Study of public exposure to microwave radiation from wireless (WiFi) systems in Hamadan University of medical sciences

Due to the increase of public concern about the physical and psychological effects of radiation on the health of users, the present study aimed to determine the extent of public exposure to microwave emissions from wireless system in an educational setting. In this cross-sectional study, the effective intensity of microwave radiation were measured in 110 stations including the location of antennas access points, inside the classrooms, corridors and next to computers in five faculties of Hamadan University of Medical Sciences. Microwave meter HI 2200 model made by Holaday Co. was used to measure radiation according to the standard method No. C95.3. The effective intensity of exposure to microwave radiation emitted in the studied university was equaled to 0.304±0.675 µW/cm2 which was lower than the international exposure limits. However, there were significant differences in the intensities of microwave radiation in terms of measurement locations (P=0.0001). The Highest intensity of microwave radiation was allocated to access points which were equaled to 1.731±0.214 µW/cm2. Although the intensity of microwave exposure from wireless networks at the university level was lower than the international limits and due to the failure to obtain conclusive evidence on the health effects of radiation exposure on humans at various levels, it seems to be necessary to inform users about radiation health risks to increase their awareness in educational settings.