Personal radiofrequency electromagnetic field exposure measurements in Swiss adolescents

Roser, Katharina; Schoeni, Anna; Struchen, Benjamin; Zahner, Marco; Eeftens, Marloes; Fröhlich, Jürg; Röösli, Martin

doi:10.1016/j.envint.2016.12.008

Cited by 62 publications

(72 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…Exposure from cordless phone base stations, WLAN access points and other people's mobile phones were estimated by linear regression models calibrated on the personal measurement data available from 95 study participants (Roser et al 2016c). …”

Section: Rf-emf Dose Measuresmentioning

confidence: 99%

Symptoms and the use of wireless communication devices: A prospective cohort study in Swiss adolescents

Schoeni

Roser

Röösli

2017

Environmental Research

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BackgroundWe investigated whether radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF) from mobile phones and other wireless devices or by the wireless device use itself due to non-radiation related factors in that context are associated with an increase in health symptom reports of adolescents in Central Switzerland. Methods In a prospective cohort study, 439 study participants (participation rate: 36.8%) aged 12-17 years, completed questionnaires about their mobile and cordless phone use, their selfreported symptoms and possible confounding factors at baseline (2012/2013) and one year later (2013/2014). Operator recorded mobile phone data was obtained for a subgroup of 234 adolescents. RF-EMF dose measures considering various factors affecting RF-EMF exposure were computed for the brain and the whole body. Data were analysed using a mixed-logistic cross-sectional model and a cohort approach, where we investigated whether cumulative dose over one year was related to a new onset of a symptom between baseline and follow-up. All analyses were adjusted for relevant confounders. Results Participation rate in the follow-up was 97% (425 participants). In both analyses, crosssectional and cohort, various symptoms tended to be mostly associated with usage measures that are only marginally related to RF-EMF exposure such as the duration of data traffic on the mobile phone (e.g. OR for tiredness: 2.33; 95%CI: 1.54 to 3.52 for crosssectional analyses and OR: 2.70; 95%CI:1.52 to 4.80 for cohort analyses) and number of text messages sent per day (tiredness: OR:1.81; 95%CI:1.20 to 2.74 and OR:1.87; 95%CI:1.04 to 3.38). Outcomes were less strongly or not associated with mobile phone call duration and RF-EMF dose measures. ConclusionsStronger associations between symptoms of ill health and wireless communication device use than for RF-EMF dose measures were observed. Such a result pattern does not support a causal association between RF-EMF exposure and health symptoms of adolescents but rather suggests that other aspects of extensive media use are related to symptoms.

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Section: Rf-emf Dose Measuresmentioning

confidence: 99%

Symptoms and the use of wireless communication devices: A prospective cohort study in Swiss adolescents

Schoeni

Roser

Röösli

2017

Environmental Research

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“…The ExpoM‐RF can sample 16 different frequency bands in the range of FM radio (87.5–108 MHz) to ISM 5.8 GHz/U‐NII 1‐2e (5,150–5,875 MHz), allowing a detailed specification of the exposure from all major wireless communication and broadcasting services (see Appendix 1, Table S1 for details). ExpoM‐RF devices were previously used in the Swiss HERMES study [Roser et al, ] and were calibrated in an anechoic chamber every 6 months throughout the measurement campaign. During calibration, a 16‐point calibration of known electromagnetic field levels between 0.016 mV/m and 5V/m was performed for each frequency band, averaging the response across three repeated measurements in different orientations to account for the isotropy of the device.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…After the measurement files were imported from the ExpoM‐RF and merged with the time‐activity information, they were corrected for discrepancies in the diary entries based on GPS information recorded by the ExpoM‐RF. This process is described in more detail elsewhere [Roser et al, ]. Furthermore, two basic corrections were performed: Very low and very high signal strengths are not well‐quantifiable.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Therefore, values below the lower quantitation limit of the dynamic range were set to half of this value for all bands (reporting limit). Values above the upper quantitation limit of the dynamic range were set to this upper limit (Appendix 1, Table S1), following previous studies [Röösli et al, ; Roser et al, ; Birks et al, ]. Few measurement values were under the detection limit, resulting in a similar and negligible effect of this correction for the different frequency bands on all devices. When the ExpoM‐RF is charging, the charging cord acts as an antenna, making the device more sensitive to FM Radio band.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Consequently, there has been a growing demand for characterizing the level and variability of personal exposure to RF‐EMF using portable measurement devices which have allowed the measurement of personal exposure to RF‐EMF in real time [Röösli et al, ; Bhatt et al, ]. All these devices have the advantage that they can operate on a battery for up to 1 day and they are light enough to be carried, such as by volunteers or study participants, to characterize their personal exposure levels for use in environmental epidemiology studies [Frei et al, ; Röösli et al, ; Roser et al, ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Dealing with crosstalk in electromagnetic field measurements of portable devices

Eeftens

Struchen

Roser

et al. 2018

Bioelectromagnetics

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Portable devices measuring radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF) are affected by crosstalk: signals originating in one frequency band that are unintentionally registered in another. If this is not corrected, total exposure to RF-EMF is biased, particularly affecting closely spaced frequency bands such as GSM 1800 downlink (1,805-1,880 MHz), DECT (1,880-1,900 MHz), and UMTS uplink (1,920-1,980 MHz). This study presents an approach to detect and correct crosstalk in RF-EMF measurements, taking into account the real-life setting in which crosstalk is intermittently present, depending on the exact frequency of the signal. Personal measurements from 115 volunteers from Zurich canton, Switzerland were analyzed. Crosstalk-affected observations were identified by correlation analysis, and replaced by the median value of the unaffected observations, measured during the same activity. DECT is frequently a victim of crosstalk, and an average of 43% of observations was corrected, resulting in an average exposure reduction of 38%. GSM 1800 downlink and UMTS uplink were less often corrected (6.9% and 8.9%), resulting in minor reductions in exposure (7.1% and 0.92%). The contribution of DECT to total RF-EMF exposure is typically already low (3.2%), but is further reduced after correction (3.0%). Crosstalk corrections reduced the total exposure by 1.0% on average. Some individuals had a larger reduction of up to 16%. The code developed to make the corrections is provided for free as an R function which is easily applied to any time series of EMF measurements.

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Wi-fi related radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF): a pilot experimental study of personal exposure and risk perception

Zeleke

Brzozek

Bhatt

et al. 2021

J Environ Health Sci Engineer

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The impact of providing people with an objectively measured personal radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF) exposure information on the risk perception of people is not well understood. We conducted an experimental study, among three groups of participants, to investigate the risk perception of people towards RF-EMF from Wi-Fi sources (ISM 2.4 GHz) by providing participants with either basic text, precautionary information, or a summary of their personal RF-EMF exposure measurement levels. Participants provided with personal RF-EMF exposure measurement information were more confident in protecting themselves from RF-EMF exposure, compared to those provided with only basic information. Nonetheless, neither the exposure perception nor the risk perception of people to Wi-Fi related RF-EMF differed by the type of information provided. The measured Wi-Fi signal levels were far below international exposure limits. Furthermore, self-rated levels of personal RF-EMF exposure perception were not associated with objectively measured RF-EMF exposure levels. Providing people with objectively measured information may help them build confidence in protecting themselves from Wi-Fi related RF-EMF exposure.

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Personal radiofrequency electromagnetic field exposure measurements in Swiss adolescents

Cited by 62 publications

References 39 publications

Symptoms and the use of wireless communication devices: A prospective cohort study in Swiss adolescents

Symptoms and the use of wireless communication devices: A prospective cohort study in Swiss adolescents

Dealing with crosstalk in electromagnetic field measurements of portable devices

Wi-fi related radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF): a pilot experimental study of personal exposure and risk perception

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