Nowadays, information and communication technologies (mobile phones, connected objects) strongly occupy our daily life. The increasing use of these technologies and the complexity of network infrastructures raise issues about radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (Rf-Emf) exposure. Most previous studies have assessed individual exposure to Rf-Emf, and the next level is to assess populational exposure. In our study, we designed a statistical tool for Rf-Emf populational exposure assessment and mapping. This tool integrates geographic databases and surrogate models to characterize spatiotemporal exposure from outdoor sources, indoor sources, and mobile phones. A case study was conducted on a 100 × 100 m grid covering the 14th district of Paris to illustrate the functionalities of the tool. Whole-body specific absorption rate (SAR) values are 2.7 times higher than those for the whole brain. The mapping of whole-body and whole-brain SAR values shows a dichotomy between built-up and non-built-up areas, with the former displaying higher values. Maximum SAR values do not exceed 3.5 and 3.9 mW/kg for the whole body and the whole brain, respectively, thus they are significantly below International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) recommendations. Indoor sources are the main contributor to populational exposure, followed by outdoor sources and mobile phones, which generally represents less than 1% of total exposure.
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BackgroundAt a regional or continental scale, the characterization of environmental health inequalities (EHI) expresses the idea that populations are not equal in the face of pollution. It implies the analysis in order to identifying and managing areas at risk of overexposure where increasing risk to human health is suspected. The development of methods is a prerequisite for the implementation of public health actions aimed at the protection of populations.MethodsThis paper presents the methodological framework developed by INERIS (French national institute for industrial environment and risks) to identify a common framework for conceptualizing and operationalizing environmental exposures as an important step towards articulating a science of EHI. We develop an integrated exposure assessment approach capable to integrate the multiplicity of exposure pathways from various sources, through a series of models up to the internal exposure.ResultsMeasured data from environmental networks reflecting the actual contamination of the environment are reused to characterize the population's exposure. Sophisticated methods of spatial analysis are applied to include additional information and take benefit from spatial and inter-variable correlation to improve data representativeness and characterize associated uncertainty. Integrated approaches bring together all information necessary for assessing the source-to-human-dose continuum using Geographic Information System, multimedia exposure and toxicokinetic model. ConclusionThis framework could be used for many purposes, such as mapping EHI, identifying vulnerable populations and determinants of exposure to manage and plan remedial actions and assessing spatial relationships between health and environmental to identify factors that influence the variability of disease patterns.
Background At a regional or continental scale, the characterization of environmental health inequities (EHI) expresses the idea that populations are not equal in the face of pollution. It implies an analysis be conducted in order to identify and manage the areas at risk of overexposure where an increasing risk to human health is suspected. The development of methods is a prerequisite for implementing public health activities aimed at protecting populations. Methods This paper presents the methodological framework developed by INERIS (French National Institute for Industrial Environment and Risks) to identify a common framework for a structured and operationalized assessment of human exposure. An integrated exposure assessment approach has been developed to integrate the multiplicity of exposure pathways from various sources, through a series of models enabling the final exposure of a population to be defined. Results Measured data from environmental networks reflecting the actual contamination of the environment are used to gauge the population’s exposure. Sophisticated methods of spatial analysis are applied to include additional information and take benefit of spatial and inter-variable correlation to improve data representativeness and characterize the associated uncertainty. Integrated approaches bring together all the information available for assessing the source-to-human-dose continuum using a Geographic Information System, multimedia exposure and toxicokinetic model. Discussion One of the objectives of the integrated approach was to demonstrate the feasibility of building complex realistic exposure scenarios satisfying the needs of stakeholders and the accuracy of the modelling predictions at a fine spatial-temporal resolution. A case study is presented to provide a specific application of the proposed framework and how the results could be used to identify an overexposed population. Conclusion This framework could be used for many purposes, such as mapping EHI, identifying vulnerable populations and providing determinants of exposure to manage and plan remedial actions and to assess the spatial relationships between health and the environment to identify factors that influence the variability of disease patterns.
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