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In this paper, we exploit the artificial neural network (ANN) model for a spatial reconstruction of radio-frequency (RF) electromagnetic field (EMF) exposure in an outdoor urban environment. To this end, we have carried out a drive test measurement campaign covering a large part of Paris, along a route of approximately 65 Km. The electric (E) field strength has been recorded over a wide band ranging from 700 to 2700 MHz. From these measurement data, the E-field strength is extracted and computed for each frequency band of each telecommunication operator. First, the correlation between the E-fields at different frequency bands is computed and analyzed. The results show that a strong correlation of E-field levels is observed for bands belonging to the same operator. Then, we build ANN models with input data encompassing information related to distances to N neighboring base stations (BS), receiver location and time variation. We consider two different models. The first one is a fully connected ANN model, where we take into account the N nearest BSs ignoring the corresponding operator. The second one is a hybrid model, where we consider locally connected blocks with the N nearest BSs for each operator, followed by fully connected layers. The results show that the hybrid model achieves better performance than the fully connected one. Among N∈{3,5,7}, we found out that with N=3, the proposed hybrid model allows a good prediction of the exposure level while the maintaining acceptable complexity of the model.

With the ongoing fifth-generation cellular network (5G) deployment, electromagnetic field exposure has become a critical concern. However, measurements are scarce, and accurate electromagnetic field reconstruction in a geographic region remains challenging. This work proposes a conditional Generative Adversarial Network to address this issue. The main objective is to reconstruct the electromagnetic field exposure map accurately according to the environment’s topology from a few sensors located in an outdoor urban environment. The model is trained to learn and estimate the propagation characteristics of the electromagnetic field according to the topology of a given environment. In addition, the conditional Generative Adversarial Network based electromagnetic field mapping is compared with simple kriging. Results show that the proposed method produces accurate estimates and is a promising solution for exposure map reconstruction.

Concerns about the health effects of frequent exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMF) emitted from mobile towers and handsets have been raised because of the gradual increase in usage of cell phones and frequent setting up of mobile towers. The present study is targeted to detrimental effects of EMF radiation on various biological systems mainly due to online teaching and learning processes by suppressing the immune system. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the increased usage of internet due to online education and online office leads to more detrimental effects of EMF radiation. Further inculcation of soft computing techniques in EMF radiation has been presented. A literature review focusing on the usage of soft computing techniques in the domain of EMF radiation has been presented in the article. An online survey has been conducted targeting Indian academic stakeholders (specially teachers, students, and parents termed as population in the paper) for analyzing the awareness towards the biohazards of EMF exposure. © 2022 IGI Global. All rights reserved.

PURPOSE This review aims to estimate the threshold of radiofrequency electromagnetic field (RF EMF) effects on human brain based on analyses of published research results. To clarify the threshold of the RF EMF effects, two approaches have been applied: (1) the analyses of restrictions in sensitivity for different steps of the physical model of low-level RF EMF mechanism and (2) the analyses of experimental data to clarify the dependence of the RF EMF effect on exposure level based on the results of published original neurophysiological and behavioral human studies for 15 years 2007-2021. CONCLUSIONS The analyses of the physical model of nonthermal mechanisms of RF EMF effect leads to conclusion that no principal threshold of the effect can be determined. According to the review of experimental data, the rate of detected RF EMF effects is 76.7% in resting EEG studies, 41.7% in sleep EEG and 38.5% in behavioral studies. The changes in EEG probably appear earlier than alterations in behavior become evident. The lowest level of RF EMF at which the effect in EEG was detected is 2.45 V/m (SAR = 0.003 W/kg). There is a preliminary indication that the dependence of the effect on the level of exposure follows rather field strength than SAR alterations. However, no sufficient data are available for clarifying linearity-nonlinearity of the dependence of effect on the level of RF EMF. The finding that only part of people are sensitive to RF EMF exposure can be related to immunity to radiation or hypersensitivity. The changes in EEG caused by RF EMF appeared similar in the majority of analyzed studies and similar to these in depression. The possible causal relationship between RF EMF effect and depression among young people is highly important problem.

Ambient levels of electromagnetic fields (EMF) have risen sharply in the last 80 years, creating a novel energetic exposure that previously did not exist. Most recent decades have seen exponential increases in nearly all environments, including rural/remote areas and lower atmospheric regions. Because of unique physiologies, some species of flora and fauna are sensitive to exogenous EMF in ways that may surpass human reactivity. There is limited, but comprehensive, baseline data in the U.S. from the 1980s against which to compare significant new surveys from different countries. This now provides broader and more precise data on potential transient and chronic exposures to wildlife and habitats. Biological effects have been seen broadly across all taxa and frequencies at vanishingly low intensities comparable to today’s ambient exposures. Broad wildlife effects have been seen on orientation and migration, food finding, reproduction, mating, nest and den building, territorial maintenance and defense, and longevity and survivorship. Cyto- and geno-toxic effects have been observed. The above issues are explored in three consecutive parts: Part 1 questions today’s ambient EMF capabilities to adversely affect wildlife, with more urgency regarding 5G technologies. Part 2 explores natural and man-made fields, animal magnetoreception mechanisms, and pertinent studies to all wildlife kingdoms. Part 3 examines current exposure standards, applicable laws, and future directions. It is time to recognize ambient EMF as a novel form of pollution and develop rules at regulatory agencies that designate air as ‘habitat’ so EMF can be regulated like other pollutants. Wildlife loss is often unseen and undocumented until tipping points are reached. Long-term chronic low-level EMF exposure standards, which do not now exist, should be set accordingly for wildlife, and environmental laws should be strictly enforced.

Many aspects of chemistry and biology are mediated by electromagnetic field (EMF) interactions. The central nervous system (CNS) is particularly sensitive to EMF stimuli. Studies have explored the direct effect of different EMFs on the electrical properties of neurons in the last two decades, particularly focusing on the role of voltage-gated ion channels (VGCs). This work aims to systematically review published evidence in the last two decades detailing the effects of EMFs on neuronal ion channels as per the PRISM guidelines. Following a predetermined exclusion and inclusion criteria, 22 papers were included after searches on three online databases. Changes in calcium homeostasis, attributable to the voltage-gated calcium channels, were found to be the most commonly reported result of EMF exposure. EMF effects on the neuronal landscape appear to be diverse and greatly dependent on parameters, such as the field's frequency, exposure time, and intrinsic properties of the irradiated tissue, such as the expression of VGCs. Here, we systematically clarify how neuronal ion channels are particularly affected and differentially modulated by EMFs at multiple levels, such as gating dynamics, ion conductance, concentration in the membrane, and gene and protein expression. Ion channels represent a major transducer for EMF-related effects on the CNS.

Recently, there is a large concern focusing on the effects of electromagnetic radiation on human health hazards. So there has been a progress in medical data analysis using different systems such as artificial intelligent techniques. One of these is a Fuzzy logic technique. In this research a fuzzy logic-based monitoring system is used with interference effects on experimental animals. This system shown an ability to support the recent studies with great results and analysis. The performance of the fuzzy inference system was validated through a real data have been collected through an experiment. Therefore, the study designed to investigate the effect of sub-chronic exposure of electromagnetic field on experimental mice. In this experiment, the mice exposed to EMF (12 h/day) in a EMF exposure machine designed especially for exposure of biological.

This paper reports the electromagnetic field (EMF) exposure levels from fifth generation (5G) services. Three mobile operators in South Korea launched the world’s first 5G New Radio networks using the 3.5 GHz band in April 2019. The transmitted power of the uplink slots and the synchronization signal reference signal received power (SS-RSRP) from user equipment (UE) were measured in Seoul. The power samples, averaged over a 1-s duration, were obtained for a traffic period of approximately 270 h from October 2019 to early February 2020 using the file transfer protocol while driving along the side streets in residential areas of Seoul. The measurement results show that the time-average level when exposed to a beam sweep of the base stations was less than $5~\mu \text{W} / \text{m}^{2}$ . However, the UE transmitted power level approached the maximum for a considerable period of the total measurement time owing to the extremely low SS-RSRP level of the base stations.

Two outdoor base station macrocell/microcell topologies in operational Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) and Universal Mobile Telecommunications Service (UMTS) networks are compared with respect to average Electromagnetic Field (EMF) exposure over population in an area. A novel joint metric is used, accounting for exposure from both base stations and user equipment. The demonstrated method tends to use as much data as possible that can be extracted from various network systems, for the exact time of measurements or on long-term basis, with the aim of identifying the potential for EMF-awareness of future networks. The reduction of total exposure with the introduction of the microcell layer is shown using the proposed method with experimental measurements and compared by mobile network technologies. The introduction of the micro layer brought reduction to total population exposure of 84.6%, in the micro base station coverage area, mostly due to user device exposure reduction in GSM. UMTS user device exposure reduction was even more pronounced, 97.8%, but having less impact on overall exposure, contributing only 1%. Even with the increase in exposure originating from base stations, the reduction of total exposure was visible over the macro area as well, measuring 2.22%. The uncertainties of the evaluation method are identified and usage of advanced tools and methods is proposed to mitigate them.

In today’s world, most children are exposed to various manmade electromagnetic fields (EMFs). EMFs are electromagnetic waves less than 300 GHz. A developing child’s brain is vulnerable to electromagnetic radiation; thus, their caregivers’ concerns about the health effects of EMFs are increasing. EMF exposure is divided into 2 categories: extremely low frequencies (ELFs; 3–3,000 Hz), involving high-voltage transmission lines and in-house wiring; and radiofrequencies (RFs; 30 kHz to 300 GHz), involving mobile phones, smart devices, base stations, WiFi, and 5G technologies. The biological effects of EMFs on humans include stimulation, thermal, and nonthermal, the latter of which is the least known. Among the various health issues related to EMFs, the most important issue is human carcinogenicity. According to the International Agency for Research on Cancer’s (IARC’s) evaluation of carcinogenic risks to humans, ELFs and RFs were evaluated as possible human carcinogens (Group 2B). However, the World Health Organization’s (WHO’s) view of EMFs remains undetermined. This article reviews the current knowledge of EMF exposure on humans, specifically children. EMF exposure sources, biological effects, current WHO and IARC opinions on carcinogenicity, and effects of EMF exposures on children will be discussed. As well-controlled EMF experiments in children are nearly impossible, scientific knowledge should be interpreted objectively. Precautionary approaches are recommended for children until the potential health effects of EMF are confirmed.

The hypothesis being tested was that the exposure of female workers to the electromagnetic field (EMF) emitted by an induction hob (IHb) meeting public exposure limitations (evaluated according to EN/IEC 62233) is also compliant with European Directive 2013/35/EU on workers' protection. The electric field induced in three female models in a realistic ergonomically comfortable posture near IHb was evaluated using numerical models of 25 kHz EMF sources (IHb covered by cooking vessels). It was found that, in analyzed ergonomically comfortable exposure situations, the electric field induced in the user's body may exceed public and workers' limits when the vessels do not match the dimensions of IHb's heating zone. This can even be the case when IHb complies with Conformité Européenne labeling requirements (i.e. EMF exposure falls below public limits 30 cm away from IHb edge). In the 36 exposure scenarios analyzed, statistically significant differences were found when the distances from IHb and vessel dimension, and the height and body mass index of models in exposure scenarios varied, but not between the use of models of pregnant and nonpregnant women. The use of IHb complying with European requirements on general public protection does not ensure that EMF exposure to workers complies with the relevant limits. Adequate protection measures need to address these occupational environmental hazards. © 2020 Bioelectromagnetics Society.

Background The growing popularity of mobile phones and the expansion of network infrastructure in Greece have raised concerns about the possible negative health effects on sensitive groups, such as children, from exposure to long-term radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMFs). Aims The objective of this study is to estimate mean RF-EMF exposure levels of primary and secondary education schools located in the municipality of Korydallos, Athens, Greece. Methods We performed measurements to all the schools units ($n=62$) in the region in order to calculate the mean value for RF-EMF exposure in the range of 27 MHz–3 GHz, which covers the whole spectrum of RF-EMF sources. Results At the $97.5\%$ of schools found in Korydallos region, the exposure level is at least 2200 times below the Greek exposure limits. Conclusion The exposure levels in the locations tested are both below $60\%$ of the highest limit set by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection regarding school exposures.

This paper proposes a studied case to assess the EMF (electromagnetic field) exposure distribution for a specific deployment scenario. This developed novel approach based on a Monte-Carlo (MC) approach took into account the non-uniform user distribution and its corresponding projection to provide a realistic EMF exposure assessment for a particular coverage area of the 5G base station. A suburban area with relatively complex user distribution was selected to study the exposure distribution by the proposed method. The simulated results derived by the MC method show that considering the user distribution will reduce the user-related E-field exposure distribution under the given configuration by more than one half when compared to the traditional conservative deterministic approach. Moreover, the MC method demonstrates a more detailed exposure distribution feature corresponding to the specific active user distribution. It presents a reliable basis for power control when considering the trade-off between exposure evaluation and service quality.

High exposures to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF EMF) are possible in workplaces involving sources used for broadcasting, telecommunication, security and identification, remote sensing and the heating and drying of goods. A systematic literature review of occupational RF EMF exposure measurements could help to clarify where more attention to occupational safety may be needed. This review identifies specific sources of occupational RF EMF exposure and compares the published maximum exposures to occupational exposure limits. A systematic search for peer-reviewed publications was conducted via PubMed and Scopus. Relevant grey literature was collected via web searches. For each publication, the highest measured electric field strength, magnetic flux density or power density was extracted. Maximum exposures exceeding the limits were reported for dielectric heating, scanners for security and radiofrequency identification, plasma devices and broadcasting and telecommunication transmitters. Occupational exposure exceeding the limits was rare for microwave heating and radar applications. Some publications concerned cases studies of occupational accidents followed by a medical investigation of thermal health effects. These were found for broadcasting antennas, radar installations and a microwave oven and often involved maintenance personnel. New sources of occupational exposure such as those in fifth generation telecommunication systems or energy transition will require further assessment.

This paper describes the current science-based approach to ensuring public safety from RF-EMF base stations. It acknowledges that a degree of public concern persists despite the fact that dose limits are seldom if ever approached in practice. One plausible contributor to the discord is a tendency within parts of academia and by some planning authorities to pursue a technocratic policy approach to siting wherein public concerns are attributed to scientific uncertainty over health risks, whereas the reality is that societal concerns over base stations is broader. Thus, potential mis-framing of the debate as a purely scientific issue leads to inappropriate risk communication exercises which in fact polarise the situation by disenfranchising other potentially legitimate siting concerns. It is recommended that more attention should be paid to the non-health related siting issues, which could be handled by a thoughtful democratic / deliberative process, and that this should not be conflated with the scientific debate over the uncertain and possibly non-existent risks posed by RF EMF complying with the existing science-based dose limits.

Among the novel technologies that 5th Generation (5G) networks will introduce to fulfill the ambitious goals that promise, there are the antenna arrays with three-dimensional (3D) beamforming capabilities. This technology does the RF-EMF exposure scenario evolve with the particular radiation pattern that the Access Point, in an indoor environment, generates in an adaptive way. The problem of setting up an assessment to evaluate the human exposure levels in such a scenario becomes challenging. In this paper, by the jointly use of deterministic and stochastic methods, it was possible to consider up to 1000 different 3D beamforming patterns of the AP with low computational costs. The work allowed to highlight the conditions of major exposure and to prove the validity of stochastic methods, facing the variability and heterogeneity that will characterized 5G scenarios.

In the purpose to ensure the sanitary and epidemiological well-being of the population living on the territory near the military aerodrome calculated assessment of the geometry and size of the sanitary protection zone (SPZ) was carried out based on aerodrome radiation sources electromagnetic fields (EMF) level and the requirements of current legislation in electromagnetic safety. The analysis showed that the calculated levels of total EMF exposure outside the technical (adjacent) territory are significantly lower than the established maximum permissible for the population. The results obtained allow us to prevent the possibility of developing an inadequate (hyperbolized) perception (radiophobia) of the danger of exposure to this factor, as well as rental behavior of people living in these territories.

I recently reported induction of chromatid-type aberrations in human peripheral blood lymphocytes after a single 15 min exposure to universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS) mobile telephony (MT) electromagnetic field (EMF) from a mobile phone. Lymphocytes from six healthy subjects were stimulated for mitosis, and exposed during the G2/M phase at 1 cm distance from the handset during an active phone call in "talk" mode. The same type of cells from the same subjects treated with a high caffeine dose (~ 290 times above the permissible single dose for an adult human) exhibited the same type of aberrations in a little smaller but comparable degree. The combination of this caffeine dose and the 15 min MT EMF exposure increased dramatically the number of aberrations in all subjects. The combined effect increased almost linearly with increasing duration of exposure to the MT EMF. Thus, MT EMF exposure ~ 136 times below the official limit (ICNIRP 2020) exerts a genotoxic action even greater than that of a caffeine dose ~ 290 times above the corresponding limit. Therefore, with a reasonable approximation, the limit for MT EMFs should be lowered by at least ~ 4 × 104 times (136 × 290) for short-term exposures, and ~ 4 × 106 times for long-term exposures.

Here, the results on actual output power levels of the fifth generation (5G) user equipment (UE) operating in commercial 5G networks are presented. Using a network management platform, output power data for several UE were collected over fifteen days. Out of about 545 million power samples obtained from UE operating in two 5G commercial networks, the time-averaged output power, of relevance for electromagnetic field (EMF) exposure assessment, was found to be always less than 43% of the maximum time-averaged UE output power considering time division duplexing. In addition, 95% of the time-averaged power samples were found to be less than 8% of the maximum while the mean value was less than 2%. Despite very conservative assumptions in the applied method, the time-averaged 5G UE output power levels were found to be well below the maximum. These results are in line with the output power levels observed for 3G and 4G UE in previous studies and is of importance to characterize the actual EMF exposure of 5G devices during operation.

Chromogranin A (CgA), which is a major protein in adrenal chromaffin cells and adrenergic neurons, is a clinically relevant endocrine and neuroendocrine tumor marker including pheochromocytomas, neuroblastomas, and related neurogenic tumors. In this study, we looked at the effect in humans of chronic daily exposure to a 50-Hz magnetic field. We examined in 15 men (38.0 ± 0.9 years) the effects of chronic daily exposure to a 50-Hz magnetic field for 1-20 yrs both at home and at work. EMDEX II dosimeters were used to record magnetic field all day long every 30 s. for 1 week. The weekly geometric mean of the individual exposures ranged from 0.1 to 2.6 μT. Blood samples were taken hourly between 20:00 h and 08:00 h. CgA patterns of exposed subjects were compared to age-matched controls. The results of exposed subjects were compared with those for 15 unexposed men who served as controls and whose individual exposure was ten times lower ranging from 0.004 to 0.092 μT. This work shows that in the control group the serum CgA levels exhibited a nighttime peak with a progressive decline of the serum concentrations and a nadir in the morning. Both the profile and the serum concentrations of CgA, a marker of neuroendocrine tumors and stress, did not appear to be impaired in the subjects chronically exposed over a long period (up to 20 yrs) to magnetic fields though a trend toward lower levels were found at the highest exposure (0.3 μT). This does not rule out, however, that the potential deleterious risk of ELF-EMF on frail populations such as children and the elderly may be greater at low exposure and should hence be documented, at least for their residential exposure.

The potential for using non-ionizing electromagnetic fields (EMF; at frequencies from 0 Hz up to the THz range) for medical purposes has been of interest since many decades. A number of established and familiar methods are in use all over the world. This review, however, provides an overview of applications that already play some clinical role or are in earlier stages of development. The covered methods include modalities used for bone healing, cancer treatment, neurological conditions, and diathermy. In addition, certain other potential clinical areas are touched upon. Most of the reviewed technologies deal with therapy, whereas just a few diagnostic approaches are mentioned. None of the discussed methods are having such a strong impact in their field of use that they would be expected to replace conventional methods. Partly this is due to a knowledge base that lacks mechanistic explanations for EMF effects at low-intensity levels, which often are used in the applications. Thus, the possible optimal use of EMF approaches is restricted. Other reasons for the limited impact include a scarcity of well-performed randomized clinical trials that convincingly show the efficacy of the methods and that standardized user protocols are mostly lacking. Presently, it seems that some EMF-based methods can have a niche role in treatment and diagnostics of certain conditions, mostly as a complement to or in combination with other, more established, methods. Further development and a stronger impact of these technologies need a better understanding of the interaction mechanisms between EMF and biological systems at lower intensity levels. The importance of the different physical parameters of the EMF exposure needs also further investigations.

Background In recent years, radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF) exposure has increased owing to new communication technologies. Simultaneously, increased exposure to RF-EMF has led to society's growing concern about the possible effects they may have on human health. Many studies have described personal RF-EMF exposure by using personal exposimeters to know a population's daily exposure to mobile phone base stations and to other sources whose installations tend to be permanent. Nonetheless during special events like concerts or fairs, where many people gather, permanent installations might not suffice to cover demand. So telephone companies install temporary stations for these events, and modify the exposure pattern of these areas or populations. Objective To study if installing temporary antennae for large events, and high concentrations of mobile phones, modify the exposure pattern compared to usual situations. Methods Personal RF-EMF exposure from mobile phones (uplink) and mobile phone base stations (downlink) installed at the 2017 Albacete Fair (Spain) was recorded. Between 7 and 17 September, more than 2,500,000 people visited this Fair. Measurements were taken by two Satimo EME SPY 140 personal exposimeters, placed one each side of a research team member's waist. These exposimeters were programmed to take measurements every 4 s at different time of day; morning, afternoon and night; and in several places, around the Fair Enclosure (zones Ejidos and Paseo) and inside the enclosure (Interior). These measurements were repeated on a weekday, at the weekend and the day after the Fair ended after temporary base stations had been removed. They were also taken for 1 h in all three zones, for each time of day; that is, 9 h were recorded for each study day. Results The mean RF-EMF recorded exposure from base stations (downlink-DL) on the days the Fair opened (morning, afternoon and night) for the three studied zones was 791.8 μW/m2, while the exposure produced by mobile phones (uplink-UL) was 59.0 μW/m2. These values were 391.2 μW/m2 (DL) and 10.3 μW/m2 (UL) a few days after the event ended. In study zones Ejidos and Paseo, both outside, the highest mean exposure was recorded at the weekend as 1494.1 and 848.1 μW/m2 respectively. For the Interior zone, the mean value recorded during the Fair was 354.8 μW/m2. These values contrast with those recorded in the three zones after the event ended: 556.37 (Ejidos), 144.1 (Paseo); 473.21 μW/m2 (Interior). The fact that the mean exposure recorded at Interior was slightly higher after the Fair could be due to signal shielding by so many people. The reduction in exposure in Paseo after the Fair was outstanding, probably due to the antennae being placed on low towers. Major differences were also found in the RF-EMF exposure from UL. In this case, the weekend values taken during the Fair were between 28.2 μW/m2 at Interior (weekday) and 98.1 μW/m2 at Ejidos (weekend), which dropped to 5.5 at Paseo after the Fair, to 11.7 μW/m2 at Interior and to 13.6 μW/m2 at Ejidos. Conclusions Installing mobile phone base stations, and a dense public using mobile phones, imply a significant increase in personal RF-EMF exposure compared to that recorded during normal periods in the same area. However, the recorded measurements were below legally established limits.

Personal exposure to Radio-Frequency Electromagnetic Fields (RF-EMFs) was studied using personal measurements in five different microenvironments in each of five cities (Brussels, Antwerp, Ghent, Bruges and Hasselt) in Flanders, Belgium. These measurements were carried out by two researchers using on-body calibrated personal exposimeters. In three out of the five studied cities (Brussels, Ghent and Bruges), temporal aspects of personal exposure to RF-EMFs were studied as well. Measurements during and outside of rush hours (7:00–9:15 and 16:30–19:00) were compared. Likewise, measurements were executed during night time and compared to the ones measured during working hours. Representativeness and repeatability of the measurement method was studied as well. The highest mean total exposure was found in Brussels (2.63 mW/m2), the most densely populated city in this study. However, we measured higher downlink exposure in Antwerp than in Brussels, which might be an effect of the stronger legislation on base stations in Brussels. The measurements and used protocol were found to be both repeatable over time (r = 0.95 for median total exposure) and representative for the studied microenvironments in terms of path selection (r = 0.88 for median total exposure). Finally, in 10 out of the 13 on-body calibrated frequency bands we found that the measurement devices underestimate the intensity of the incident RF-EMFs with median underestimations up to 68%.

Technological advances of mankind, through the development of electrical and communication technologies, have resulted in the exposure to artificial electromagnetic fields (EMF). Technological growth is expected to continue; as such, the amount of EMF exposure will continue to increase steadily. In particular, the use-time of smart phones, that have become a necessity for modern people, is steadily increasing. Social concerns and interest in the impact on the cranial nervous system are increased when considering the area where the mobile phone is used. However, before discussing possible effects of radiofrequency-electromagnetic field (RF-EMF) on the human body, several factors must be investigated about the influence of EMFs at the level of research using in vitro or animal models. Scientific studies on the mechanism of biological effects are also required. It has been found that RF-EMF can induce changes in central nervous system nerve cells, including neuronal cell apoptosis, changes in the function of the nerve myelin and ion channels; furthermore, RF-EMF act as a stress source in living creatures. The possible biological effects of RF-EMF exposure have not yet been proven, and there are insufficient data on biological hazards to provide a clear answer to possible health risks. Therefore, it is necessary to study the biological response to RF-EMF in consideration of the comprehensive exposure with regard to the use of various devices by individuals. In this review, we summarize the possible biological effects of RF-EMF exposure.

Telecommunication generates electromagnetic fields (EMFs) at radio and microwave frequencies. Transmitters have proliferated with siting of wireless communication networks, often co-located among other transmitters. “Cell” phones also have proliferated, representing small transmitters used in contact with human heads, and stored on human bodies. Telecommunications equipment is ubiquitous, and EMF exposure prolonged, raising the issue of possible health risks. Such risks, if any, must be managed. For example, epidemiology studies reported higher exposure to analog cell phone EMFs among brain cancer patients than among controls, but those risks were “managed” via replacement of analog phones with today’s digital phones, which have not been associated with human cancer. Challenges remain, recently from rodent bioassays that show dose-related association of lifetime exposure to cell-phone-type EMFs with heart schwannomas (cancers of Schwann cells, which insulate nerve cells) in male rats, though not i...

Introduction Recent studies have shown that pulsed electromagnetic field (EMF) has therapeutic potential for dementia, but the associated neurobiological effects are unclear. This study aimed to determine the effects of pulsed EMF on Streptozotocin (STZ)-induced dementia rats. Methods Forty Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly allocated to one of the four groups: (i) control, (ii) normal saline injection (sham group), (iii) STZ injection (STZ group) and (iv) STZ injection with pulsed EMF exposure (PEMF, 10 mT at 20 Hz) (STZ + MF group). Morris water maze was used to assess the learning and memory abilities. Insulin growth factors 1 and 2 (IGF-1 and IGF-2) gene expression were determined by quantitative PCR. Results The results showed that the mean escape latency in STZ-induced dementia rats was reduced by 66% under the exposure of pulsed EMF. Compared with the STZ group, the swimming distance and the time for first crossing the platform decreased by 55 and 41.6% in STZ + MF group, respectively. Furthermore, the IGF-2 gene expression significantly increased compared to that of the STZ group. Conclusions Our findings indicate that the pulsed EMF exposure can improve the ability of learning and memory in STZ-induced dementia rats and this effect may be related to the process of IGF signal transduction, suggesting a potential role for the pulsed EMF for the amelioration of cognition impairment.

Personal measurements of radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF) have been used in several studies to characterise personal exposure in daily life, but such data are limitedly available for adolescents, and not yet for the United Kingdom (UK). In this study, we aimed to characterise personal exposure to RF-EMF in adolescents and to study the association between exposure and rules applied at school and at home to restrict wireless communication use, likely implemented to reduce other effects of mobile technology (e.g. distraction). We measured exposure to RF-EMF for 16 common frequency bands (87.5 MHz–3.5 GHz), using portable measurement devices (ExpoM-RF), in a subsample of adolescents participating in the cohort Study of Cognition, Adolescents and Mobile Phones (SCAMP) from Greater London (UK) (n = 188). School and home rules were assessed by questionnaire and concerned the school's availability of WiFi and mobile phone policy, and parental restrictions on permitted mobile phone use. Adolescents recorded their activities in real time using a diary app on a study smartphone, while characterizing their personal RF-EMF exposure in daily life, during different activities and times of the day. Data analysis was done for 148 adolescents from 29 schools who recorded RF-EMF data for a median duration of 47 h. The majority (74%) of adolescents spent part of their time at school during the measurement period. Median total RF-EMF exposure was 40 μW/m2 at home, 94 μW/m2 at school, and 100 μW/m2 overall. In general, restrictions at school or at home made little difference for adolescents’ measured exposure to RF-EMF, except for uplink exposure from mobile phones while at school, which was found to be significantly lower for adolescents attending schools not permitting phone use at all, compared to adolescents attending schools allowing mobile phone use during breaks. This difference was not statistically significant for total personal exposure. Total exposure to RF-EMF in adolescents living in Greater London tended to be higher compared to exposure levels reported in other European countries. This study suggests that school policies and parental restrictions are not associated with a lower RF-EMF exposure in adolescents.

This article assesses the RF EMF exposure to nearby mobile phone base stations inside an educational facility (indoor scenario, 900/1800/1900/2100 bands). Indirect characterisation is implemented experimentally, i.e. the received power levels are compared to each other, the main scope of this research being that of identifying whether distinct locations inside the chosen building would demonstrate different received power levels (hence different EMF exposure). Our experiments proved significant exposure to EGSM-900 of all locations under consideration and also a difference of several dB for a distance of about 3 meters between two close locations. A maximum instantaneous power of - 18.15 dBm has been measured and identified in a location that seems to be most exposed to base stations RF emissions. These experimental results illustrate the importance of conducting preliminary indoor EMF exposure tests before choosing the placement of mobile phone base station antenna as long as some spots have different EMF exposure compared with others from the same building.

The massive deployment of advanced wireless networks is essential to support broadband connectivity, low latency communication, and Internet of Things applications. Nevertheless, in the time of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) there is a massive amount of misinformation and uncertainty about the impact of fifth-generation cellular network (5G) networks on human health. In this paper, we investigate the main categories of misinformation regarding 5G, i.e., fake theories, the misconception of 5G features, and open questions that require further research. Then, we propose two novel approaches for the design of electromagnetic field (EMF)-aware cellular networks that can reduce human exposure to radio frequency radiation.

Conventional methods for exposure assessment cannot provide comprehensive and continuous monitoring. A crowdsourcing-based approach relying on the signal strength measurements of common smartphones could be a potential solution. This paper deals with the evaluation of measurement data collected with smartphones under conditions similar to crowdsourcing. Kriging is used to interpolate and smooth the noisy measurement data. The smartphone measurement data is analyzed for three LTE cells and compared with codeselective measurements of a field strength meter. It is shown that areas with high and low exposure can be distinguished and that local hot spots can also be detected. Furthermore, it becomes clear that at least a rough estimate of the electric field strength can be derived from the signal strength measurements, provided that enough smartphone readings are available for this area.

In 5G applications, commercial devices must be tested to verify compliance of the electromagnetic field (EMF) emission with the relevant EMF exposure limits in terms of peak average power density [1]–[3]. Proximity to the device testing is required for frequencies above 6 GHz [4]. This procedure, for 5G beamforming DUT, can require very long measurement times. To overcome this limitation a fast technique has been recently presented [5]–[7]. This technique combines Near Field (NF) measurements with the equivalent currents (EQC) method [8]–[9]. Thus, starting from a NF measurement of the DUT, the technique allows to evaluate power density, at any distance from the Device Under Test (DUT). This would allow to verify the pre-compliance of the DUT with EMF exposure limits. In a previous study, validation was performed on a Dual Ridge Horn [5]. In this paper, a Closed Boundary Quad-Ridge Horn is considered. Results and achievable accuracy are presented.

The 5G mobile telephony has become one of the worldwide most anticipated technology, which is followed by strong controversy regarding potentially dangerous health effects. This technology relies on electromagnetic field (EMF) emission from its network base stations, increasing the level of existing EMF in the environment. Consequently, this fact has initiated deep concerns of the public, who demanded overall investigation and monitoring of the inevitable 5G EMF exposure. In the last decade, the wireless sensors networks for EMF monitoring emerged as an innovative approach for effective analysis of EMF in the environment. The latest one is the Serbian EMF RATEL network, which offers a sophisticated approach of telecommunication service-based EMF monitoring. This network performs wideband monitoring, counting the EMF contribution of all active EMF sources in a predetermined frequency sub-band. In this paper, the preliminary EMF monitoring of 5G is presented, explaining technical details on the used Narda AMS 8061 sensor, the acquisition process, as well as the analysis and dissemination of the measurement results. The EMF RATEL is envisioned to be a support for the control and management of EMFs in upcoming smart-city ecosystems, in which is expected that will display intensive EMF radiation in living surrounding, regarding various telecommunication services.

Highlights • Male infertility and adverse pregnancy outcomes are relevant human health problems. • Radiofrequency electromagnetic fields are widespread in the human environment. • A link between radiofrequency and adverse reproductive outcomes is controversial. • This is the protocol of WHO-funded systematic review and meta-analysis on this issue., Background Radiofrequency Electromagnetic Fields (RF-EMF) at environmental level have been reported to induce adverse effects on the male reproductive system and developing embryos. However, despite the number of experiments conducted since the 1970s, the diversity of testing approaches and exposure conditions, inconsistencies among results, and dosimetric flaws have not yet permitted a solid assessment of the relationship between RF-EMF exposure and such effects, warranting a more systematic and methodologically rigorous approach to the evaluation of available data. Objectives This study aims at evaluating the effects of RF-EMF exposure on male fertility and pregnancy outcomes by a systematic review (SR) of experimental studies, conducted in compliance with international guidelines. The evidence will be organized into three streams: 1) Studies evaluating the impact of RF-EMF on the male reproductive system of experimental mammals; 2) studies evaluating the impact of RF-EMF on human sperm exposed in vitro; 3) studies evaluating the impact of RF-EMF on adverse pregnancy, birth outcomes and delayed effects in experimental mammals exposed in utero. Study eligibility and criteria Eligible studies will include peer-reviewed articles reporting of original results about effects of controlled exposures to RF-EMF in the frequency range 100 kHz–300 GHz on the selected outcomes without any language or year-of-publication restrictions. Eligible studies will be retrieved by calibrated search strings applied to three electronic databases, PubMed, Scopus and EMF Portal and by manual search of the list of references of included papers and published reviews. Study appraisal and synthesis method The internal validity of the studies will be evaluated using the Risk of Bias (RoB) Rating Tool developed by National Toxicology Program/Office of Health Assessment and Translation (NTP/OHAT) integrated with input from the SYRCLE RoB tool. Given sufficient commensurate data, meta-analyses will be performed, otherwise narrative syntheses will be produced. Finally, the certainty of the effects of RF-EMF exposure on male fertility and pregnancy and birth outcomes will be established following GRADE. Funding The study is financially supported by the World Health Organization. Registration OSF Registration DOI https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/7MUS3; PROSPERO CRD42021227729, CRD42021227746.

While research on communications at frequencies above 6 gigahertz (GHz) has been primarily confined to per- formance improvement, their potentially harmful impacts on human health are not studied as significantly. Most of the existing studies that paid attention to the health impacts above 6 GHz focused only on the uplink due to closer contact with a transmitter to a human body. In this paper, we present the human electromagnetic field (EMF) exposure in the downlink of Fifth-Generation Wireless Systems (5G). Moreover, we propose a downlink protocol that guarantees the EMF exposure under a threshold while keeping the data rate above the 5G requirements.

Background Although there are several human experimental studies on short-term effects of radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF) on sleep, the role of effect modification by sex or age in this context has not yet been considered. In an earlier study, we observed sex differences in RF-EMF effects in elderly subjects. The present study investigated possible RF-EMF effect modifications by age in men. Methods Data available for the present analysis come from three double-blind, randomized cross-over studies, in which effects of different RF-EMF exposure signals on sleep were investigated in young [sample 1: 25.3 (mean) ± 2.6 (SD) years; sample 2: 25.4 ± 2.6 years; n = 30, respectively] and older (69.1 ± 5.5 years; n = 30) healthy male volunteers. Studies comprised a screening/adaptation night followed by nine experimental nights at two-week intervals. RF-EMF exposure effect modifications by age were analysed for two different exposure signals (GSM900 at 2 W/kg, TETRA at 6 W/kg), each compared to a sham exposure. Polysomnography, during which the exposure signals were delivered by a head worn antenna, as well as sleep staging were performed according to the AASM standard. Four subjective and 30 objective sleep parameters were statistically analysed related to possible RF-EMF effects. Results Comparisons of sleep parameters observed under sham exposure revealed highly pronounced physiological differences between young and elderly men. A consistent exposure effect in both age groups was found for a shorter latency to persistent sleep under TETRA exposure reflecting a sleep-promoting effect. Exposure effect modifications by age were observed for two of the four self-reported sleep parameters following GSM900 exposure and for arousals during REM sleep under TETRA exposure. Conclusions As effects of a short-term all-night RF-EMF exposure on sleep occurred only sporadically in young and elderly men, it seems that age doesn't matter in this respect. However, as long as there are no corresponding data from young healthy women that would allow a comparison with the data from elderly women, this assumption cannot be conclusively verified. Nevertheless, the present results are not indicative of any adverse health effects.

The goal of this paper is to study the human exposure to electromagnetic fields due to vehicle-mounted on glass antennas. A novel multi-band planar antenna is designed and optimized using Invasive Weed Optimization. The design includes a multi-band 4G/5G antenna operating in the frequency band [600 MHz-5000 MHz]. Numerical simulations show a reflection coefficient below −10 dB at all the operating frequency bands. Additionally, we investigated various antenna placements including the front and rear glasses of the vehicle. The effect of the antenna radiation on the driver is discussed for different antenna locations in terms of electric field strength. The asymptotic method is applied for the simulation of the whole model, considering the huge electrical size of the car at frequencies up to 5 GHz. Electric field results show that the most convenient antenna placement is at the car backlite. These results are within the electric field exposure limits provided by the FCC.

The presented paper deals with low frequency electromagnetic field application on Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells. Experiments performed through wide frequency range have shown selective frequency dependent biological response, which could be successfully predicted by ion parametric resonance theory proposed by V. V. Lednev. Although observed results give satisfying answer to questions whether or not electromagnetic fields could affect cell cultures even at non-thermal levels, the research presented herein opens a multitude of questions about the exact physical mechanisms underlying the observed microorganism behavior, as the theory discussed within the scope of this article is still not completely unambiguous.

This cross-sectional study conducted to determine the associations between exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic field (RF-EMF) at workplace on physiological parameters of male airport workers. Forty-seven respondents exposed to RF-EMF during working hours (exposed) and 47 administration workers (comparative). RF-EMF exposure describe by electric field (V/m), magnetic field (A/m) and power density (W/m2) at three specific heights (0.5m, 1.0m and 1.6m). Body core temperature, blood pressure and pulse rate representing physiological parameters. Results showed there was significant differentiation for all types of current exposure of RF-EMF and no significant different of physiology parameters between exposed and comparative group. There was significant relationship between the RF-EMF parameters with systolic blood pressure before working and diastolic blood pressure before and after working; there was significant relationship between the magnetic field and pulse rate after working; there was significant relationship between the power density and pulse rate after working. The regression test showed working location and working duration also influence the physiology parameters. In conclusions, this study suggests that changes in physiology parameters among airport male workers were not only due to exposure of RF-EMF but also influenced by working duration, working location, fasting, smoking, drinking coffee and stress.

Previously we have shown that 4 Hz and 8 Hz EMF exposures have depressing effect on the thermodynamic activity of water, which decreases peroxide formation. It has also been shown that 4 Hz EMF-treated physiological solution modulates the growth and development of microbes and heart muscle contractility, but 8 Hz EMF has pronounced inhibitory effect on bacterial growth and development. Therefore, in order to elucidate the possible mechanism of 4 Hz and 8 Hz EMF effects on heart muscle function, in the present work the effects of 4 Hz and 8 Hz EMF exposures on heart muscle tissue hydration, the sensitivity of 4 Hz and 8 Hz EMF-induced tissue hydration to 10−4 M ouabain (Na+/K+ pump inhibition) and 10−9 M ouabain (activation of intracellular signaling system) as well as the effects of 4 Hz and 8 Hz EMF exposures on the number of Na+/K+ pump units in the membrane of both young and old rats have been studied. The obtained data allow us to suggest that 8 Hz EMF exposure has more pronounced age-dependent modulation effect on tissue hydration of heart muscle than 4 Hz EMF and this effect is sensitive to Na+/K+ pump activity and intracellular signaling system.

New services and applications within vehicular environments employ multiple wireless communication systems, within a heterogeneous network framework. In this context, evaluation of electromagnetic field impact is compulsory in order to warrant compliance with current exposure limits. In this paper, E-field strength distribution within urban transportation buses is studied, in which different types of buses, as well as network configurations, are considered. E-field estimations are obtained within the complete interior volume of the urban buses, considering all the characteristics in terms of bus structure and materials employed, by means of an in-house-developed deterministic 3D ray-launching (3D-RL) code. In this way, relevant phenomena in terms of electromagnetic propagation and interaction are considered, such as multipath propagation and shadowing, which determine exposure levels as a function of transceiver location within the bus scenarios. The behavior in terms of E-field distribution of wireless public land mobile communication systems within transportation buses have been analyzed by means of measurement campaigns employing personal exposimeter devices. In addition, E-field volumetric distributions by means of 3D-RL simulations have been obtained as a function of user distribution within the buses, with the aim of analyzing the impact of user presence within complex intra-vehicular indoor scenarios, such as urban transportation buses. A comparison with current exposure limits given by currently adopted standards is obtained, showing that E-field levels were below the aforementioned limits. The use of deterministic simulation techniques based on 3D-RL enables E-field exposure analysis in complex indoor scenarios, offering an optimized balance between accuracy and computational cost. These results and the proposed simulation methodology can aid in an adequate assessment of human exposure to non-ionizing radiofrequency fields in public transportation buses, considering the impact of the morphology and the topology of vehicles, for current as well as for future wireless technologies and exposure limits.

With the arrival of new, more powerful radiofrequency (RF) energy sources, the potential risks associated with human exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMF) also increased. This brought the necessity of developing appropriate security regulations, as well as standardized measurement and exposure evaluation techniques. This paper gives a brief overview of current metrics used for the assessment of exposure to RF-EMFs.

This paper investigates the applicability of the far-field spherical formula to estimate EMF compliance boundaries (exclusion zones) for massive MIMO radio base stations characterized by a large number of antenna elements. Numerical and measurement-based methods were implemented and compared. The results show that knowledge of the traffic beam pattern envelope is sufficient to accurately assess the EMF exposure and determine the compliance boundary for a radio base station product at distances far smaller than the traditional far-field distance.

While cellular communications operating at higher frequencies (i.e., above 6 GHz) have been attracting significant research interest, their potentially harmful impacts on human health are not studied as significantly. Few existing studies discussing the human health impacts above 6 GHz paid attention to uplink only, due to close contact of a transmitter to a human body. This paper claims the necessity of thorough investigation in downlink on human exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMFs). Our simulation results suggest the downlink of a Fifth Generation Cellular Mobile Communications (5G) system can generate significantly higher power density (PD) and specific absorption rate (SAR) than the previous generations of wireless systems. Our study also highlights the significance of considering SAR as a metric in evaluation of the EMF exposure at high frequencies. Moreover, this paper proposes a downlink protocol that guarantees the EMF exposure level under a threshold while keeping the data rate above the 5G requirements.

Human exposure to 3.4–3.6-GHz radiofrequency (RF) electromagnetic field (EMF), which is the frequency band utilized by trial test of the fifth-generation mobile communication systems (5G), has been numerically analyzed in the study. The study evaluated the EMF exposure of this frequency band by taking into account of the channel features. Two exposure scenarios were reconstructed according to the technical specification on channel modeling from the 3rd Generation Partnership Project. The channel features of the reconstructed EMF were numerically validated. The equivalent source principle and the finite-difference time-domain method were applied to calculate the RF energy specific absorption (SA) using three human models. The results revealed that the exposure scenarios with various channel features affected whole-body SA (WBSA) by about 50–70%. The variation was mainly introduced by the configuration of the incident waves defined by the channel models. Dosimetric difference between the two exposure scenarios for some tissues has been presented and discussed. The results demonstrated that the anatomy of the model was also a factor influencing SA.

The magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) exposure environment is unique due to the mixture and intensity of magnetic fields involved. Current safety regulations are based on well-known acute effects of ...