RF-EMF exposure assessment with add-on uplink exposure sensor in different microenvironments in seven European countries

Abstract

Introduction

Several devices have been developed to assess exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic field (RF-EMF). Since the existing solutions to measure the personal exposure induced by emerging 5G New Radio (NR) are expensive, complex, and bulky, a new cost efficient and low-complexity sensor is developed, that aims to measure RF-EMF exposure in different scenarios of data transmission within different areas.

Methods

With this novel sensor, activity-based microenvironmental surveys were conducted across seven European countries: Belgium, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. The device is attached to a smartphone to quantify the auto-induced uplink (a-UL) transmission component of the total exposure for a broadband frequency range from 100 MHz to 6000 MHz and is thus denoted as add-on sensor. In-situ measurements were performed for three usage scenarios, namely non-user (i.e., environmental exposure), maximum downlink (max DL), and maximum uplink (max UL) scenarios, in a large city, a secondary city, and three rural villages a priori selected within each country.

Results

Power levels were lowest in non-user scenarios (median: −2.64 dBm or 0.54 mW), increasing by a factor of 5.00 dB in maximum downlink scenarios and by a factor of 14.15 dB in maximum uplink scenarios. In the maximum uplink scenarios, the highest median a-UL power of 18.68 dBm (= 73.79 mW) was recorded in The Netherlands, while the lowest median a-UL power of 4.77 dBm (= 3 mW) was observed in the UK. The analysis of the measured data showed a prominent trend of a 2.72 dB lower power in the cities compared to the villages. Further comparisons were made based on microenvironment groups, where the lowest a-UL power levels (median: 12.35 dBm) were measured in outdoor areas, with an increase of 1.78 dB and 1.91 dB in power was measured compared to public transport and public places, respectively.

Conclusion

This study compares RF-EMF power levels between different countries, urbanization settings, and usage scenarios, which is important for future epidemiological studies.