Assessment of Radiofrequency Electromagnetic Field (RF-EMF) Potential Exposure in Buildings

Building upon a methodology previously established by the authors, this study leverages publicly available technical data from Base Stations (BS) deployment records compiled in the Mosaico database, maintained by the Brazilian National Telecommunications Agency (ANATEL), to systematically characterize buildings subject to direct exposure to Radiofrequency Electromagnetic Fields (RF-EMF) across four cities in the Northeast region of Brazil. Complementary demographic indicators retrieved from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) were incorporated to support comparative analyses and to elucidate the underlying factors governing the occurrence of such exposure scenarios. A total of 34, 29, 12, and 20 target buildings were identified in the cities of Natal, Maceió, Aracaju, and João Pessoa, respectively. The findings indicate that the occurrence of target buildings is governed by a multifactorial mechanism and cannot be attributed exclusively to BS density or the degree of urban verticalization. Rather, a comprehensive assessment must additionally account for parameters such as subscriber profile distribution and the BS deployment strategies adopted by network operators in the investigated region. Furthermore, the results underscore the necessity of employing fine-grained, neighborhood-level disaggregated data when performing statistical inference on the contributing factors associated with this exposure scenario.