Speaker
Description
Background: Assessing occupational exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF) in epidemiological studies is challenging due to spatial and temporal variability. An RF-EMF job-exposure matrix (JEM) was developed using self-reported occupational histories from the INTEROCC study and historical spot measurements from literature. To assess validity and precision of the JEM’s estimates, a measurement campaign of personal full-shift RF-EMF was conducted in Spain and France. Methods: Personal full-shift RF-EMF exposures were measured using 10 Narda RadMan 2XT devices on workers who volunteered to maintain diaries to document their occupational sources of RF-exposures. Personal measurement data collected were compared to the INTEROCC RF-JEM estimates in the same occupation using weighted kappa (kw) coefficients and Spearman rank correlations of exposure level and prevalence of exposure across 22 jobs with 5 or more measured workers. Results: Exposure of 333 workers was measured within 46 ISCO88 occupations. Over 99% of the measurements were below 1% of the 1998 ICNIRP occupational standards. However, 50.2% and 77.2% of workers recorded at least one instance of electric and/or magnetic field above this limit. Analyses revealed poor agreement between INTEROCC RF-JEM estimates and personal full-shift measurements (kw < 0.1). The RF-JEM overestimated exposure level by more than 194% on average. Discussion: The INTEROCC RF-JEM seems to consistently overestimate full-shift exposure to RF-EMF, possibly reflecting changes over time in workplace conditions and exposures. Conclusion: Collection of more shift-long RF-measurements is needed to refine the RF-JEM for current-day exposures. Until further validation, its use should be complemented with contemporary measurement data.
