EVALUATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF FETAL EXPOSURES TO LOW FREQUENCY MAGNETIC FIELDS GENERATED BY LAPTOP COMPUTERS

NICOLA ZOPPETTI (1) DANIELE ANDREUCCETTI (1) CARLO BELLIENI (2) ANDREA BOGI (3) IOLE PINTO (3)
(1) Cnr - Institute of Applied Physics (IFAC-CNR) Via Madonna del Piano 10, (50019) Sesto Fiorentino (FI), Italy 2 ( ) Department of Paediatrics, Obstetrics and Reproduction Medicine University of Siena Siena, Italy 3 ( ) ASL 7 - Prevention Department Physical Agents Laboratory, Siena, Italy
International Conference on Non-Ionizing Radiation and Children's Health 18 - 20 May 2011, Ljubljana, Slovenia

Introduction
USL7-Siena and IFAC-CNR are cooperating in a project aimed at assessing the exposure to electromagnetic fields in occupational environment. One of the objective of the project is to create and populate a Database, called Physical Agent Portal (PAF), in which the main sources of occupational exposures are represented. This Database is intended to be used as source for risk assessment procedures that Italian employers are obliged to carry on since January the 1st 2009 also for EMF. Pregnant workers were identified as a category to which dedicate particular attention. In particular, in the frame of the project two sources, both of low frequency magnetic field, were considered to which pregnant can be exposed: industrial sewing machines and laptop in office and domestic environment.

International Conference on Non-Ionizing Radiation and Children's Health 18 - 20 May 2011, Ljubljana, Slovenia

Introduction and summary

Especially in domestic environment laptop computers can be used in tight contact with body, and womb in particular, for pregnant women. Laptop computer (LPT) and their battery chargers (BTC) are sources of not negligible magnetic fields, with frequency contents that can vary considerably depending from the model and the considered zone of the device . In any case the magnetic field has complex (impulsive) waveform.
International Conference on Non-Ionizing Radiation and Children's Health 18 - 20 May 2011, Ljubljana, Slovenia

Introduction and Summary

Five models of LPC & BTC were considered and preliminary magnetic field measure were carried on to find, for each of them, the points characterized by the maximum field both under the laptop and close to the battery charger. The field was measured and acquired in those 5+5 points. The measured samples were elaborated to apply the weighted peak (WP) approach and to obtain a set of WP indexes that indicate exposure standard violation if value 1.0 is exceeded. This step entails the development of numerical filters that represent the inverse of the ICNIRP reference levels For the models of laptop and battery-charger that generate the higher WP indexes a worst case dosimetric analysis was carried supposing B field uniform in the volume occupied by the pregnant digital body model and equal to the field measured close to the device.
International Conference on Non-Ionizing Radiation and Children's Health 18 - 20 May 2011, Ljubljana, Slovenia

In this presentation ...

1. Measurement setup 2. Brief description of the implementation of numerical filters that represents the inverse of ICNIRP reference levels/basic restrictions (constrains). 3. Characteristics of the measured field are presented and in particular summary of the exposure indexes calculated for the 5 models of LPT and BTC. 4. Basics of a dosimetric method suitable to treat exposures to complex waveform (not sinusoidal) impressed fields with general polarization and that allows the assessment of the compliance with ICNIRP basic restrictions that vary with frequency avoiding the spectral decomposition of the problem (not convenient in case of several spectral components and in relation to the so called spectral leakage phenomenon). 5. Results of the dosimetric analysis referred to 1 LPC and 1 BTC.
International Conference on Non-Ionizing Radiation and Children's Health 18 - 20 May 2011, Ljubljana, Slovenia

(1) Measurement setup

True RMS

International Conference on Non-Ionizing Radiation and Children's Health 18 - 20 May 2011, Ljubljana, Slovenia

(1) Measurement setup

Agilent U2531A Narda-ELT400

Analog outputs
International Conference on Non-Ionizing Radiation and Children's Health 18 - 20 May 2011, Ljubljana, Slovenia

(2) Developement of numerical ICNIRP filters B98pop

s2 H c (s) = A f (s + a )(s + b ) Af = 1 6.25 10 6 2 a = 2 8 Hz b = 2 800 Hz

H d ( z) = A f K

1 (a1 + b1)z 1 + a1 b1 z 2
H
c

1 2 z 1 z 2

a1 = e j 2 aTc b1 = e j 2 bTc

( j 2 f n )
A
f

K =

1 (a 1 + b 1 )e

1 2 e

j 2 fnTc

j 4 f n Tc j 4 fnTc

j 2 f n Tc

+ a1 b1 e

International Conference on Non-Ionizing Radiation and Children's Health 18 - 20 May 2011, Ljubljana, Slovenia

(2) Analog vs Numerical

Percentage relative differences % (amplitude) % (phase) 0.0036 % 5.3 % 0.0213 % 21.6 % 0.13 % 100 %
The phase of the numerical filter is 0 at Fs/2 (Nyquist limit)

Fs/8 Fs/4 Fs/2

It is necessary to use a sampling frequency sufficiently higher than the highest significant component of the input spectrum (this can entail a preliminary acquisition at the maximum
sampling rate and a spectral analysis, when the characteristics of the measured field are not known before the measurement campaign)
International Conference on Non-Ionizing Radiation and Children's Health 18 - 20 May 2011, Ljubljana, Slovenia

(3) Considered LPC

ID A B C D E Model Acer Aspire 5920 Dell Inspiron 610M Dell Precision M4400 Sony Vaio vgnz41md Macbook Pro

Sampling frequencies: 200 kS/s/ch (LPC) 50 kS/s/ch (BTC)

International Conference on Non-Ionizing Radiation and Children's Health 18 - 20 May 2011, Ljubljana, Slovenia

(3) Characteristics of the measured B field (LPC)

A
LPC

B
LPC
International Conference on Non-Ionizing Radiation and Children's Health 18 - 20 May 2011, Ljubljana, Slovenia

(3) Characteristics of the measured B field (LPC)

C
LPC

D E
LPC LPC
International Conference on Non-Ionizing Radiation and Children's Health 18 - 20 May 2011, Ljubljana, Slovenia

(3) Characteristics of the measured B field (BTC)

A
BTC

B
BTC
International Conference on Non-Ionizing Radiation and Children's Health 18 - 20 May 2011, Ljubljana, Slovenia

(3) Characteristics of the measured B field (BTC)

C
BTC

BTC BTC
International Conference on Non-Ionizing Radiation and Children's Health 18 - 20 May 2011, Ljubljana, Slovenia

D E

(3) Exposure indexes calculated for the 5 models of LPT and BTC
1.7- 5.3 T

A B C D E

Bmax 2.113E-06 5.266E-06 2.876E-06 1.791E-06 2.493E-06

Brms 7.380E-07 9.314E-07 1.082E-06 5.470E-07 9.911E-07

LPC WP03max 0.2208 7.8 0.2328 7.9 0.1429 5.3 0.1413 5.6 0.1877 4.2

WP10max x 0.0423 x 0.0325 x 0.0150 x 0.0318 x 0.0416

0.7- 30 T

A B C D E

Bmax 3.019E-05 1.998E-05 1.049E-05 3.608E-06 6.866E-07

Brms 4.730E-06 2.735E-06 2.704E-06 1.297E-06 2.805E-07

BTC WP03max 1.7528 5.2 1.1174 7.2 0.8682 9.5 0.2918 4.4 0.0449 4.5

WP10max x 0.2248 x 0.1421 x 0.1651 x 0.0523 x 0.0107

International Conference on Non-Ionizing Radiation and Children's Health 18 - 20 May 2011, Ljubljana, Slovenia

(3) Exposure indexes calculated for the 5 models of LPT and BTC
1.7- 5.3 T

A B C D E

Bmax 2.113E-06 5.266E-06 2.876E-06 1.791E-06 2.493E-06

0.7- 30 T

Brms 7.380E-07 9.314E-07 1.082E-06 5.470E-07 9.911E-07

LPC WP03max 0.2208 7.8 0.2328 7.9 0.1429 5.3 0.1413 5.6 0.1877 4.2

WP10max x 0.0423 x 0.0325 x 0.0150 x 0.0318 x 0.0416

A B C D E

Bmax 3.019E-05 1.998E-05 1.049E-05 3.608E-06 6.866E-07

Brms 4.730E-06 2.735E-06 2.704E-06 1.297E-06 2.805E-07

BTC WP03max 1.7528 5.2 1.1174 7.2 0.8682 9.5 0.2918 4.4 0.0449 4.5

WP10max x 0.2248 x 0.1421 x 0.1651 x 0.0523 x 0.0107

International Conference on Non-Ionizing Radiation and Children's Health 18 - 20 May 2011, Ljubljana, Slovenia

(3) Exposure indexes calculated for the 5 models of LPT and BTC
0.1

Reference Levels B1.7pop. (1998-2010) 5.3 T

0.01

0.001 B [T]

Bmax Brms A 2.113E-06 7.380E-07 2010-B-pop B 5.266E-06 9.314E-07 1998-B-pop C 2.876E-06 1.082E-06 D 1.791E-06 5.470E-07 E 2x @50Hz 2.493E-06 9.911E-07
16x 30 T 0.7-

LPC WP03max 0.2208 7.8 0.2328 7.9 0.1429 5.3 0.1413 5.6 0.1877 4.2

WP10max x 0.0423 x 0.0325 x 0.0150 x 0.0318 x 0.0416

0.0001

1E-05

1E-06

A B C D E

Bmax 3.019E-05 1.998E-05 1.049E-05 3.608E-06 6.866E-07 f [Hz]

Brms 4.32x 4.730E-06 2.735E-06 2.704E-06 1.297E-06 2.805E-07

BTC WP03max 1.7528 5.2 1.1174 7.2 0.8682 9.5 0.2918 4.4 0.0449 4.5

WP10max x 0.2248 x 0.1421 x 0.1651 x 0.0523 x 0.0107

International Conference on Non-Ionizing Radiation and Children's Health 18 - 20 May 2011, Ljubljana, Slovenia

Selected LPC & BTC

A
LPC Complex/impulsive waveform Complex polarization (LPC) Almost linear polarization (BTC)

A
BTC
International Conference on Non-Ionizing Radiation and Children's Health 18 - 20 May 2011, Ljubljana, Slovenia

Selected LPCof &the BTC (4) Desired characteristics dosimetric method

LPC not to the space distribution of the field.

A Focusing the attention on the time evolution of the exposures and

Suitable to treat exposures to complex waveform (not sinusoidal) Complex/impulsive waveform impressed fields with general polarization. Complex polarization (LPC) Almost linear polarization (BTC) (not convenient Avoids the spectral decomposition of the problem in case of several spectral components and in relation to the so called spectral leakage phenomenon). BTC restrictions that vary with frequency

A Allows the assessment of the compliance with ICNIRP basic

International Conference on Non-Ionizing Radiation and Children's Health 18 - 20 May 2011, Ljubljana, Slovenia

(4) Weighted peak dosimetry at low frequencies with linearly polarized impressed field
B (r, t )
(linear polarization)
Separation space-time dependence (*1) Solution of a quasi static, space-dependent dosimetric problems

B(r ) f (t )
quasi-static conditions + Faraday law

E(r ) J (r )
Application of surface/volume average + RSS

J (r, t ) = J (r ) g (t ) E(r, t ) = E(r ) g (t )

df (t ) = g (t ) dt

Series of first order filters that represent the inverse of ICNIRP BR for J and Ein-situ

J (r )

WPJ (r, t ) = J (r ) J {g (t )} WPE (r , t ) = E(r ) E {g (t )}

E {g (t )} J {g (t )}

E(r )

International Conference on Non-Ionizing Radiation and Children's Health 18 - 20 May 2011, Ljubljana, Slovenia

(4) Weighted peak dosimetry at low frequencies with homogeneous impressed field
B(r , t )
Separation space-time dependence

(homogeneous field)

, y , z x

Bx (t ) + y B y (t ) + z Bz (t ) B (r , t ) = x

Bx (t ), B y (t ), Bz (t )
quasi-static conditions + Faraday law

Solution of three quasi static, spacedependent dosimetric problems

J (r , t ) = J i (r ) gi (t )
3 i =1 3

E1, 2,3 (r )
J1, 2,3 (r )

E(r , t ) = Ei (r ) gi (t )
i =1

dBx, y , z (t ) dt

= g1, 2,3 (t )

Application of surface/volume averages (**)

Averages applied separately on each cartesian component

Series of first order filters that represent the inverse of ICNIRP Guidelines for J and Ein-situ
Linearity of

3 3 3 WPJ (r, t ) = jix (r )J {gi (t )} + jiy (r )J {gi (t )} + jiy (r )J {gi (t )} i =1 i =1 i =1

International Conference on Non-Ionizing Radiation and Children's Health 18 - 20 May 2011, Ljubljana, Slovenia

Pregnant body model

Tomoaki Nagaoka, Toshihiro Togashi, Kazuyuki Saito, Masaharu Takahashi, Koichi Ito and Soichi Watanabe An anatomically realistic whole-body pregnant-woman model and specific absorption rates for pregnant-woman exposure to electromagnetic plane waves from 10 MHz to 2 GHz Physics in Medicine and Biology, Vol.52, pp.6731-6745, 2007 S.Gabriel, R.W.Lau and C.Gabriel The dielectric properties of biological tissues: III. Parametric models for the dielectric spectrum of tissues, Physics in Medicine and Biology, Vol.41, N.11, November 1996, pp.2271-2293. A. Christ, W. Kainz, E.G. Hahn, K. Honegger, M. Zefferer, E. Neufeld, W. Rascher, R. Janka, W. Bautz, J. Chen, B. Kiefer, P. Schmitt, H.-P. Hollenbach, J. Shen, M. Oberle, D. Szezerba, A. Kam, J.W. Guag, and N. Kuster. The Virtual Family Development of surface-based anatomical models of two adults and two children for dosimetric simulations. Physics in Medicine and Biology, 55 N23-N38, January 2010, online December 2009, http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/0031-9155/55/2/N01. R Cech , N Leitgeb and M Pediaditis Fetal exposure to low frequency electric and magnetic fields Physics in Medicine and Biology, Vol 32, N. 4, 2007

International Conference on Non-Ionizing Radiation and Children's Health 18 - 20 May 2011, Ljubljana, Slovenia

(5) Results (A, LPC)

Ein

WPJ

WPE

International Conference on Non-Ionizing Radiation and Children's Health 18 - 20 May 2011, Ljubljana, Slovenia

WPE in skin (A,LPC)

WP10=0.225
WPE-PNS battery charger TISSUE MAX 99%-ile 0.631 0.039

Skin

International Conference on Non-Ionizing Radiation and Children's Health 18 - 20 May 2011, Ljubljana, Slovenia

WPE in skin (MRI)

WP10=0.42
WPE-PNS battery charger TISSUE MAX 99%-ile 27.0413 5.32045

Skin

International Conference on Non-Ionizing Radiation and Children's Health 18 - 20 May 2011, Ljubljana, Slovenia

(5) Results (A, BTC)

38 x
5.2 x Tissue Brain Grey Matter Brain White Matter Cerebellum Pons Fetal Brain Fetal Eye Fetus (all the other) WP03 WP10 WPJ max 1.21 0.64 0.87 0.43 0.17 0.27 1.61 WPE CNS 99% 0.033 0.028 0.019 0.009 0.020 0.005 0.034
avg.

7.2 x

WPJ / WPE 37 23 47 47 8 55 47

1.75

0.225

In CNS and in the foetus the new guidelines allow exposures almost 40 times (intended as average) higher than the old ones

International Conference on Non-Ionizing Radiation and Children's Health 18 - 20 May 2011, Ljubljana, Slovenia

(5) Results (A, BTC)

5.2 x
Tissue Blood Bone Cortical Cartilage Cerebellum Fat Small Intestine Uterus Bone Cancellous Muscle Skin WP03 WP10

65 x
WPJ max 1.935 1.716 1.17 0.87 1.23 1.46 2.08 1.60 1.41 0.48 WPE PNS WPJ / WPE 99% 0.011 0.049 0.017 0.010 0.039 0.018 0.017 0.040 0.018 0.039 172 35 69 84 32 81 124 40 77

1.75

0.225

12

International Conference on Non-Ionizing Radiation and Children's Health 18 - 20 May 2011, Ljubljana, Slovenia

Conclusions and future developments

1. A possible approach to the evaluation of the complex waveform magnetic fields and the (complex waveform) induced quantities induced by them was presented. 2. Particular attention was focused on the calculation of the so called WPJ and WPE indexes that implement the WP approach for basic dosimetric quantities. 3. A possible problem was evidenced related with WPE index in skin and less refined body models (skin-skin contacts)

An extension of the presented dosimetric method was developed that allows to calculate the WPJ and WPE indexes starting from B field measurements, moving the same instrument in a set of fixed points disposed in convenient way.

International Conference on Non-Ionizing Radiation and Children's Health 18 - 20 May 2011, Ljubljana, Slovenia

Thank you for your attention

International Conference on Non-Ionizing Radiation and Children's Health 18 - 20 May 2011, Ljubljana, Slovenia