Radiofrequency exposure in the French general population: band, time, location and activity variability.
Viel JF, Cardis E, Moissonnier M, de Seze R, Hours M. · 2009
View Original AbstractFrench study reveals people are constantly exposed to RF radiation from multiple sources, with FM radio contributing the highest average exposure levels.
Plain English Summary
French researchers measured radiofrequency radiation exposure in 377 people for 24 hours. FM radio produced the highest exposure levels, followed by WiFi and microwaves. Most people face constant exposure to multiple RF sources, with urban residents and adults experiencing higher levels than rural residents and children.
Why This Matters
This groundbreaking French population study provides crucial real-world data on how much RF radiation people actually encounter in their daily lives. What makes this research particularly valuable is that it measured actual exposure from multiple sources simultaneously, rather than estimating exposure from individual devices. The finding that FM radio transmitters contribute the highest exposure levels might surprise many people who focus primarily on cell phones and WiFi. The study demonstrates that RF exposure is ubiquitous in modern life, with nearly half of all measurements (46.6%) registering detectable levels. The higher exposure levels found in urban areas and among adults who move around more during the day reflects the reality that our exposure increases with proximity to wireless infrastructure and active device use. This data is essential for understanding the cumulative burden of RF radiation exposure and designing meaningful health studies.
Exposure Details
- Electric Field
- 0.044, 0.038, 0.037, 0.036 V/m
Study Details
The main goal of this survey is to assess individual RF exposure on a population basis, while clarifying the relative contribution of different sources to the total exposure.
A total of 377 randomly selected people were analyzed. Each participant was supplied with a personal...
Most of the time, recorded field strengths were not detectable with the exposure meter. Total field,...
Show BibTeX
@article{jf_2009_radiofrequency_exposure_in_the_1408,
author = {Viel JF and Cardis E and Moissonnier M and de Seze R and Hours M.},
title = {Radiofrequency exposure in the French general population: band, time, location and activity variability.},
year = {2009},
url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19656570/},
}