The association between exposure determined by radiofrequency personal exposimeters and human exposure: a simulation study.

The selection of an adequate exposure assessment approach is imperative for the quality of epidemiological studies. The use of personal exposimeters turned out to be a reasonable approach to determine exposure profiles, however, certain limitations regarding the absolute values delivered by the devices have to be considered. Apart from the limited dynamic range, it has to be taken into account that these devices give only an approximation of the exposure due to the influence of the body of the person carrying the exposimeter, the receiver characteristics of the exposimeter, as well as the dependence of the measured value on frequency band, channel, slot configuration, and communication traffic.

The relation between the specific absorption rate and electromagnetic field intensity for heterogeneous exposure conditions at mobile communications frequencies.

The relation between the incident electromagnetic field strength and both the whole-body and the local specific absorption rate (SAR) was investigated for typical heterogeneous exposure scenarios for frequencies relevant for mobile communication. The results were compared to results from plane wave exposure. Heterogeneous exposure arises from multiple path propagation of the electromagnetic waves to the location of interest.