TY - JOUR
T1 - Extremely low-frequency magnetic fields exposure measurement during lessons in elementary schools
AU - Park, Jinkyung
AU - Jeong, Eunhye
AU - Seomun, Gyeongae
N1 - Funding Information:
Funding: This research was supported by Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Education (grant number: 2018R1D1A1B07051103).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
PY - 2020/8/1
Y1 - 2020/8/1
N2 - Schools are an important place for children’s exposure to electromagnetic fields, which may cause adverse health effects. To better understand environmental extremely low-frequency magnetic fields (ELF-MFs) exposure among elementary school students, we measured numeric values of ELF-MFs in five classrooms at four schools during digital learning class hours. The measurement of ELF-MFs was taken with an EMDEX II field analyzer. Specifically, we examined the level of exposure to ELF-MFs for each student’s seating position in the classroom. The results showed that ELF-MFs exposure levels were lower than those in the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection guidelines; however, there were significant differences in the level of magnetic field exposure at each school and at each student’s seat. The exposure to ELF-MFs at students’ seat positions was mostly caused by electrical appliances, electronic wiring, and distribution boxes, but the exposure level decreased as the distance increased. Therefore, it is important to design safe and appropriate environments for digital learning in schools, such as proper seating arrangements, to avoid ELF-MFs exposure to students as much as possible. Future studies should measure ELF-MFs levels in other areas and investigate the effects of exposure to ELF-MFs during school hours on children’s health.
AB - Schools are an important place for children’s exposure to electromagnetic fields, which may cause adverse health effects. To better understand environmental extremely low-frequency magnetic fields (ELF-MFs) exposure among elementary school students, we measured numeric values of ELF-MFs in five classrooms at four schools during digital learning class hours. The measurement of ELF-MFs was taken with an EMDEX II field analyzer. Specifically, we examined the level of exposure to ELF-MFs for each student’s seating position in the classroom. The results showed that ELF-MFs exposure levels were lower than those in the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection guidelines; however, there were significant differences in the level of magnetic field exposure at each school and at each student’s seat. The exposure to ELF-MFs at students’ seat positions was mostly caused by electrical appliances, electronic wiring, and distribution boxes, but the exposure level decreased as the distance increased. Therefore, it is important to design safe and appropriate environments for digital learning in schools, such as proper seating arrangements, to avoid ELF-MFs exposure to students as much as possible. Future studies should measure ELF-MFs levels in other areas and investigate the effects of exposure to ELF-MFs during school hours on children’s health.
KW - Exposure level
KW - Extremely low-frequency magnetic fields
KW - Measurement
KW - School
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85088287798&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3390/ijerph17155284
DO - 10.3390/ijerph17155284
M3 - Article
C2 - 32707979
AN - SCOPUS:85088287798
VL - 17
SP - 1
EP - 13
JO - International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
JF - International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
SN - 1661-7827
IS - 15
M1 - 5284
ER -