GOLIAT developed and applied a new protocol for measuring exposure to mobile phone radiation, specifically 5G. Researchers measured radiofrequency electromagnetic field (RF-EMF) levels in three different scenarios: when the mobile device was in airplane mode (non-users), and when the mobile phone was being used intensively, downloading or uploading data.
The study was conducted in Switzerland, one of the first European countries to roll out 5G networks on a large scale. The results have now been published in Environmental Research and provide relevant data for epidemiological research, risk management, and risk communication.
A total of more than 30.000 data points were analyzed. When using a mobile phone in airplane mode, RF EMF exposure comes primarily from mobile phone base stations. The researchers found that exposure increases with increasing population density. The average for rural villages was 0,17 milliwatts per square meter (mW/m²), while the average for cities was 0,33 mW/m² for Basel and 0,48 mW/m² for Zurich. "The highest values were found in urban business districts and on public transport, which were still more than XNUMX times below international guidelines," says Martin Röösli, researcher at Swiss TPH and lead author of the study.
In the scenario where maximum data download was triggered (the researcher's phone was set to download large files), radiation increased significantly, averaging 6-7 mW/m². The authors attribute this increase in part to beamforming, a technology associated with 5G base stations that directs signals more efficiently to the user, resulting in higher exposure levels during data downloads. Exposure was higher overall in the two cities, likely due to the higher number of 5G base stations.
Finally, the scenario with the highest RF EMF levels was observed in the maximum data upload scenario, where the researcher's mobile phone was set to continuously upload large files. The average exposure was around 16 mW/m² in the cities and almost twice as high (29 mW/m²) in the villages. In this scenario, the largest source of radiation was the phone transmitting the data, and the exposure was significantly higher in the villages due to the lower density of base stations, which reduces signal quality and forces devices to consume more power to send data.
"In summary, this study shows that environmental pollution is lower when the density of base stations is low. However, in such a situation, mobile phone emissions are many times higher," says Adriana Fernandes Veludo. "This has the paradoxical consequence that a typical mobile phone user is more exposed to RF EMF in areas with low base station density."
This is the first study of its kind to provide meaningful data on 5G levels in the environment and from the user's phone. The measurements will now be conducted twice in nine additional European countries within three years, allowing potential changes in population exposure to be monitored as 3G rolls out.
reference
Veludo, AF, Stroobandt, B., Van Bladel, H., Sandoval-Diez, N., Guxens M., Joseph, W., Röösli, M., Investigation of HF-EMF values in Swiss microenvironments: An assessment of environmental and car-related downlink and uplink exposure in the age of 5G, Environmental Research, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2024.120550 .
