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Between‐country comparison of whole‐body SAR from personal exposure data in Urban areas
Author(s) -
Joseph Wout,
Frei Patrizia,
Röösli Martin,
Vermeeren Günter,
Bolte John,
Thuróczy György,
Gajšek Peter,
Trček Tomaž,
Mohler Evelyn,
Juhász Péter,
Finta Viktoria,
Martens Luc
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
bioelectromagnetics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.435
H-Index - 81
eISSN - 1521-186X
pISSN - 0197-8462
DOI - 10.1002/bem.21737
Subject(s) - bioelectromagnetics , non ionizing radiation , specific absorption rate , absorption (acoustics) , environmental science , geography , demography , telecommunications , physics , electromagnetic field , optics , engineering , quantum mechanics , sociology , antenna (radio)
In five countries (Belgium, Switzerland, Slovenia, Hungary, and the Netherlands), personal radio frequency electromagnetic field measurements were performed in different microenvironments such as homes, public transports, or outdoors using the same exposure meters. From the mean personal field exposure levels (excluding mobile phone exposure), whole‐body absorption values in a 1‐year‐old child and adult male model were calculated using a statistical multipath exposure method and compared for the five countries. All mean absorptions (maximal total absorption of 3.4 µW/kg for the child and 1.8 µW/kg for the adult) were well below the International Commission on Non‐Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) basic restriction of 0.08 W/kg for the general public. Generally, incident field exposure levels were well correlated with whole‐body absorptions (SAR wb ), although the type of microenvironment, frequency of the signals, and dimensions of the considered phantom modify the relationship between these exposure measures. Exposure to the television and Digital Audio Broadcasting band caused relatively higher SAR wb values (up to 65%) for the 1‐year‐old child than signals at higher frequencies due to the body size‐dependent absorption rates. Frequency Modulation (FM) caused relatively higher absorptions (up to 80%) in the adult male. Bioelectromagnetics 33:682–694, 2012. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.