The recent years have seen a massive diffusion of man-made electromagnetic field (EMF) sources working at several frequencies, primarily thanks to the current technological innovations and the drastic changes in working and social habits. This trend seems not to stop, on the contrary, the recent deployment of 5th generation mobile networks has caused even more the diffusion of new devices and new infrastructures based on wireless communications. Although this process is relentless, it is also causing an ever-increasing public concern about the health effects due to EMF exposure. This has induced the main International Organizations for health protection to encourage the scientific community to focus on broaden the knowledge about the human EMF exposure assessment. This includes also the necessity to investigate new methods for the quantification of the exposure variability in real environments. In the light of above, this dissertation aims to further expand the knowledge about human EMF exposure assessment at Low Frequency (LF) and Radio Frequency (RF) ranges, with a particular focus on the more susceptible category to EMF exposure, i.e. the children’s category. Furthermore, in this dissertation the use of innovative stochastic approaches coupled with the deterministic computational methods will be deeply investigated, in order to assess the variability of EMF exposure in real environments, not limiting the analysis only on worst-case exposure scenarios. In details the various Chapters will address: 1. the LF-EMF exposure characterization in children using a new stochastic approach developed starting from personal exposure measurements; 2. the LF-EMF exposure variability in children considering electric domestic appliances as EMF sources and using an approach based on stochastic dosimetry, called Polynomial Chaos theory (PC); 3. the RF-EMF exposure assessment in adults and children considering the technology innovations due to the deployment of 5G networks through deterministic computational methods; 4. the RF-EMF exposure variability in children considering the incoming 5G exposure scenarios using an innovative approach based on stochastic dosimetry, called Polynomial Chaos Kriging method. The results showed, at both low frequency and high frequency ranges, exposure values significantly lower than the limits indicated by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP). Furthermore, more interestingly, the effectiveness and validity of different stochastic approaches were demonstrated. Indeed, stochastic dosimetry seems more and more a promising tool to broaden in future the knowledge on EMF exposure assessment, taking into account the increasing variability and heterogeneity that characterize the real world.
Negli ultimi anni si è assistito ad una massiccia diffusione di sorgenti di campi elettromagnetici (EMF) artificiali operanti a più frequenze, principalmente a causa delle innovazioni tecnologiche e ai drastici cambiamenti nelle abitudini lavorative e sociali. Questa tendenza sembra non fermarsi, anzi, il recente dispiegamento di reti mobili di quinta generazione ha provocato ancor di più la diffusione di nuovi dispositivi e nuove infrastrutture basate su comunicazioni wireless. Sebbene questo processo sia inarrestabile, sta anche causando una crescente preoccupazione pubblica per gli effetti sulla salute dovuti all'esposizione ai campi elettromagnetici. Ciò ha indotto le principali organizzazioni internazionali per la protezione della salute a incoraggiare la comunità scientifica a approfondire ulteriormente la tematica della valutazione dell'esposizione umana ai campi elettromagnetici. Ciò include anche la necessità di studiare nuovi metodi per la quantificazione della variabilità dell'esposizione in ambienti reali. Alla luce di quanto riportato, questa tesi mira ad ampliare ulteriormente le conoscenze sulla valutazione dell'esposizione umana ai campi elettromagnetici a bassa frequenza (LF) e radiofrequenza (RF), con un focus particolare sulla categoria più suscettibile all'esposizione a campi elettromagnetici, ovvero la categoria dei bambini . Inoltre, in questa tesi sarà approfondito l'uso di approcci stocastici innovativi abbinati a metodi computazionali deterministici, al fine di valutare la variabilità dell'esposizione a campi elettromagnetici in ambienti reali, non limitando l'analisi solo a scenari di esposizione peggiori. Nel dettaglio i vari Capitoli tratteranno: 1. la caratterizzazione dell'esposizione LF-EMF nei bambini utilizzando un nuovo approccio stocastico sviluppato a partire da misurazioni personali di esposizione; 2. la variabilità dell'esposizione LF-EMF nei bambini considerando gli elettrodomestici come sorgenti di campo vicino e utilizzando un approccio basato sulla dosimetria stocastica, chiamato teoria del caos polinomiale (PC); 3. la valutazione dell'esposizione RF-EMF in adulti e bambini considerando le innovazioni tecnologiche dovute all'implementazione di reti 5G attraverso metodi computazionali deterministici; 4. la variabilità dell'esposizione RF-EMF nei bambini considerando i nuove scenari di esposizione 5G utilizzando un approccio innovativo basato sulla dosimetria stocastica, chiamato metodo Polynomial Chaos Kriging. I risultati hanno mostrato, sia alle basse frequenze che alle alte frequenze, valori di esposizione significativamente inferiori ai limiti indicati dalla Commissione Internazionale per la Protezione dalle Radiazioni Non Ionizzanti (ICNIRP). Inoltre, cosa più interessante, sono state dimostrate l'efficacia e la validità di diversi approcci stocastici. Infatti, la dosimetria stocastica sembra sempre più rappresentare uno strumento promettente per ampliare in futuro le conoscenze sulla valutazione dell'esposizione a campi elettromagnetici, tenendo conto della crescente variabilità ed eterogeneità che caratterizzano il mondo reale.
From low frequency to radio frequency: assessment of human exposure to electromagnetic fields by deterministic and stochastic methods in new and highly variable realistic exposure scenarios
Bonato, Marta
2020/2021
Abstract
The recent years have seen a massive diffusion of man-made electromagnetic field (EMF) sources working at several frequencies, primarily thanks to the current technological innovations and the drastic changes in working and social habits. This trend seems not to stop, on the contrary, the recent deployment of 5th generation mobile networks has caused even more the diffusion of new devices and new infrastructures based on wireless communications. Although this process is relentless, it is also causing an ever-increasing public concern about the health effects due to EMF exposure. This has induced the main International Organizations for health protection to encourage the scientific community to focus on broaden the knowledge about the human EMF exposure assessment. This includes also the necessity to investigate new methods for the quantification of the exposure variability in real environments. In the light of above, this dissertation aims to further expand the knowledge about human EMF exposure assessment at Low Frequency (LF) and Radio Frequency (RF) ranges, with a particular focus on the more susceptible category to EMF exposure, i.e. the children’s category. Furthermore, in this dissertation the use of innovative stochastic approaches coupled with the deterministic computational methods will be deeply investigated, in order to assess the variability of EMF exposure in real environments, not limiting the analysis only on worst-case exposure scenarios. In details the various Chapters will address: 1. the LF-EMF exposure characterization in children using a new stochastic approach developed starting from personal exposure measurements; 2. the LF-EMF exposure variability in children considering electric domestic appliances as EMF sources and using an approach based on stochastic dosimetry, called Polynomial Chaos theory (PC); 3. the RF-EMF exposure assessment in adults and children considering the technology innovations due to the deployment of 5G networks through deterministic computational methods; 4. the RF-EMF exposure variability in children considering the incoming 5G exposure scenarios using an innovative approach based on stochastic dosimetry, called Polynomial Chaos Kriging method. The results showed, at both low frequency and high frequency ranges, exposure values significantly lower than the limits indicated by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP). Furthermore, more interestingly, the effectiveness and validity of different stochastic approaches were demonstrated. Indeed, stochastic dosimetry seems more and more a promising tool to broaden in future the knowledge on EMF exposure assessment, taking into account the increasing variability and heterogeneity that characterize the real world.| File | Dimensione | Formato | |
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https://hdl.handle.net/10589/177096