ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Public Health
Sec. Radiation and Health
This article is part of the Research TopicNon-Ionizing Radiation: Impacts on Human Health from Exposures in Occupational SettingsView all 8 articles
Ambient RF-EMF exposure in surgical operating rooms from telecommunication antennas and Wi-Fi sources
Provisionally accepted
- 1Servicio de Salud de Castilla-La Mancha, Toledo, Spain
- 2Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Ciudad Real, Spain
- 3Regional Center for Biomedical Research, University of Castilla La Mancha, Albacete, Spain
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In recent years, many studies have characterized ambient exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF) in various environments. In hospitals, operating rooms accommodate many professionals for extended periods, often with waiting times during which mobile devices connected to wireless networks are used. These conditions could increase workers’ exposure during surgical procedures. This study aimed to characterize ambient RF-EMF exposure during surgical operations in 15 operating rooms at the General University Hospital and the Perpetuo Socorro Hospital in Albacete (Spain). Measurements were conducted using a Satimo EME Spy 140 exposimeter between 10 January and 3 March 2020. The device was configured to record data every 5 seconds from 08:30 to 15:00, selecting only periods corresponding to ongoing surgical operations. The exposimeter was mounted on a plastic tripod in a preferably central and unobstructed location, keeping a reasonable distance from walls and electronic equipment. In total, 67 surgical procedures were monitored, representing 120 hours and 45 minutes of measurement. The highest recorded mean value was 58.82 µW/m² on the 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi band. The exposure levels observed were comparable to those reported in other European studies conducted in indoor microenvironments. In all operating rooms analyzed, ambient exposure remained below 0.4% of the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP, 2020) reference level, even under the least favourable conditions regarding the number of people or devices present.
Keywords: ambient exposure, Exposimeter, Occupational Exposure, Operating Rooms, Radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF), Surgical Procedures
Received: 09 Oct 2025; Accepted: 05 Dec 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Peyró-Sánchez, Gonzalez-Rubio, Gerónimo-Pardo and Nájera. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Jesus Gonzalez-Rubio
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