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Exposure to radiofrequency (RF) electromagnetic fields (EMFs) in indoor environments depends on both outdoor sources such as radio, television and mobile phone antennas and indoor sources, such as mobile phones and wireless communications applications. Establishing the levels of exposure could be challenging due to differences in the approaches used in different studies. The goal of this study is to present an overview of the last ten years research efforts about RF EMF exposure in indoor environments, considering different RF-EMF sources found to cause exposure in indoor environments, different indoor environments and different approaches used to assess the exposure. The highest maximum mean levels of the exposure considering the whole RF-EMF frequency band was found in offices (1.14 V/m) and in public transports (0.97 V/m), while the lowest levels of exposure were observed in homes and apartments, with mean values in the range 0.13–0.43 V/m. The contribution of different RF-EMF sources to the total level of exposure was found to show slightly different patterns among the indoor environments, but this finding has to be considered as a time-dependent picture of the continuous evolving exposure to RF-EMF.

In this study, the exposure of a female eight-year old child to a WLAN access point located in an unknown position in a realistic indoor environment was investigated. A stochastic dosimetry approach based on low rank tensor approximation was used to develop surrogate models to quickly estimate the specific absorption rate in all the possible positions of the WLAN source and the child. Results showed that, for all the possible positions in the room, the exposure values were significantly below the limits of the International Commission of Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection guidelines for general public exposure. The variation of the positions of the source and the child greatly influenced the exposure, resulting in quartile coefficient of dispersion values always higher than 65%. The WLAN source positions, among all the possible ones, that minimize the exposure of the child staying in the rectangular room were found to be on the sides of the smaller wall of the room.

This addressed the problem of regulating uncertain risks in the scientific context (‘known unknowns’ and ‘unknown unknowns’) and social (including economic and political) context. A comparative study of mobile phone base station deployment was conducted in 5 European countries- France, UK, Belgium, Switzerland and Spain. The countries have not taken similar decisions in regard RF exposure and their regulatory measures have not eliminated controversy. It was found that: - The countries did not share a similar assessment of base station risks - In most countries an intermediate level of government exerted pressure on the central government - Mobile phone operators exerted pressure on the central government. These elements explained the differences in regulatory measures but two other issues had an effect (inflaming or calming) – local charters to apply stricter rules and the ability to take matters to court. In the end it is action and interaction between five stakeholders that hold the key, namely central government, scientific experts, operators, local authorities and the courts. In countries where controversy is greatest there is also the greatest instability and inconsistency between the five agents. Four short presentations that address policy options based on the concept of precaution were outlined, showing the diversity of measures that are being taken around the world. [premier paragraphe]