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Radio Frequency

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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Mobile phones contributed 67.2% of total personal RF-EMF measurements while environmental sources contributed 6.0% to brain dose and 9.0% to whole-body dose.

Plain English Summary

Summary written for general audiences

Researchers measured personal RF-EMF exposure in 90 adolescents aged 13 to 17 years using a portable ExpoM-RF device across 13 frequency bands from 470 to 3600 MHz for three consecutive days with a time-activity diary. Mobile phones contributed 67.2% and mobile phone base stations contributed 19.8% of total personal RF-EMF measurements averaging 63.2 μW/m² (0.15 V/m). WLAN at school and home accounted for 3.5% of total personal measurements. Environmental sources contributed on average 6.0% to the brain dose and 9.0% to the whole-body dose according to dose calculations.

Why This Matters

The study aimed to describe personal RF-EMF exposure of Swiss adolescents, evaluate exposure-relevant factors, and estimate source contributions to the total absorbed RF-EMF dose of the brain and whole body. Researchers combined personal measurement values with dose calculations for wireless communication devices to quantify the contribution of various RF-EMF sources to the daily RF-EMF dose of adolescents.

Exposure Details

Power Density
0.00000632 mW/cm²
Electric Field
0.15 V/m
Source/Device
470 to 3600MHz

Exposure Context

This study used 0.00000632 mW/cm² 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 mW/cm²Extreme Concern - 1,000 µW/m²FCC Limit - 10M µW/m²Effects observed in the Severe Concern range (Building Biology)FCC limit is 158,228 times 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

The average personal RF-EMF measurement was 63.2 μW/m² (0.15 V/m).
Mobile phones contributed 67.2% and mobile phone base stations contributed 19.8% of total personal measurements.
Environmental sources contributed on average 6.0% to the brain dose and 9.0% to the whole-body dose.
Participants carried a portable ExpoM-RF device measuring 13 frequency bands from 470 to 3600 MHz for three consecutive days and kept a time-activity diary.
Ninety adolescents aged 13 to 17 years participated in the study conducted between May 2013 and April 2014.