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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. To study if installing temporary antennae for large events, and high concentrations of mobile phones, modify the exposure pattern compared to usual situations. 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. 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. 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. • Telephone companies install temporary base stations during special events. • Temporal base stations modify the exposure pattern of these areas or populations. • Personal RF-EMF exposure at the 2017 Albacete Fair (Spain) was recorded. • A significant increase in personal RF-EMF exposure was determined. • Recorded measurements were below legally established limits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the last decades, exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF) has substantially increased as new wireless technologies have been introduced. Society has become more concerned about the possible effects of RF-EMF on human health in parallel to the increase in their exposure. The appearance of personal exposimeters opens up wide-ranging research possibilities. Despite studies having characterised personal exposure to RF-EMF, part of the population is still worried, to the extent that psychogenic diseases ("nocebo" effect) appear, and patients suffer. It could be interesting to share personal exposure results with the population to better understand and promote public health. The main objective was to characterise personal exposure to environmental RF-EMF in Albacete (166,000 inhabitants, SE Spain), and assess the effect of sharing the results of the study on participants' risk perception. Measurements were taken by a personal Satimo EME SPY 140 exposimeter, which was programmed every 10 s for 24 h. To measure personal exposure to RF-EMF, we worked with 75 volunteers. Their personal exposure, 14 microenvironments in the city, e.g., home, outdoors, work, etc., and possible time differences were analysed. After participating in the study, 35 participants completed a questionnaire about their RF-EMF risk perception, which was also answered by a control sample to compare the results (N = 36). The total average exposure of 14 bands was 37.7 μW/m2, and individual ranges fell between 0.2 μW/m2, recorded in TV4&5, and a maximum of 264.7 μW/m2 in DECT. For Friday, we recorded a mean of 53.9 μW/m2 as opposed to 23.4 μW/m2 obtained on Saturday. The recorded night-time value was 27.5 μW/m2 versus 43.8 μW/m2 recorded in the daytime. The mean personal exposure value also showed differences between weekdays and weekend days, with 39.7 μW/m2 and 26.9 μW/m2, respectively. The main source that contributed to the mean total personal exposure was enhanced cordless telecommunications (DECT) with 50.2%, followed by mobile phones with 18.4% and mobile stations with 11.0% (GSM, DCS and UMTS), while WiFi signals gave 12.5%. In the analysed microenvironments, the mean exposure of homes and workplaces was 34.3 μW/m2 and 55.2 μW/m2, respectively. Outdoors, the mean value was 34.2 μW/m2 and the main sources were DECT, WiFi and mobile phone stations, depending on the place. The risk perception analysis found that 54% of the participants perceived that RF-EMF were less dangerous than before participating in the study, while 43% reported no change in their perceptions. Only 9% of the volunteers who received information about their measurements after the study assessed the possible RF-EMF risk with a value over or equal to 4 (on a scale from 1 to 5) versus 39% of the non-participant controls. We conclude that personal exposure to RF-EMF fell well below the limits recommended by ICNIRP and showed wide temporal and spatial variability. The main exposure sources were DECT, followed by mobile phones and WiFi. Sharing exposure results with participants lowered their risk perception. • RF-EMF exposure was measured in Albacete (Spain) using personal exposimeters. • A description of personal exposure is provided in temporary and spatial terms. • Levels of personal exposure were extremely low compared to regulatory limits. • Volunteers were informed about the results. • Access to the results could help reduce the population's risk perception. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]