The ever-increasing use of wireless communication systems during the last few decades has raised concerns about the potential health effects of electromagnetic fields (EMFs) on humans. Safety limits and exposure assessment methods were developed and are regularly updated to mitigate health risks. Continuous radiofrequency EMF monitoring networks and in situ measurement campaigns provide useful information about environmental EMF levels and their variations over time and in different microenvironments. In this study, published data from the five largest monitoring networks and from two extensive in situ measurement campaigns in different European countries were gathered and processed. Median electric field values for monitoring networks across different countries lay in the interval of 0.67–1.51 V/m. The median electric field value across different microenvironments, as evaluated from in situ measurements, varied from 0.10 V/m to 1.42 V/m. The differences between networks were identified and mainly attributed to variations in population density. No significant trends in the temporal evolution of EMF levels were observed. The influences of parameters such as population density, type of microenvironment, and height of measurement on EMF levels were investigated.
The objective of the present work is the application of the Monte Carlo method (GUMS1) for evaluating uncertainty in electromagnetic field measurements and the comparison of the results with the ones obtained using the 'standard' method (GUM). In particular, the two methods are applied in order to evaluate the field measurement uncertainty using a frequency selective radiation meter and the Total Exposure Quotient (TEQ) uncertainty. Comparative results are presented in order to highlight cases where GUMS1 results deviate significantly from the ones obtained using GUM, such as the presence of a non-linear mathematical model connecting the inputs with the output quantity (case of the TEQ model) or the presence of a dominant nonnormal distribution of an input quantity (case of U-shaped mismatch uncertainty). The deviation of the results obtained from the two methods can even lead to different decisions regarding the conformance with the exposure reference levels.
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