Characterisation of spatial and temporal variability of RF-EMF exposure levels in urban environments in Flanders, Belgium

Velghe, Maarten; Joseph, Wout; Debouvere, Senne; Aminzadeh, Reza; Martens, Luc; Thielens, Arno

doi:10.1016/j.envres.2019.05.027

Cited by 29 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…This difference can be explained by the population density in the 14th district, which is around 24,000 inhabitants per square kilometer, while densities for these other cities are generally below 2500 inhabitants per square kilometer. Inner Brussels and Melbourne, which are more densely populous, display similar median outdoor estimates, each one reaching 0.59 V/m [75,76]. Outdoor exposure was quantified by an ordinary kriging method, and the quality of the interpolation was cross-validated by leave-one-out method.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Design of an Integrated Platform for Mapping Residential Exposure to Rf-Emf Sources

Regrain

Caudeville

Seze

et al. 2020

IJERPH

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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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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Design of an Integrated Platform for Mapping Residential Exposure to Rf-Emf Sources

Regrain

Caudeville

Seze

et al. 2020

IJERPH

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“…Other precoding algorithms use destructive interference to create a zero at a user to reduce signal interference with other users. In legacy technologies, a user's own activity has little influence on their DL exposure (Velghe et al 2019), so all DL exposure was considered environmental. The concept of a-DL exposure will be new for 5G NR.…”

Section: Behavior Of Rf-emfs In Mamimo Technologiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Furthermore, users' environmental exposure depends on the time and location within a microenvironment and the type of microenvironment. As an example we refer to the measurements on train rides performed in (Velghe et al 2019): in a non-user case, the measured power density Se-UL from e-UL sources during rush hours was highest on train rides, while the Se-DL was lowest on train rides (no distinction was made between e-DL and BC). During rush hours (with more people on the train), the Se-UL during these rides was about 12 times higher than during non-rush hours.…”

Section: Activity-based Exposure Assessmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In general, this exposure is divided in exposure caused by one's own usage of mobile devices, so-called auto-induced exposure, and exposure caused by the network and other users nearby, so-called environmental exposure (Bhatt et al 2016;Bolte 2016;Sagar, Dongus, et al 2018). Various methods have been developed with the aim to assess this exposure such as: spatio-temporal maps (Aerts et al 2018), personal microenvironmental measurements (Urbinello, Joseph, et al 2014;Velghe et al 2019), spot measurements (Verloock et al 2014), geospatial modelling (Beekhuizen et al 2013), survey studies Viel et al 2009), and simulations (Baracca et al 2018;Thors et al 2017). In the study of Röösli et al (2010) a protocol was developed that can reduce dependency of measurement results in different studies on the used method.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Protocol for Personal RF-EMF Exposure Measurement Studies in 5th Generation Telecommunication Networks

Velghe

Aerts

Martens

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Background The general population is exposed to Radio-Frequency Electromagnetic Fields (RF-EMFs) used by telecommunication networks. Previous studies developed methods to assess this exposure. These methods will be inadequate to accurately assess exposure in 5G technologies. This is due to the fact that 5G NR (new radio) base stations will focus actively on connected users, resulting in a high spatio-temporal variations in the RF-EMFs. This increases the measurement uncertainty in personal measurements of RF-EMF exposure. Furthermore, a user’s exposure from base stations will be dependent on the amount of data usage, adding a new component to the auto-induced exposure, which is often omitted in current studies. Methods The objective of this paper is to develop a general study protocol for future personal RF-EMF exposure research adapted to 5G technologies. This protocol will include the assessment of auto-induced exposure of both a user’s own devices and the networks’ base stations. Results To account for auto-induced exposure, an activity-based approach is introduced. In survey studies, an RF-EMF sensor is fixed on the participants’ mobile device(s). Based on the measured power density, GPS data and movement and proximity sensors, different activities can be clustered and the exposure during each activity is evaluated. In microenvironmental measurements, a trained researcher performs measurements in predefined microenvironments with a mobile device equipped with the RF-EMF sensor. The mobile device is programmed to repeat a sequence of data transmission scenarios (different amounts of uplink and downlink data transmissions). Based on simulations, the amount of exposure induced in the body when the user device is at a certain location relative to the body, can be evaluated. Conclusion Our protocol addresses the main challenges to personal exposure measurement introduced by 5G NR. A systematic method to evaluate a user’s auto-induced exposure is introduced.

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“…In nearly all publicly accessible locations, RF exposures from cellular base stations are small fractions of IEEE or ICNIRP exposure limits ( Henderson and Bangay 2006 ; Bolte and Eikelboom 2012 ; Rowley and Joyner 2012 ; Estenberg and Augustsson 2014 ; Gajsek et al 2015 ; Chiaramello et al 2019 ; Jalilian et al 2019 ; Velghe et al 2019 ). This is not likely to change when 5G systems are installed; however, exposures may be higher near base station antennas, but wireless carriers are still obligated legally to ensure that transmitting facilities comply with regulatory limits.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

IEEE Committee on Man and Radiation—COMAR Technical Information Statement: Health and Safety Issues Concerning Exposure of the General Public to Electromagnetic Energy from 5G Wireless Communications Networks

Bushberg¹,

Chou²,

Foster³

et al. 2020

Health Physics

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This COMAR Technical Information Statement (TIS) addresses health and safety issues concerning exposure of the general public to radiofrequency (RF) fields from 5G wireless communications networks, the expansion of which started on a large scale in 2018 to 2019. 5G technology can transmit much greater amounts of data at much higher speeds for a vastly expanded array of applications compared with preceding 2-4G systems; this is due, in part, to using the greater bandwidth available at much higher frequencies than those used by most existing networks. Although the 5G engineering standard may be deployed for operating networks currently using frequencies extending from 100s to 1,000s of MHz, it can also operate in the 10s of GHz where the wavelengths are 10 mm or less, the so-called millimeter wave (MMW) band. Until now, such fields were found in a limited number of applications (e.g., airport scanners, automotive collision avoidance systems, perimeter surveillance radar), but the rapid expansion of 5G will produce a more ubiquitous presence of MMW in the environment. While some 5G signals will originate from small antennas placed on existing base stations, most will be deployed with some key differences relative to typical transmissions from 2-4G base stations. Because MMW do not penetrate foliage and building materials as well as signals at lower frequencies, the networks will require “densification,” the installation of many lower power transmitters (often called “small cells” located mainly on buildings and utility poles) to provide for effective indoor coverage. Also, “beamforming” antennas on some 5G systems will transmit one or more signals directed to individual users as they move about, thus limiting exposures to non-users. In this paper, COMAR notes the following perspectives to address concerns expressed about possible health effects of RF field exposure from 5G technology. First, unlike lower frequency fields, MMW do not penetrate beyond the outer skin layers and thus do not expose inner tissues to MMW. Second, current research indicates that overall levels of exposure to RF are unlikely to be significantly altered by 5G, and exposure will continue to originate mostly from the “uplink” signals from one’s own device (as they do now). Third, exposure levels in publicly accessible spaces will remain well below exposure limits established by international guideline and standard setting organizations, including ICNIRP and IEEE. Finally, so long as exposures remain below established guidelines, the research results to date do not support a determination that adverse health effects are associated with RF exposures, including those from 5G systems. While it is acknowledged that the scientific literature on MMW biological effect research is more limited than that for lower frequencies, we also note that it is of mixed quality and stress that future research should use appropriate precautions to enhance validity. The authorship of this paper includes a physician/biologist, epidemiologist, engineers, and physical scientists working voluntarily and collaboratively on a consensus basis.

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Characterisation of spatial and temporal variability of RF-EMF exposure levels in urban environments in Flanders, Belgium

Cited by 29 publications

References 26 publications

Design of an Integrated Platform for Mapping Residential Exposure to Rf-Emf Sources

Design of an Integrated Platform for Mapping Residential Exposure to Rf-Emf Sources

Protocol for Personal RF-EMF Exposure Measurement Studies in 5th Generation Telecommunication Networks

IEEE Committee on Man and Radiation—COMAR Technical Information Statement: Health and Safety Issues Concerning Exposure of the General Public to Electromagnetic Energy from 5G Wireless Communications Networks

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