Assessment of radio frequency exposures in schools, homes, and public places in Belgium

Characterization of exposure from emerging radio frequency (RF) technologies in areas where children are present is important. Exposure to RF electromagnetic fields (EMF) was assessed in three "sensitive" microenvironments; namely, schools, homes, and public places located in urban environments and compared to exposure in offices. In situ assessment was conducted by performing spatial broadband and accurate narrowband measurements, providing 6-min averaged electric-field strengths. A distinction between internal (transmitters that are located indoors) and external (outdoor sources from broadcasting and telecommunication) sources was made. Ninety-four percent of the broadband measurements were below 1 V m(-1). The average and maximal total electric-field values in schools, homes, and public places were 0.2 and 3.2 V m(-1) (WiFi), 0.1 and 1.1 V m(-1) (telecommunication), and 0.6 and 2.4 V m(-1) (telecommunication), respectively, while for offices, average and maximal exposure were 0.9 and 3.3 V m(-1) (telecommunication), satisfying the ICNIRP reference levels. In the schools considered, the highest maximal and average field values were due to internal signals (WiFi). In the homes, public places, and offices considered, the highestmaximal and average field values originated from telecommunication signals. Lowest exposures were obtained in homes. Internal sources contributed on average more indoors (31.2%) than outdoors (2.3%), while the average contributions of external sources (broadcast and telecommunication sources) were higher outdoors (97.7%) than at indoor positions (68.8%). FM, GSM, and UMTS dominate the total downlink exposure in the outdoor measurements. In indoor measurements, FM, GSM, and WiFi dominate the total exposure. The average contribution of the emerging technology LTE was only 0.6%

In-situ RF exposure in schools, houses, and public places

C

Living and Working in a Healthy Environment: How Sensor Research in Flanders can Help Measure and Monitor Exposure to Certain Environmental Factors

People's daily living environment has an important influence on their physical and mental health. That living environment consists of many different components, as it is both a spatial or physical environment, and the result of many other processes (socio-cultural, economic context and individual characteristics and lifestyles). Overall, the pressure on the physical environment is very high, especially in densely populated and highly urbanised area’s such as Flanders, the northern part of Belgium. In urban environments, for instance, many spatial demands come together (space for housing, economy, mobility, green and blue infrastructures, etc.). The spatial layout of our cities can influence our health (e.g. whether or not we live nearby green spaces or in an environment that promotes active mobility, social contacts, if there are sources that impact the air quality, etc.), and of course our behaviour. The relation between health, living and working environment and spatial planning is complex. Therefore, the Flemish Department of Environment & Spatial Development has prepared a framework in 2019 to better capture that complex relationship, which we will briefly discuss in this paper. Broadly speaking, a policy committed to healthy environments may choose to make interventions that protect people's health from certain external factors (e.g. air pollution or environmental noise) or that enable and promote healthy lifestyles (e.g. physical activity, food,…). Next to that, providing citizens with up to date information is an important task of the government. In this paper, we discuss the research that the Environment and Health research team at the Flemish Department of Environment & Spatial Development conducts in order to measure human exposure to certain factors via sensors. Those particular factors were chosen mainly because they are part of themes around which the Flemish Department can make policy. We will consider three ongoing cases: measuring the quality of the indoor environment in different types of semi-public locations (such as schools, residential care centres, cultural centres,…), measuring radiofrequency radiation from fixed transmitting antennas in urban environments and measuring noise pollution. Partnering with international research & development organizations such as IMEC (Interuniversity Microelectronics Centre) and VITO (Flemish Institute for Technological Research), they supplied us with innovative and high-quality sensor technology. The sensors can transmit their measurement data in real time and participating parties can track the data on dashboards allowing immediate feedback and action when necessary. The results are intended to feed further research. Although not all case studies are equally advanced, we will conclude each one with possible policy actions

Evaluation of ventilation performance and compliance with Belgian covid-19 guidelines in sport infratructure

During the corona-19 pandemic waves in 2020 and 2021, many cultural and recreational activities inside buildings could no longer take place to prevent virus transmission. In order to allow cultural and recreational sectors to reopen in a safe way by the summer of 2021, a ventilation task force of the corona commissioner's office of the Belgian federal government prepared recommendations for the practical implementation and monitoring of indoor air quality in the context of COVID-19. This implementation plan was conceived as an instrument for building owners or facility managers to evaluate whether existing ventilation facilities, possibly in combination with other technical measures such as opening of windows and doors, or air purification devices, would provide sufficient ventilation to allow a certain number of occupants in a room. In preparation of the resumption of indoor sports activities, a research consortium investigated the applicability and consequences of the federal guidelines specifically for sports infrastructures in Flanders, Belgium. To this end, various sports federations organized a number of test events in the first half of June 2021. The test events took place in four different indoor sports facilities, including fitness centres, a climbing gym and a sports hall, for varying group sizes of athletes and public. In preparation of the test events, the mechanical ventilation systems were inspected and installed ventilation flow rates measured. During the test events, CO2 measurements were carried out throughout the sports infrastructures, and the concentrations were permanently logged. This paper discusses the main results of the ventilation inspections, CO2 monitoring and subsequent analysis. By applying the recommendations of the implementation plan to the test events in sport, the paper further discusses the feasibility of implementing the plan in practice, what the consequences are for the maximum permissible occupation in sports halls (both for athletes and spectators), and provides guidelines on how the ventilation in existing infrastructure can be improved based on the findings

Evaluation of ventilation performance and compliance with Belgian COVID-19 guidelines in sport facilities

During the corona-19 pandemic many activities inside buildings could no longer take place to prevent virus transmission. In order to allow cultural and recreational sectors to reopen in a safe way, a ventilation task force of the Belgian government prepared recommendations for the implementation and monitoring of indoor air quality in the context of COVID-19. This plan served as an instrument for building owners or facility managers to evaluate whether existing ventilation, in combination with other measures such as opening of windows or air cleaning, would provide sufficient ventilation to allow a certain number of occupants in a room. In preparation of the resumption of indoor sports activities, a research consortium investigated the consequences of the federal guidelines for sports infrastructures. To this end, sports federations organized a number of test events in June 2021 in fitness centres, a climbing gym and a sports hall, for varying numbers of athletes and audiences. In preparation of the events, the ventilation systems were inspected and ventilation flow rates measured. During the test events, CO2 measurements were carried out, and the concentrations were permanently logged. This paper discusses the results of the inspections, IAQ monitoring and subsequent analysis. By applying the recommendations of the implementation plan to the test events in sport, the paper further discusses the feasibility of implementing the plan in practice, what the consequences are for the maximum occupation in sports halls, and provides guidelines on how the ventilation in existing infrastructure can be improved