Comparative Study of Radiofrequency Electromagnetic Exposure in the Public Shopping Centers

The exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF) in the public environment is continuously evolving due to the new communication infrastructure and new wireless consumer devices (smart metering, 4th generation networks, small-scale wireless sensors, monitoring and access networks). This work presents measuring of RF-EMF exposure in two different malls, one in Warszawa and other in Madrid, in two different periods of the years: first, during the days when the malls were crowded, and second, when the malls were almost empty. Frequency-selective exposimeters were used to evaluate components of exposure to RF-EMF. It was found that locally in the crowded public space the uplink mobile component of exposure (from handsets to base stations) and wide-band internet access may be more significant than other exposure components. It needs attention in the context of safety of vulnerable population, such as medical implants or tele-medicine users - mentioned local hot spots of elevated exposure may influence function of medical electronic devices.