Measurements of Radiofrequency Radiation with a Body-Borne Exposimeter in Swedish Schools with Wi-Fi. Front.
Hedendahl LK, Carlberg M, Koppel T, Hardell L. · 2017
View Original AbstractSchool Wi-Fi and mobile devices create RF exposure levels up to 400 times higher during streaming activities than baseline levels.
Plain English Summary
Swedish researchers had teachers wear radiation monitors in Wi-Fi equipped schools. They found radiofrequency exposure ranged from 1.1 to 66.1 µW/m² during normal activities, but spiked to 396.6 µW/m² when students streamed YouTube videos, showing how device usage dramatically increases classroom radiation levels.
Why This Matters
This research fills a critical gap in our understanding of actual RF exposure in schools, moving beyond theoretical calculations to measure what teachers and students really encounter. The dramatic spike in exposure during video streaming - jumping from typical levels under 70 µW/m² to nearly 400 µW/m² - demonstrates how modern classroom technology significantly increases RF radiation exposure. The peak mobile phone readings of over 82,000 µW/m² are particularly concerning, as these represent the levels students experience when using phones in school. What makes this study especially valuable is its real-world approach using body-worn monitors over multiple days, providing a more accurate picture than laboratory measurements. The findings underscore that our children's daily school environment now includes substantial RF exposure that simply didn't exist a generation ago.
Exposure Details
- Power Density
- 0.00000011 - 0.00000661, 0.00003966, 0.0082857 µW/m²
- Source/Device
- 87 to 5,850 MHz
Exposure Context
This study used 0.00000011 - 0.00000661, 0.00003966, 0.0082857 µW/m² for radio frequency:
- 11x above the Building Biology guideline of 0.1 μW/m²
- 0.2x above the BioInitiative Report recommendation of 0.0006 μW/cm²
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 Details
The aim of this study is to investigate Measurements of Radiofrequency Radiation with a Body-Borne Exposimeter in Swedish Schools with Wi-Fi. Front.
This study conducted exposimetric measurements in schools to assess RF emissions in the classroom by...
Eighteen teachers from seven schools participated. The mean exposure to RF radiation ranged from 1.1...
Show BibTeX
@article{lk_2017_measurements_of_radiofrequency_radiation_1020,
author = {Hedendahl LK and Carlberg M and Koppel T and Hardell L.},
title = {Measurements of Radiofrequency Radiation with a Body-Borne Exposimeter in Swedish Schools with Wi-Fi. Front.},
year = {2017},
doi = {10.3389/fpubh.2017.00279},
url = {https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2017.00279/full},
}