Measurement and Analysis of Non-Ionizing Radiation Levels in Residential Environments Emitted by Wi-Fi Routers

Authors

Keywords:

Non-Ionizing Radiation Measurement, Health, Radiofrequency Electromagnetic Field, Wi-Fi, ISM band

Abstract

Due to the low cost of broadband systems, there is a substantial growth in the indoor deployment of networks based on IEEE 802.11 standards, and their expressive insertion in domestic and labor environments. The proximity of those systems to the general population has been raising questions about the risks of exposure to the so-called non-ionizing radiation (NIR), since network equipment is radiofrequency electromagnetic field emitter. This work aims to measure and evaluate the levels of Non-Ionizing Radiation (NIR) by verifying the intensity of the NIR generated by the wireless network devices in residential environments. The ISM 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz frequencies used in Wi-Fi systems are the focus of this investigation. The measurements were conducted and analyzed according to Act No. 458 (January 2019) of the National Telecommunications Agency (ANATEL) and Law nº 11. 934 (May 2009). Measurements of electric field (EF, in V/m) are compared to the exposure limits for the general public, as established by Brazilian legislation. Thus, the highest measurement for EF peak value was 7.16 V/m, corresponding to a percentage of 11.74% of ANATEL limit.

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Author Biographies

Fernanda Galdino, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN), Natal, Brazil

Fernanda Galdino received a degree in Science and Technology from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN), Natal, Brazil, in 2017. She is also currently pursuing a diploma in Telecommunication Engineering at UFRN. 

Júlia Silva, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN), Natal, Brazil

Júlia da L. A. Silva received her B.S. degrees in Science & Technology and in Telecommunications Engineering from UFRN, in 2017 and 2020, respectively. She completed her professional MBA in Systems and Telecommunications Analysis at Escola Superior Aberta do Brasil (ESAB) in 2022. She is a Master's degree student in the Program in Electrical and Computer Engineering (PPgEEC) at UFRN. 

Gutembergue Silva, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN), Natal, Brazil

Gutembergue Soares da Silva holds a PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering (2015) from UFRN and a master’s degree in Electrical Engineering (1992) from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ). He is also graduated in Electrical Engineering (1975) and Economics (1983) from UFRN. He also has specialization degree in Telecommunications Engineering (1996) from the Federal University of Campina Grande (UFCG), Brazil. Between 1975 and 2002, he developed activities in planning, design, implementation and operation of telecommunications systems as an executive at TELERN-TELEBRAS, Brazil. Now, Dr. Gutembergue is a professor and a researcher at UFRN, Brazil. 

Fred Pinheiro, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN), Natal, Brazil

Fred Sizenando Rossiter Pinheiro holds a PhD degree in Health Sciences (2017), a master’s and a undergraduation degrees in electrical engineering (2006, 1975) from UFRN. He holds a specialization degree in Telecommunications Engineering (1996) from UFCG. As engineer at TELERN and TELEMAR (OI) (1975 to 2002), He was responsible for the deployment of microwave communication and telephony systems. He was responsible for implementing and managing the communications system that supported Pope John Paul II's visit to Natal, RN, Brazil, 1991. He took a specialization course in Rural Telecommunications Planning at the USTTI (United States Government Telecommunications Training Institute), Washington and Los Angeles, 1993. Nowadays, Dr. Fred is a professor and a researcher at UFRN. 

Marcio Rodrigues, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN), Natal, Brazil

Marcio E. C. Rodrigues has a BSc degree in Telecommunications Engineering from Fluminense Federal University (UFF, Brazil, year 1997) and MSc (year 2000) and PhD (year 2010) degrees in Electrical Engineering (Telecommunications) from Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio, Brazil), including one year of doctoral stay at ONERA (Toulouse/France, year 2008). In the private enterprise, he took part in projects and research in the field of radio propagation and wireless communications, for mobile operators, ANATEL and Petrobrás, among others. Since 2011, he is a professor at UFRN, having as research interest involving radio propagation, wireless channel modeling, besides Engineering teaching methodologies. 

Vicente Sousa, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN), Natal, Brazil

Vicente A. de Sousa Jr. received his B.S., M.S and Ph.D.  degrees in Electrical Engineer from the Federal University of Ceará (UFC), Fortaleza, CE, Brazil, in 2001,  2002  and  2009,  respectively.  Between 2001 and 2006, he developed solutions to UMTS/WLAN interworking for  UFC  and  Ericsson of  Brazil. Between 2006 and 2010, he contributed to WIMAX standardization and Nokia’s product as a researcher at the Institute of Technological Development (INdT). Dr.  Sousa is now a professor and the head of the GppCom Research Group at UFRN. He is contributing to 5G open RAN projects supported by Lenovo and to NIR measurements and evaluation projects supported by ANATEL Agency. 

Halysson Barbosa, Agência Nacional de Telecomunicações (ANATEL), Natal, Brazil

Halysson B. Mendonça received his M.S degree on ​​mobile communications in 2002. Since 2005, He is working as an engineer at the National Telecommunications Agency – ANATEL. He is responsible for the inspection of the technical rules of regulated companies. In 2011, Mr.  Mendonça concluded a specialization course in Telecommunications Regulation at INATEL, a multidisciplinary course, including technical, legal and other regulatory aspects.

Ricardo Silva, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN), Natal, Brazil

Ricardo Q. de F. H Silva received his B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering from UFRN in 2023 and has a technician degree in Electronics at the Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Rio Grande do Norte (2017). He is now pursuing a master’s degree and is a research fellow of GppCom Research Group, where is currently working with conception and analysis of features for Wi-Fi, LTE and NR networks using ns-3 simulator. Silva also was an intern at the ANATEL, where contributed to NIR evaluation projects.

Vitor Carvalho, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN), Natal, Brazil

Vitor F. C. de Carvalho received his bachelor's Degree in Electrical Engineering from UFRN in 2021. He is currently contributing to NIR evaluation projects supported by ANATEL Agency.

Lucas Medeiros, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN), Natal, Brazil

Lucas I. C. Medeiros received his B.S. degree in Telecommunications Engineering from UFRN in 2021. BSc. Medeiros is now pursuing a master’s degree and Researching with GppCom Research Group at UFRN. He is also contributing to 5G open RAN projects supported by Lenovo and to NIR evaluation projects supported by ANATEL Agency.

João Silva, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN), Natal, Brazil

João V. L. da Silva is now pursuing a BSc degree in Electrical Engineering at UFRN. He is a research fellow of GppCom Research Group at UFRN, where is currently working on measurements of NIR. He is also an intern at the National Telecommunications Agency. 

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Published

2023-12-21

How to Cite

Galdino, F., Silva, J., Silva, G., Pinheiro, F., Rodrigues, M., Sousa, V. ., Barbosa, H., Silva, R., Carvalho, V., Medeiros, L., & Silva, J. (2023). Measurement and Analysis of Non-Ionizing Radiation Levels in Residential Environments Emitted by Wi-Fi Routers. IEEE Latin America Transactions, 22(1), 31–38. Retrieved from https://latamt.ieeer9.org/index.php/transactions/article/view/8198

Issue

Vol. 22 No. 1 (2024): Ordinary Issue

Section

Computing