Study of Electromagnetic Radiation From High-Speed Train Voice and Data Antennae on the Health of Pacemaker Wearers

Abstract

In China, high-speed trains have become a major means of transportation for the masses. When the passengers wearing pacemakers travel on high-speed trains, electromagnetic environment in the carriage where the GSM-R voice and data antennae are located should be concerned. In this work, a real-size carriage monopole antennae simulating voice and data antennae as high-frequency radiation sources and wearing pacemaker passenger’ models were established to study the electromagnetic exposure of the passenger at different conditions. The results showed that when the passenger faced the voice antenna, he suffered much greater electromagnetic radiation than when his back in turned from it. The electric field strength, average SAR, and temperature rise of the heart when facing the antenna were 27.3 V/m, 0.0102 W/kg, and 0.0016°C, respectively. Meanwhile, the temperature rise of the pacemaker was 0.001°C. We also obtained the values of electromagnetic dose for the whole body. All data were below the limits of the ICNIRP guidelines. These results indicate that the electromagnetic fields generated by the GSM-R voice and data antennae do not harm the health of passengers wearing pacemaker.