Personal Exposure to Radio Frequency Electromagnetic Fields among Australian Adults.
Berihun M Zeleke, Christopher Brzozek, Chhavi Raj Bhatt, Michael J Abramson, Rodney J Croft, Frederik Freudenstein, Peter Wiedemann, Geza Benke
Author Information
Berihun M Zeleke: Centre for Population Health Research on Electromagnetic Energy (PRESEE), School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC 3004, Australia. berihun.zeleke@monash.edu. ORCID
Christopher Brzozek: Centre for Population Health Research on Electromagnetic Energy (PRESEE), School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC 3004, Australia. christopher.brzozek@monash.edu. ORCID
Chhavi Raj Bhatt: Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, 553 St Kilda Road, Melbourne, VIC 3004, Australia. chhavi.bhatt@monash.edu. ORCID
Michael J Abramson: Centre for Population Health Research on Electromagnetic Energy (PRESEE), School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC 3004, Australia. michael.abramson@monash.edu. ORCID
Rodney J Croft: Australian Centre for Electromagnetic Bioeffects Research, Illawarra Health and Medical Research Institute, School of Psychology, University of Wollongong, Northfields Ave, Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia. rcroft@uow.edu.au. ORCID
Frederik Freudenstein: Australian Centre for Electromagnetic Bioeffects Research, Illawarra Health and Medical Research Institute, School of Psychology, University of Wollongong, Northfields Ave, Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia. frederik@uow.edu.au. ORCID
Peter Wiedemann: Australian Centre for Electromagnetic Bioeffects Research, Illawarra Health and Medical Research Institute, School of Psychology, University of Wollongong, Northfields Ave, Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia. peter.wiedemann@wf-emf.org. ORCID
Geza Benke: Centre for Population Health Research on Electromagnetic Energy (PRESEE), School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC 3004, Australia. geza.benke@monash.edu. ORCID
The measurement of personal exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMFs) is important for epidemiological studies. RF-EMF exposure can be measured using personal exposimeters that register RF-EMFs over a wide range of frequency bands. This study aimed to measure and describe personal RF-EMF exposure levels from a wide range of frequency bands. Measurements were recorded from 63 participants over an average of 27.4 (±4.5) hours. RF-EMF exposure levels were computed for each frequency band, as well as from downlink (RF from mobile phone base station), uplink (RF from mobile phone handsets), broadcast, and Wi-Fi. Participants had a mean (±SD) age of 36.9 ± 12.5 years; 66.7% were women; and almost all (98.2%) from urban areas. A Wi-Fi router at home was reported by 61 participants (96.8%), with 38 (61.2%) having a Wi-Fi enabled smart TV. Overall, 26 (41.3%) participants had noticed the existence of a mobile phone base station in their neighborhood. On average, participants estimated the distance between the base station and their usual residence to be about 500 m. The median personal RF-EMF exposure was 208 mV/m. Downlink contributed 40.4% of the total RF-EMF exposure, followed by broadcast (22.4%), uplink (17.3%), and Wi-Fi (15.9%). RF-EMF exposure levels on weekdays were higher than weekends ( < 0.05). Downlink and broadcast are the main contributors to total RF-EMF personal exposure. Personal RF-EMF exposure levels vary according to day of the week and time of day.
