Use of portable exposure meters for comparing mobile phone base station radiation in different types of areas in the cities of Basel and Amsterdam.

The Science of the total environment · 2014 · Unclear · Moderate evidence

← Research stream

UnclearModerate evidencePaper 4571

Mobile phone base station exposure ranged from 0.30 to 0.53 V/m in downtown/business areas and from 0.09 to 0.41 V/m in residential areas. ANOVA indicated high reproducibility across days and times: measurement day explained 0.6% of variance and time of day e…

Study snapshot

PublicationThe Science of the total environment · 2014

Study typeexposure_assessment

Reported directionUnclear

Evidence ratingModerate

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF) are highly variable and differ considerably within as well as between areas. Exposure assessment studies characterizing spatial and temporal variation are limited so far. Our objective was to evaluate sources of data variability and the repeatability of daily measurements using portable exposure meters (PEMs). METHODS: Data were collected at 12 days between November 2010 and January 2011 with PEMs in four different types of urban areas in the cities of Basel (BSL) and Amsterdam (AMS). RESULTS: Exposure from mobile phone base stations ranged from 0.30 to 0.53 V/m in downtown and business areas and in residential areas from 0.09 to 0.41 V/m. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) demonstrated that measurements from various days were highly reproducible (measurement duration of approximately 30 min) with only 0.6% of the variance of all measurements from mobile phone base station radiation being explained by the measurement day and only 0.2% by the measurement time (morning, noon, afternoon), whereas type of area (30%) and city (50%) explained most of the data variability. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that mobile monitoring of exposure from mobile phone base station radiation with PEMs is useful due to the high repeatability of mobile phone base station exposure levels, despite the high spatial variation.

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

PopulationNot supplied

Sample sizeNot supplied

ExposureRF · ~30 min per measurement; data collected on 12 days (Nov 2010–Jan 2011)

Evidence strengthModerateConfidence: 78% · Peer reviewed: yes

Main findings

Outcomes measured

RF-EMF exposure levels from mobile phone base stations (V/m)
Spatial/temporal variability of measurements
Repeatability/reproducibility of daily measurements using portable exposure meters (PEMs)

View raw extracted JSON

{
  "study_type": "exposure_assessment",
  "exposure": {
    "band": "RF",
    "source": "mobile phone base station",
    "frequency_mhz": null,
    "sar_wkg": null,
    "duration": "~30 min per measurement; data collected on 12 days (Nov 2010–Jan 2011)"
  },
  "population": null,
  "sample_size": null,
  "outcomes": [
    "RF-EMF exposure levels from mobile phone base stations (V/m)",
    "Spatial/temporal variability of measurements",
    "Repeatability/reproducibility of daily measurements using portable exposure meters (PEMs)"
  ],
  "main_findings": "Mobile phone base station exposure ranged from 0.30 to 0.53 V/m in downtown/business areas and from 0.09 to 0.41 V/m in residential areas. ANOVA indicated high reproducibility across days and times: measurement day explained 0.6% of variance and time of day explained 0.2%, while type of area explained 30% and city explained 50% of variability.",
  "effect_direction": "unclear",
  "limitations": [],
  "evidence_strength": "moderate",
  "confidence": 0.78,
  "peer_reviewed_likely": "yes",
  "keywords": [
    "radiofrequency electromagnetic fields",
    "RF-EMF",
    "portable exposure meters",
    "PEM",
    "mobile monitoring",
    "base station",
    "exposure assessment",
    "spatial variation",
    "temporal variation",
    "repeatability",
    "Basel",
    "Amsterdam",
    "ANOVA"
  ],
  "suggested_hubs": [
    {
      "slug": "occupational-exposure",
      "weight": 0.15,
      "reason": "Uses portable exposure meters for mobile monitoring in urban areas; not explicitly occupational but relates to measurement methodology."
    }
  ]
}

AI can be wrong. Always verify against the paper.

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.2013.09.012
PubMed: 24091124

Read the original paper →

Related papers

← Back to the Research Library