Temporal and spatial variability of personal exposure to radio frequency electromagnetic fields
Frei P, Mohler E, Neubauer G, Theis G, Bürgi A, Fröhlich J, Braun-Fahrländer C, Bolte J, Egger M, Röösli M. · 2009
View Original AbstractUrban residents face constant RF radiation exposure averaging 0.13 mW/m² daily, with trains and airports delivering exposure levels over 5 times higher.
Plain English Summary
Swiss researchers measured radiofrequency radiation exposure in 166 volunteers over one week using personal monitoring devices. They found that people are exposed to RF radiation throughout their daily lives, with the highest levels occurring on trains, in airports, and during daytime hours. The main sources of exposure were cell phone towers (32%), mobile phones (29%), and cordless phones (23%).
Why This Matters
This study provides crucial baseline data on how much RF radiation people actually encounter in their daily lives. What's particularly significant is that exposure varied dramatically by location and activity - people experienced 14 times higher exposure on trains compared to their average weekly exposure. The finding that cordless phones contribute nearly a quarter of total exposure is especially important, as many people don't realize these devices operate continuously in their homes, not just during calls. The research demonstrates that RF exposure is ubiquitous in modern urban environments, with multiple sources contributing to your total daily dose. While this study focused on measuring exposure levels rather than health effects, it establishes the reality that we're all living in an unprecedented electromagnetic environment that didn't exist for previous generations.
Exposure Details
- Power Density
- 0.0000014, 0.000008, 0.0000881, 0.000013, 0.000015, 0.000016, 0.000014, 0.00001,0.000036, 0.000074, 0.000116 µW/m²
- Electric Field
- 0.22 V/m
- Exposure Duration
- 1 week (two separate weeks in 32 participants)
Exposure Context
This study used 0.0000014, 0.000008, 0.0000881, 0.000013, 0.000015, 0.000016, 0.000014, 0.00001,0.000036, 0.000074, 0.000116 µW/m² for radio frequency:
- 140x above the Building Biology guideline of 0.1 μW/m²
- 2.3x 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
To examine levels of exposure and the importance of different RF-EMF sources and settings in a sample of volunteers living in a Swiss city.
RF-EMF exposure of 166 volunteers from Basel, Switzerland, was measured with personal exposure meter...
Mean weekly exposure to all RF-EMF sources was 0.13 mW/m2 (0.22 V/m) (range of individual means 0.01...
Exposure to RF-EMF varied considerably between persons and locations but was fairly consistent within persons. Mobile phone handsets, mobile phone base stations and cordless phones were important sources of exposure in urban Switzerland.
Show BibTeX
@article{p_2009_temporal_and_spatial_variability_980,
author = {Frei P and Mohler E and Neubauer G and Theis G and Bürgi A and Fröhlich J and Braun-Fahrländer C and Bolte J and Egger M and Röösli M.},
title = {Temporal and spatial variability of personal exposure to radio frequency electromagnetic fields},
year = {2009},
url = {https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0013935109000838},
}