Personal exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields in various occupations in Spain and France

BACKGROUND: A preliminary job-exposure matrix (JEM) for radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF) was created based on self-reported occupational information from a multi-country population-based study of approximately 10,000 participants combined with available measurement data compiled in a source-exposure matrix (spot measurements). In order to address the limited personal occupational RF-EMF measurement data available in the literature, we performed a measurement campaign among workers in various occupations in Spain and France. METHODS: Personal full-shift measurements were conducted using RadMan 2XT™ (Narda) devices. A worker diary was used to capture information on occupational and background sources of RF exposure during the shift. Inclusion of occupations to be measured was initially based on exposure prevalence and level information in the preliminary JEM and expert judgment. RESULTS: Personal full-shift measurements were conducted among 333 workers representing 46 ISCO88 occupations. Exposure to electric (E) and magnetic (H) fields was infrequent with >99% of measurements below the detection limit of the device (≥1% of the 1998 ICNIRP standards). A total of 50.2% and 77.2% of workers were ever exposed to E and H fields respectively (having at least one recorded 1-second measurement above the detection limit). Workers in elementary occupations, technicians and associate professionals, plant and machine operators and assemblers had somewhat greater numbers of measurements above the detection limit, higher maximum values and longer exposure durations. A small proportion of measurements were ≥100% of the standards, though these exceedances were brief (generally a few seconds in duration). Female workers and workers reporting use of any RF-EMF emitting source were more likely to have a measured exposure to E and H fields. CONCLUSION: We conducted personal RF-EMF measurements among workers in various occupations in Spain and France. Overall, RF-EMF exposure ≥1 % ICNIRP was infrequent, despite some intermittent exposures ≥100% observed among workers in some occupations

The determination of mobile network architecture impact on population total exposure to electromagnetic field

Pitanje izloženosti elektromagnetskom polju koje potiče od mobilnih komunikacionih sistema pažnju javnosti privuklo je sa širenjem ovih sistema i sa sve dužim vremenom korišćenja, a posebno sa uvođenjem 5G tehnologije u višim frekvencijskim opsezima, sa naprednim tehnikama prenosa i velikim brojem malih ćelija i korisničkih uređaja. Regulativa u ovoj oblasti definiše bazična ograničenja i referentne granične nivoe, pri čemu se usklađenost sa normama za korisničke uređaje i za bazne stanice proverava na različit način. Na ovaj način se ne može odrediti stvarna izloženost u toku korišćenja mobilnog uređaja niti izvršiti poređenja komponenata izloženosti. U ovoj disertaciji definisana je metoda za određivanje srednje stvarne izloženosti stanovništva koja potiče od korisničkih uređaja i baznih stanica, na način da se u najvećoj meri koriste podaci iz same mobilne mreže. Utvrđeni su osnovni činioci koji utiču na izloženost. Izvršena je analiza uticaja korišćenih servisa odnosno ponašanja korisnika. Uticaj arhitekture mreže razmatran je u dva testna slučaja, dodavanjem malih ćelija na dve lokacije, na otvorenom i u zatvorenom, sa dve antenske konfiguracije. U prvom slučaju je uvođenje malih ćelija u GSM i UMTS tehnologiji smanjilo ukupnu izloženost više od 84%, a u drugom više od 58% u oblasti pokrivanja malih ćelija, dominantno kao posledica smanjenja zračenja korisničkih uređaja preko GSM-a. U drugom slučaju se ukupna izloženost od UMTS-a povećala usled blizine antena male ćelije. Rezultati pokazuju da male ćelije u opštem slučaju smanjuju izloženost usled smanjenja predajne snage korisničkih uređaja, ali i da je potrebno pažljivo planiranje arhitekture jer se u nekim slučajevima izloženost može i povećati. Definisana metoda predstavlja statistički proračun stvarne izloženosti u složenom okruženju i može se primeniti za bilo koji bežični sistem uz odgovarajuće prikupljanje podataka. Predloženi su napredni alati u mreži za precizniji proračun i date su smernice za smanjenje izloženosti, koje bi se uz alate za samo-evaluaciju moglo postaviti kao još jedan cilj samo-optimizacije mreže.Exposure to electromagnetic fields induced by mobile communication systems has gained public attention with the expansion of these systems and longer usage times, and specially with the introduction of 5G technology in higher frequency bands, with advanced transmission techniques and huge number of small cells and user devices. Regulations in the area define basic restrictions and reference levels, whereby the compliance is verified using different procedures for user devices and for base stations. This way the actual exposure during real usage of mobile device cannot be determined, nor can the exposure components be compared. This research defined a method for determining the average actual exposure of population originated from user devices and base stations, using data from the mobile network to the maximum extent. Basic factors that affect exposure are determined. The impact of services used i.e. user behaviour on exposure was analyzed. The impact of mobile network architecture was evaluated through two test cases, adding small cells at two sites, outdoors and indoors, with two antenna configurations. In the first case, the introduction of small cells in GSM and UMTS technologies reduced the total exposure by more than 84%, and in the second case by more than 58%, in the coverage area of small cells, predominantly as the result of decreased radiation of user devices over GSM. However, in the second case the total exposure originated from UMTS increased due to vicinity of small cell antennas. Results indicate that small cells generally reduce exposure due to decrease of user device transmit power, but also point out that careful planning of the architecture is needed as in some cases the exposure might rise. The defined method represents a statistical calculus of actual exposure in complex environment and it may be applied to any wireless system with the appropriate data collection. Usage of advanced network tools is proposed for more precise calculation and guidelines are given for exposure reduction, which could be set as another target for network self-optimization based on self-evaluation