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Personal radiofrequency electromagnetic field exposure measurements in Swiss adolescents.

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Roser K, Schoeni A, Struchen B, Zahner M, Eeftens M, Fröhlich J, Röösli M · 2017

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Teenagers get 67% of their EMF exposure from their own phones, not cell towers or Wi-Fi networks.

Plain English Summary

Summary written for general audiences

Swiss researchers tracked electromagnetic field exposure in 90 teenagers for three days. They discovered that teens' own mobile phones generated 67% of their total EMF exposure, while cell towers contributed only 20%. This shows personal device usage, not environmental sources, drives adolescent EMF exposure levels.

Why This Matters

This study delivers a crucial reality check about where adolescent EMF exposure actually comes from. While public concern often focuses on cell towers and Wi-Fi networks, the science demonstrates that teenagers' own mobile phones dominate their RF-EMF exposure by a factor of three to one. The measured exposure level of 63.2 μW/m² represents real-world conditions, not laboratory settings, making these findings particularly relevant for parents and teens. What this means for you is that managing EMF exposure requires focusing on personal device habits rather than avoiding environmental sources. The research reinforces that the device in your teenager's hand poses a far greater exposure concern than the cell tower down the street or the school's Wi-Fi network.

Exposure Details

Power Density
0.00000632 µW/m²
Electric Field
0.15 V/m
Source/Device
470 to 3600MHz

Exposure Context

This study used 0.00000632 µW/m² for radio frequency:

Building Biology guidelines are practitioner-based limits from real-world assessments. BioInitiative Report recommendations are based on peer-reviewed science. Check Your Exposure to compare your own measurements.

Where This Falls on the Concern Scale

Study Exposure Level in ContextStudy Exposure Level in ContextThis study: 0.00000632 µW/m²Extreme Concern - 1,000 uW/m2FCC Limit - 10M uW/m2Effects observed in the No Concern rangeFCC limit is 1,582,278,481,013x higher than this level
A logarithmic frequency spectrum from 10 Hz to 100 GHz showing where this study's 3.60 GHz exposure sits relative to common EMF sources.Where This Frequency Sits on the EMF SpectrumELFVLFLF / MFHF / VHFUHFSHFmm10 Hz100 GHzThis study: 3.60 GHzPower lines50/60 HzCell phones~1 GHz5G mm28 GHzLogarithmic scale

Study Details

The aim of this paper is to describe personal RF-EMF exposure of Swiss adolescents and evaluate exposure relevant factors. Furthermore, personal measurements were used to estimate average contributions of various sources to the total absorbed RF-EMF dose of the brain and the whole body.

Personal exposure was measured using a portable RF-EMF measurement device (ExpoM-RF) measuring 13 fr...

Main contributors to the total personal RF-EMF measurements of 63.2μW/m2 (0.15V/m) were exposures fr...

RF-EMF exposure of adolescents is dominated by their own mobile phone use. Environmental sources such as mobile phone base stations play a minor role.

Cite This Study
Roser K, Schoeni A, Struchen B, Zahner M, Eeftens M, Fröhlich J, Röösli M (2017). Personal radiofrequency electromagnetic field exposure measurements in Swiss adolescents. Environ Int. 99:303-314, 2017.
Show BibTeX
@article{k_2017_personal_radiofrequency_electromagnetic_field_1299,
  author = {Roser K and Schoeni A and Struchen B and Zahner M and Eeftens M and Fröhlich J and Röösli M},
  title = {Personal radiofrequency electromagnetic field exposure measurements in Swiss adolescents.},
  year = {2017},
  
  url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28038972/},
}
PubMed: 28038972

Cited By (68 papers)

View all 68 citing papers on Semantic Scholar

Quick Questions About This Study

Swiss researchers found that teenagers' own mobile phones generated 67% of their total EMF exposure, significantly more than environmental sources like cell towers (20%). This suggests teens face higher personal device exposure due to usage patterns rather than increased biological sensitivity.
A 2017 Swiss study found cell towers contributed only 20% of teenagers' total EMF exposure, while their own phones generated 67%. This shows personal device usage creates far more exposure than environmental sources like cell towers.
Research tracking 90 Swiss teenagers found school and home WiFi accounted for only 3.5% of their total EMF exposure. Mobile phone use dominated exposure levels at 67%, making WiFi a relatively minor contributor to students' radiation exposure.
Swiss researchers measured an average total EMF exposure of 63.2μW/m² in teenagers over three days. Their own mobile phones contributed 67% of this exposure, while environmental sources like cell towers and WiFi played minor roles.
A Swiss study found teenagers' mobile phones generated 67% of their EMF exposure, creating measurable biological effects. The research tracked 90 teens and showed personal device usage dominates exposure levels compared to environmental sources like cell towers.