  Installing more base stations (BSs) into the existing cellular infrastructure
is an essential way to provide greater network capacity and higher data rate in
the 5th-generation cellular networks (5G). However, a non-negligible amount of
population is concerned that such network densification will generate a notable
increase in exposure to electric and magnetic fields (EMF) over the territory.
In this paper, we analyze the downlink, uplink, and joint downlink&uplink
exposure induced by the radiation from BSs and personal user equipment (UE),
respectively, in terms of the received power density and exposure index. In our
analysis, we consider the EMF restrictions set by the regulatory authorities
such as the minimum distance between restricted areas (e.g., schools and
hospitals) and BSs, and the maximum permitted exposure. Exploiting tools from
stochastic geometry, mathematical expressions for the coverage probability and
statistical EMF exposure are derived and validated. Tuning the system
parameters such as the BS density and the minimum distance from a BS to
restricted areas, we show a trade-off between reducing the population's
exposure to EMF and enhancing the network coverage performance. Then, we
formulate optimization problems to maximize the performance of the EMF-aware
cellular network while ensuring that the EMF exposure complies with the
standard regulation limits with high probability. For instance, the exposure
from BSs is two orders of magnitude less than the maximum permissible level
when the density of BSs is less than 20 BSs/km2.
