[Electromagnetic fields in hospitals: wireless-LAN as a risk factor?]

The actual level of exposure to non-ionizing radiation in Swiss hospitals is not well known. Therefore, the electromagnetic field of wireless LAN (WLAN) and other non-ionizing radiation sources in the publicly funded Hospital Thun (Switzerland), where WLAN supports bedside access to the computerized patient record for more than three years, has been measured. The results are compared to the international and national exposure limits for the general public. Nurse workplaces as well as patient rooms show exposure levels well below the legal (national and international) exposure limits. In the investigated patients' room the electromagnetic field of GSM and broadband cellular phone networks are dominant, whereas at the nurse workplace WLAN exposure is the most important source of exposure. The results of a questionnaire survey emphasize, that the hospital staff does not worry much about electromagnetic fields of new ICT technologies.