No levels of exposure greater than those recommended by the European Council were observed during this study.
The average levels of exposure of the general public in Europe to the electromagnetic fields (EMF) created by radiofrequencies (RF) are difficult to summarise, because they have been reported differently in different studies. Furthermore, a large number of the reported measurements have been very low, sometimes too low to be detected by the equipment used.
The objective of this article is to present an overview of the scientific literature about exposure to EMF RF in Europe and to qualify the levels of exposure of the European population.
A comparative analysis of the results of short and long term measurements of EMF RF in the EU has indicated that the average intensity of electrical fields was between 0.08 V/m and 1.8 V/m.
The vast majority of recorded intensities of electrical fields were, on average, less than 1 V/m.
It is estimated that less than 1 % were above 6 V/m and that less than 0.1 % were above 20 V/m No levels of exposure greater than those recommended by the European Council were observed during this study. Further, it was noted that the population’s levels of exposure to the signals emitted by television and radio masts were low because these transmitters are generally placed far from the people exposed and are very thinly spread. In addition, wireless communications technologies currently account for more than 60 % of the total exposure to RF, a figure that continues to rise.
According to the exposure assessment studies on Europe, three categories of exposure of the population (partial, variable and intermittent exposure of the body, low level, variable and intermittent total exposure of the body and continuous low level total exposure of the body) were considered by the authors to be appropriate for the assessment of any potential future risks.