How exposed are we to 5G in our cities? Project GOLIAT’s Fieldwork

Project GOLIAT is studying exposure to radio frequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF), particularly 5G, and its potential health effects, as well as risk perception through citizen participation.

Exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields is measured in various indoor and outdoor microenvironments. In the context of this study, a microenvironment can be a residential area, a city centre, a shopping area, a school, a train station or a public transport route.

Map of Barcelona city centre.

To carry out the measurements, several study areas have been selected according to population density: a large city (such as Barcelona), a smaller city (between 100 and 500,000 inhabitants, such as Mataró, in the case of Spain) and three villages or rural areas.

Exposure meter used in the project.

State-of-the-art exposure equipment is needed to experimentally assess the biological effects associated with 5G exposure. The project team uses a personal exposure meter (ExpoM-RF 4) and a mobile device equipped with an additional RF-EMF sensor.

Team member using the Project GOLIAT Diary App

Using a mobile application, the team marks the type of scenario in which exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields is measured.

Project member activates RF-EMF measurement in public transport.

One of the populations studied in the GOLIAT project is young people. Today, children, adolescents and young adults are more exposed to radio frequency electromagnetic fields from new generation wireless networks, such as 5G. This heightened exposure raises concerns about their vulnerability to potential health effects.

Young university students using their phones on public transport.

GOLIAT will measure exposure in ten European and two Asian countries. At least 176 measurements per country are to be carried out in up to 84 microenvironments. This number is likely to be higher depending on the number of public transport journeys between the micro-environments and between the selected cities or towns.

Patricia de Llobet, research technician at ISGlobal, measuring the exposure to RF-EMF on the tram in Barcelona.

The measuring equipment is placed in a backpack. Once active, the research technician carries the backpack and walks around the city to take measurements. The equipment used, which is geolocated, takes a reading every few seconds. Each stage takes about 15 minutes.

Patricia de Llobet, measuring RF-EMF exposure in Parc de la Ciutadella, Barcelona.

The recorded data enables the comparison of the different measurements and helps identify the points where peaks of RF-EMF exposure have been recorded. 

Graphical representation of measurements of radio frequency electromagnetic fields.

As part of the project, two exposure measurement campaigns are planned. The same process will be repeated in the 12 countries participating in the GOLIAT project: Spain, Switzerland, Belgium, France, Italy, Poland, Hungary, Netherlands, Austria, United Kingdom, Japan and Korea.