It is crucial to monitor the levels of Non-Ionizing Radiation (NIR) to which the general population may be exposed and compare them to the limits defined in the current standards, in view of the rapid rise of communication services and the prospects of a connected society. A high number of people visits shopping malls and since these locations usually have several indoor antennas close to the public, it is therefore a kind of place that must be evaluated. Thus, this work presents measurements of the electric field in a shopping mall located in Natal, Brazil. We proposed a set of six measurement points, following two criteria: places with great the flow of people and the presence of one or more Distributed Antenna System (DAS), co-sited or not with WiFi access points. Results are presented and discussed in terms of the distance to DAS (conditions: near and far) and flow density of people in the mall (scenarios: low and high number of people). The highest peaks of electric field measured were 1.96 and 3.26 V/m, respectively corresponding to 5% and 8% of the limits defined by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) and the Brazilian National Telecommunication Agency (ANATEL).

While the amount of telecommunications services grows rapidly in the whole world, humans get potentially more exposed to Non-Ionizing Radiation (NIR) from a number of different sources. Measurements of NIR levels are relevant in order to compare the results with national and international standards, aiming at the preservation of human health. Thus, it is of great interest to explore a variety of topics regarding this subject. Based on this need, this paper has a number of goals, including monitoring radiation levels in an everyday situation, an investigation of how national and international regulations organs address NIR levels and a demonstration of scientific production trends regarding this topic. The work also presents a bibliometric study about the main scientific productions and trends related to NIR measurements, with focus on the field of Telecommunications. The analysis is based on the databases of Web of Science (WOS) and Scopus, computing publications in the last 10 and 3 years, showing a trend evaluation. Among the main results from this exploratory investigation, there is an exponential growth in the number of publications about NIR, ranging from research in physics to medicine. The way research contribution in different countries is also shown, in order to support the relevance of the topic in defining new tendencies for new investigations. Furthermore, the NIR exposure limits and measurement criteria are presented both in Brazilian and in international norms, demonstrating how different national regulations can be when compared to international guidelines. Another contribution is a case study in Natal, Brazil, where NIR levels were monitored in four distinct locations over a period of 24 hours each and compared to the current regulations. The result is a quantitative analysis of the amount of radiation that some populations might be exposed to in distinct moments of the day. Measurements were carried out in the proximity of an antenna spot, since it could represent a source of high NIR levels (a worst case of human exposure). This campaign differs from older studies by including a more intense usage of microwaves frequencies due to operating 4G and pre-5G systems in Brazil. Finally, a statistical study involving the measurements is conducted, concluding the analysis of how some population groups might be affected by NIR.

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.

This paper extends a previously published proposed approach for estimating worst-case exposure scenarios in buildings using publicly available Base Station (BS) parameters, applying it to a critical case involving a multi-operator shared site. Radiofrequency Electromagnetic Fields (RF-EMF) exposure was assessed on every floor of a 20-story building facing the site, revealing significantly higher levels near the center of the antennas’ estimated vertical zone of interest, with a peak of 31.86 V/m, 23.95 times higher than the street-level peak value. However, due to uncertainties in the input parameters, measurements across all locations within the zone of interest are required to accurately identify the floor of maximum exposure. The results demonstrate the usefulness of the proposed estimation approach and highlight the need for improved methods that consider BS antenna configurations and current technical information to ensure accurate assessments of exposure to RF-EMF.