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📡 Metro-tunnel inspectors 'under-studied' for radiowave exposure. New antenna cuts exposure by 40%

September 3, 2026 (EMFS)
Sep 3, 2026 (original)
Source: Frontiers in Public Health
Source category: Research
AI use
Metro track-side inspectors walk closed tunnels at night to inspect track and equipment, and get repeated exposure to radio waves from the tunnel's Passenger Information System (PIS) and 5G cellular networks, an occupational group the authors call 'potentially under-studied'. To address this, a team led by Ming-Fei Luo at Lanzhou Jiaotong University (China), reporting in Frontiers in Public Health (3 Sep 2026), designed a compact metasurface PIS antenna 53% smaller than the conventional Yagi-uda antenna. At 5.8 GHz their simulations show peak local SAR (how much radiowave energy body tissue absorbs) in the inspectors' trunk, skull, brain, heart, liver and testes drops by at least 39.83% when the new antenna is used.

"Metro track-side inspectors are responsible for conducting professional inspections of the environment inside the tunnels every night after the metro trains have stopped running. Due to repeated long exposure to such a composite wireless communication environment, track-side inspectors are considered a potentially under-studied occupational group."

— Luo et al., Frontiers in Public Health (2026)

"The simulation results show that, the peak local specific absorption rate (SAR) is reduced by at least 39.83% in the trunk, skull, brain, heart, liver, and testes after the antenna is miniaturized by 53%."

— Luo et al., Frontiers in Public Health (2026)

"This research provides a theoretical analysis for occupational RF exposure safety of track-side inspectors and offers a dosimetry reference for antenna design in metro tunnel communication systems."

— Luo et al., Frontiers in Public Health (2026)

Location

📍 China

Map: China

Source

Compact metasurface track-side PIS antenna-based occupational electromagnetic exposure research of inspectors in the metro tunnel frontiersin.org

📄 Underlying Research

Compact metasurface track-side PIS antenna-based occupational electromagnetic exposure research of inspectors in the metro tunnel

Ming-Fei Luo, Jin-Jing Xu, Wen-Ying Zhou, Xin-Hong Li, Mai Lu Frontiers in Public Health Journal Level 1ⓘ

🔗 DOI 📰 Full Article

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