Karolina Kasas-Lazetic

Serbian remote monitoring system for electromagnetic environmental pollution

The increasing number of electromagnetic emitters and need of covering wider territorial areas have caused the spatial density of radiated fields to constantly grow. It initiates alerting of the public opinion and of the governments about so-called electromagnetic pollution phenomena. As support for efforts of municipal and provincial agency for non-ionizing radiation protection, our team has suggested a remote monitoring system for automated and continuous supervision of electromagnetic fields. This system has been recognized by the national Ministry of Sciences and Technological Developments of the Republic of Serbia, which approved and supports its development within the program of technological development of the Republic of Serbia, for the period of 2011–2014.

The SEMONT continuous monitoring of daily EMF exposure in an open area environment.

Wireless networks traffic has experienced a considerable growth in recent years. Likewise, it is to be expected that billions of objects will be connected to the Internet in years to come, many of them wirelessly. Such increase in a number of wireless connections and the inevitability of wireless communications in proximity of users highlight the healthcare concern on electromagnetic field (EMF) exposure. Thus, the intelligent monitoring systems, such as the Serbian Electromagnetic Field Monitoring Network—SEMONT—have been required to be developed and utilized for continuous and real-time EMF monitoring, as well as for the assessment of the potential in situ daily exposure of population. This paper presents the results of the SEMONT initial campaign of continuous monitoring of the high-frequency electric field strength over the campus of the University of Novi Sad, as an open area environment. Several locations, most frequently visited by the student population in their everyday activities, have been monitored during the rush hour in order to determine the fluctuation of daily exposure on this, usually considered, highly sensitive area. The results of monitoring suggest that potential exposure is far below the allowable limit, regarding reference levels prescribed by the Serbian legislation for the general population.

The concept of the SEMONT monitoring system and its influence on the EM pollution protection

The inevitable increase of artificial electromagnetic (EM) field sources in surroundings has initiated the development of some modern systems for EM pollution observation. This paper presents a concept of the Serbian electromagnetic field monitoring network - SEMONT, which has been designed as an information network for automated, remote and continuous broadband EM monitoring in the environment. The SEMONT network provides the real-time information on the existing levels of the in-situ EM field strength and performs assessment of daily limits of a global exposure of general population, regarding Serbian legislation and ICNIRP recommendations. Having in mind increased risk of possible unhealthy effects of long-term exposure, the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Serbia recognized the importance of the SEMONT system and has supported its development within the framework of the technological development of the Republic of Serbia.

The measurement procedure in the SEMONT monitoring system

The measurement procedure of the open area in situ electric field strength is presented, acquiring the real field data for testing of the Serbian electromagnetic field monitoring network (SEMONT) and its Internet portal. The SEMONT monitoring system introduces an advanced approach of wireless sensor network utilization for the continuous supervision of overall and cumulative level of electromagnetic field over the observed area. The aim of the SEMONT system is to become a useful tool for the national and municipal agencies for the environmental protection, regarding the electromagnetic pollution monitoring and the exposure assessment of the general population. Considering the public concern on the potentially harmful effects of the long-term exposure to electromagnetic radiation, as well as the public transparency principle that is incorporated into the Serbian law on non-ionizing radiation protection, the SEMONT monitoring system is designed for the long-term continuous monitoring, presenting real-time measurement results, and corresponding exposure assessment over the public Internet network.

Procedure for incorporation of NBM-550 measurement results into the SEMONT database

One of the consequences of the permanent increase of the electromagnetic (EM) field sources is the emergence of various systems for the remote monitoring of electromagnetic field. These systems are able to perform the continuous monitoring of the EM field in the environment utilizing the wireless sensor network technology. As a support to the authorities, to timely inform the general population on the potentially harmful effects of the long-term exposure to the EM radiation, the development of the Serbian electromagnetic field monitoring network - SEMONT has started. The SEMONT system performs a continuous EM field monitoring and presents the obtained results over its own Internet portal, playing an important role in the field of radiation protection. In order to obtain data on the high-frequency electric field strength over the area of the campus of the University of Novi Sad, the SEMONT system has recently started with initial measurements. This paper considers the SEMONT system database model supporting the measurement results incorporation, obtained by the NBM-550 handheld instruments.

The SEMONT EM field register support for the assessment of daily exposure limits

Having in mind the practically inevitable increase of artificial electromagnetic fields (EM) in the surroundings it is required to perform a proper assessment of the potential exposure of the general population. In order to diminish the public unawareness about the real-time level of the EM fields and exposure, the Serbian electromagnetic field monitoring network - SEMONT has started the initial measurement campaign of EM emissions in the environment. The SEMONT information network is designed to use spatially distributed sensor elements, as well as handheld measuring instruments, intended for continuous broadband monitoring. The results of measurements are stored into a centralized database of the EM field register and they are publicly available through the SEMONT Internet portal. In this paper, the SEMONT EM field register support for the advanced feature of the daily exposure assessment is considered, regarding EM field reference levels, prescribed by the Serbian legislation and the ICNIRP recommendation.

The SEMONT information network for intelligent EM field continuous monitoring

Electromagnetic (EM) fields are hardly noticeable and usually unknown for the general population. This unawareness and imperceptibility can generate distrust among the public, resulting in increased concerns on exposure to the EM radiation. The solution to these problems lies in the EM emission control, taking measurements and having a proper results presentation and communication with the public. Measurements turn the EM emissions into something objective and if presented to the public in an understandable format, they can help in diminishing unawareness and helplessness about the phenomenon of the EM field. As a support for the efforts to timely inform the public about real-time and overall level of EM field in the environment, our research team has started the development of the Serbian electromagnetic field monitoring network - SEMONT, intended for remote, continuous and intelligent, 24/365, broadband monitoring of EM fields. This paper considers the work in progress related to the development and testing of the SEMONT network and its Internet portal for the presentation of measurement results and the exposure assessment of general population.

Determination of electromagnetic field in a three-phase system with three single-core power electric cables 110 KV

Knowing electromagnetic field inside and in the neighborhood of any power electric cable is very important because of the cable influence on its vicinity. This paper shows the determination of a 3-phase cable system electromagnetic field, applying the COMSOL Multiphysics computer program. Two components of electric field strength vector, potential electric field and induced electric field, are calculated separately, as well as the magnetic field vectors. Induced currents are studied in all constructive elements of cable system. The calculation results are done for the concrete 3-phase system, as a combination of 3 single-core cables XHE-49-A, 64/110kV, with the cross-section 1×1000/95mm2, graphically, together with comments.

The variable geometry inductors for the energy harvesting applications

The energy harvesting applications becomes omnipresent, utilizing different harvesting techniques to collect energy from ambient. Recently, the electromagnetic field energy harvesting attracted attention, with objective to provide nearly unlimited power supply, particularly for variety of the low-power electronic devices. Furthermore, the inductive assemblies have been recognized as reliable, low cost and adaptive collectors for such kind of energy. Therefore, in this preliminary research paper, the inductive sensors with variable geometry have been analyzed, regarding increase of their overall inductance, with a basic idea to try in that way to collect and store more energy from surrounding electro magnetic field. The approach of partial inductance modeling has been used for the performance analyses of those inductors.

Regulations on EMF exposure in Serbia and its neighboring countries

The aspiration of human population to live in a healthy condition, in which environmental pollution of any kind has been reduced to minimum, grows daily. Accordingly, it is necessary that relevant laws and regulations limit the exposure of human population to various side effects, which also include non-ionizing radiation. For that reason, in 2009 the Republic of Serbia has adopted the Law and a set of supporting regulations in order to protect human health and the environment from hazards due to exposure to non-ionized radiation. The aim of this paper is to survey the government policies of Serbias neighboring countries in regard to the protection from electromagnetic fields. This paper gives an overview of neighboring countries legislatives and regulations. The information for this paper was obtained by searching governmental websites, scientific publications and policy summaries by various organizations.