com Introduction Over the past two decades, the amount of transmitted mobile data has increased rapidly. It is unknown whether the implementation of the new technologies enabling this has resulted in changes of outdoor radio-frequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF) exposure. Therefore, microenvironmental measurements were used to investigate temporal trends in RF-EMF exposure between 2016 and 2023, in the Netherlands, Switzerland, Belgium and Spain, following a similar protocol across campaigns. This allowed for comparison of exposure trends between countries and years. Methods - Data collected as part of ACCEDERA (2016-2018), ETAIN (2023), and GOLIAT (2023) projects. - Measurements conducted by repeatedly walking the same routes with RF-EMF exposimeters. - Identical microenvironments were identified in each country and measurements of the exposure of mobile base station, contribution of mobile phones and the total levels were compared across years. Results - Between 6 to 14 unique microenvironments were measured in each country. - Data did not suggest significant changes in the exposure from the mobile base station origin (total downlink exposure) between 2016 and 2023 for the four countries. - Median values of mobile base station exposure ranged from 0.12 mW/m2 in Switzerland and 0.24 mW/m2 in Belgium in 2016 to 0.28 mW/m2 in the Netherlands in 2023, 0.20 mW/m2 in Belgium, 0.11 mW/m2 in Switzerland and 0.19 mW/m2 in Spain in 2023. - No consistent trend in the individual microenvironments across the countries. Conclusions Measurements across included environment groups show that RF-EMF outdoor exposure levels do not indicate change in exposure levels between 2016 and 2023, despite an increase in mobile data traffic by a factor of 8 in Western Europe. ⚠️ Important for EMF Safety: Although this study reports no significant change in outdoor RF-EMF levels over time, exposure to electromagnetic fields is associated with documented health risks. Continued monitoring and prudent avoidance of unnecessary exposure are recommended.

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
PopulationNot supplied
Sample sizeNot supplied
ExposureRF · 2016–2023 (repeated measurement campaigns)
Evidence strengthLowConfidence: 74% · Peer reviewed: unknown

Main findings

Across repeated walking-route exposimeter measurements in 4 European countries, the data did not suggest significant changes in exposure from mobile base stations (total downlink) between 2016 and 2023. Median mobile base station exposure values were reported for 2016 and 2023, and no consistent trend was observed across individual microenvironments.

Outcomes measured

  • Outdoor RF-EMF exposure levels (microenvironmental measurements)
  • Mobile base station origin exposure (total downlink)
  • Contribution of mobile phones
  • Total RF-EMF levels
  • Temporal trends in RF-EMF exposure (2016–2023)

Limitations

  • Frequency bands/technology generations not specified in abstract
  • Statistical methods and significance testing details not provided in abstract
  • Sample size (number of routes/measurements) not reported in abstract
  • Only outdoor microenvironments measured; indoor exposure not addressed in abstract
View raw extracted JSON
{
  "study_type": "exposure_assessment",
  "exposure": {
    "band": "RF",
    "source": "mobile base station",
    "frequency_mhz": null,
    "sar_wkg": null,
    "duration": "2016–2023 (repeated measurement campaigns)"
  },
  "population": null,
  "sample_size": null,
  "outcomes": [
    "Outdoor RF-EMF exposure levels (microenvironmental measurements)",
    "Mobile base station origin exposure (total downlink)",
    "Contribution of mobile phones",
    "Total RF-EMF levels",
    "Temporal trends in RF-EMF exposure (2016–2023)"
  ],
  "main_findings": "Across repeated walking-route exposimeter measurements in 4 European countries, the data did not suggest significant changes in exposure from mobile base stations (total downlink) between 2016 and 2023. Median mobile base station exposure values were reported for 2016 and 2023, and no consistent trend was observed across individual microenvironments.",
  "effect_direction": "no_effect",
  "limitations": [
    "Frequency bands/technology generations not specified in abstract",
    "Statistical methods and significance testing details not provided in abstract",
    "Sample size (number of routes/measurements) not reported in abstract",
    "Only outdoor microenvironments measured; indoor exposure not addressed in abstract"
  ],
  "evidence_strength": "low",
  "confidence": 0.74,
  "peer_reviewed_likely": "unknown",
  "keywords": [
    "RF-EMF",
    "outdoor exposure",
    "microenvironmental measurements",
    "exposimeter",
    "temporal trends",
    "longitudinal study",
    "mobile base station",
    "downlink",
    "Western Europe",
    "Netherlands",
    "Switzerland",
    "Belgium",
    "Spain",
    "ACCEDERA",
    "ETAIN",
    "GOLIAT"
  ],
  "suggested_hubs": [
    {
      "slug": "occupational-exposure",
      "weight": 0.22,
      "reason": "Exposure assessment using personal exposimeters while walking routes; not explicitly occupational but involves measurement protocol with carried devices."
    }
  ]
}
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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: 10.2139/ssrn.5146655
PubMed: Not supplied

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