Assessment of Output Radiation Density of Cell Phone for Epidemiological Studies: A Pilot Study in Navi Mumbai

Abstract

In this research, the cell phone radiation output density of 167 different cell phone users has been systematically measured across various scenarios: (i) when no multimedia services were activated, (ii) when all multimedia services were activated (such as WhatsApp, Messenger, Viber, Skype, etc.), (iii) during calls without multimedia services, and (iv) during calls with all multimedia services activated. Through rigorous statistical analysis, the means for each of these four categories were computed. A notable finding is that the radiation output density from cell phones is at its highest during calls with all multimedia services activated (means 11.87 mW/m2 for 167 cell phones), whereas during calls with no multimedia services active, mean values are found 7.743 mW/m2. To establish a correlation between the quality of the signal received from the cell phone tower and the radiated power from the cell phone during calls, the output radiation from cell phones was also assessed using the Trifield Electromagnetic field (EMF) meter model (TF2) at different signal quality levels emitted by the towers. These signal quality levels were quantified by measuring Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP), Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ), and Received Signal Signal-to-Interference-plus-Noise Ratio (RSSINR). It was observed that the cell phone's radiated power was at its lowest (means 9.428 mW/m2 for 41 cell phones) when the received signal quality was excellent (RSRP: –70.84 dBm; RSRQ: –12.06 Db; RSSINR: 12.6 dB). Conversely, in areas with the worst received signal quality (RSRP: –82.86 dBm; RSRQ: –17.034 dB; RSSINR: 8.1774 dB), the output radiated power density from cell phones during calls (all multimedia services activated) was recorded at its highest (means 18.336 mW/m2 for 56 cell phones). Furthermore, the study revealed an inverse correlation between the radiated output power density of cell phones (167) and the quality of the received signal (RSRPr: –0.18456; RSRQr: –0.35026; RSSINRr: –0.6448). This implies that the cell phone's radiated power density is directly influenced by the quality of the received signal from cell phone tower (specifically, its electromagnetic field strength) and the activation of various multimedia services. These findings contribute to improving the indicators of radiofrequency (RF) exposure for use in epidemiological studies. The results highlight that output power density of cell phone increases as the signal level from the cell phone tower decreases. Thus, we can affirm that a low-quality cell phone tower signal during calls leads to increased output radiation of cell phone, consequently resulting in a higher incidence of epidemiological problems.

Keywords: epidemiologist, RF radiation, RSRP and RSRQ, power density