title: Assessment of personal exposure from radiofrequency-electromagnetic fields in Australia and Belgium using on-body calibrated exposimeters.
abstract: The purposes of this study were: i) to demonstrate the assessment of personal exposure from various RF-EMF sources across different microenvironments in Australia and Belgium, with two on-body calibrated exposimeters, in contrast to earlier studies which employed single, non-on-body calibrated exposimeters; ii) to systematically evaluate the performance of the exposimeters using (on-body) calibration and cross-talk measurements; and iii) to compare the exposure levels measured for one site in each of several selected microenvironments in the two countries. A human subject took part in an on-body calibration of the exposimeter in an anechoic chamber. The same subject collected data on personal exposures across 38 microenvironments (19 in each country) situated in urban, suburban and rural regions. Median personal RF-EMF exposures were estimated: i) of all microenvironments, and ii) across each microenvironment, in two countries. The exposures were then compared across similar microenvironments in two countries (17 in each country). The three highest median total exposure levels were: city center (4.33V/m), residential outdoor (urban) (0.75V/m), and a park (0.75V/m) [Australia]; and a tram station (1.95V/m), city center (0.95V/m), and a park (0.90V/m) [Belgium]. The exposures across nine microenvironments in Melbourne, Australia were lower than the exposures across corresponding microenvironments in Ghent, Belgium (p<0.05). The personal exposures across urban microenvironments were higher than those for rural or suburban microenvironments. Similarly, the exposure levels across outdoor microenvironments were higher than those for indoor microenvironments.
authors: Centre for Population Health Research on Electromagnetic Energy (PRESEE), School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, The Alfred Centre, 99 Commercial Road, Victoria 3004, Melbourne, Australia. Electronic address: chhavi.bhatt@monash.edu.
authors: Chhavi Raj
authors: CR
authors: Bhatt
authors: Department of Information Technology, Ghent University/iMinds, Technologiepark - Zwijnaarde 15, Ghent B-9052, Belgium. Electronic address: Arno.Thielens@intec.ugent.be.
authors: Arno
authors: A
authors: Thielens
authors: Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, The Alfred Centre, 99 Commercial Road, Victoria 3004, Melbourne, Australia. Electronic address: Baki.Billah@monash.edu.
authors: Baki
authors: B
authors: Billah
authors: Centre for Population Health Research on Electromagnetic Energy (PRESEE), School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, The Alfred Centre, 99 Commercial Road, Victoria 3004, Melbourne, Australia. Electronic address: mary.redmayne@monash.edu.
authors: Mary
authors: M
authors: Redmayne
authors: Centre for Population Health Research on Electromagnetic Energy (PRESEE), School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, The Alfred Centre, 99 Commercial Road, Victoria 3004, Melbourne, Australia. Electronic address: michael.abramson@monash.edu.
authors: Michael J
authors: MJ
authors: Abramson
authors: Centre for Population Health Research on Electromagnetic Energy (PRESEE), School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, The Alfred Centre, 99 Commercial Road, Victoria 3004, Melbourne, Australia. Electronic address: malcolm.sim@monash.edu.
authors: Malcolm R
authors: MR
authors: Sim
authors: Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences (IRAS), Division Environmental Epidemiology, Utrecht University, Yalelaan 2, 3584 CM Utrecht, The Netherlands; Julius Centre for Health Sciences and Primary Care, University Medical Center, Utrecht, The Netherlands; Imperial College, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, London, United Kingdom. Electronic address: R.C.H.Vermeulen@uu.nl.
authors: Roel
authors: R
authors: Vermeulen
authors: Department of Information Technology, Ghent University/iMinds, Technologiepark - Zwijnaarde 15, Ghent B-9052, Belgium. Electronic address: luc.martens@intec.ugent.be.
authors: Luc
authors: L
authors: Martens
authors: Department of Information Technology, Ghent University/iMinds, Technologiepark - Zwijnaarde 15, Ghent B-9052, Belgium. Electronic address: wout.joseph@intec.ugent.be.
authors: Wout
authors: W
authors: Joseph
authors: Centre for Population Health Research on Electromagnetic Energy (PRESEE), School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, The Alfred Centre, 99 Commercial Road, Victoria 3004, Melbourne, Australia. Electronic address: geza.benke@monash.edu.
authors: Geza
authors: G
authors: Benke
mesh_terms: D001315:Australia; D001530:Belgium; D004574:Electromagnetic Fields; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000295:instrumentation*; D006801:Humans; D011846:Radio Waves
keywords: Exposimeter; Far-field radiofrequency-electromagnetic exposure; Microenvironment; On-body calibration; Personal exposure