Health Hazards of Electromagnetic Radiation

Awn B. Rifai^*, Majed A. Hakami

Department of Information and Communication Technologies, Arab Open University, Jeddah, KSA.

DOI: 10.4236/jbm.2014.28001                

Abstract

Electrical energy enters into the operation of a myriad industrial, scientific, medical, community and house equipment and appliances. The accompanying electromagnetic fields (EMFs) are partially transformed into radiation that affects human health. This research investigates the potential health hazards of radiation emanating from electric power lines. The research is based on studies by research organizations and on practical field measurements. The study includes investigation of electromagnetic radiation from high-voltage electric lines in inhabited areas in an urban environment, and provides some measurements in test locations in a typical city. The results are benchmarked against recommended safety levels.

Keywords

Keywords Electromagnetic, Radiation, Environment, Health

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

References

[1]	Adey, W.R. (1981) Tissue Interactions with Non-Ionizing Electromagnetic Fields. Physiological Reviews, 61, 435-514.
[2]	American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (2001) Documentation of the Threshold Limit Values and Biological Exposure Indices. 7th Edition, Publication No. 0100, Cincinnati.
[3]	American National Standards Institute (ANSI) (1991) Safety Levels with Respect to Human Exposure to Radio Frequency Electromagnetic Fields, 3 kHz to 300 GHz. ANSI/IEEE C95.1-1991, Date of Publication 1992. http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/servlet/opac?punumber=2917
[4]	American National Standards Institute. www.ansi.org
[5]	Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency. Electricity and Health. Fact Sheet 19. http://www.arpansa.gov.au/pubs/factsheets/019is_electricity.pdf
[6]	Balzano, Q., Garay, O. and Steel, F.R. (1978) Energy Deposition in Simulated Human Operators of 800-MHz Portable Transmitters. IEEE Transactions on Vehicular Technology, 27, 174 -181. http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/T-VT.1978.23746 .
[7]	Dietrich, F.M. and Jacobs, W.L. (2001) Survey and Assessment of Electric and Magnetic Fields. Public Exposure in the Transportation Environment. US Department of Transportation, Federal Railroad Administration, Report No. PB99- 130908.
[8]	Federal Communications Commission, Radio Fre-quency Safety, Web Report. www.fcc.gov/oet/rf- safety http://www.fcc.gov/encyclopedia/radio-frequency-safety
[9]	IEEE Committee on Man and Radiation (COMAR), IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (2000) Possible Hazards from Exposure to Power Frequency Electric and Magnetic Fields. 19, 131- 137. http://ewh.ieee.org/soc/embs/comar/
[10]	International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) (1998) Latest Publications on Radio Frequency—EMF Guidelines, ICNIRP Guidelines for Limiting Exposure to Time-Varying Electric, Magnetic and Electromagnetic Fields. Health Physics, 74, 494-522.
[11]	Kaune, W.T. (1993) Assessing Human Exposure to Power-Frequency Electric and Magnetic Fields. Environmental Health Perspectives, 101, 121-133. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/- 3431668; http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.93101s473 http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.93101s4121
[12]	Kaune, W.T. and Zaffanella, L. (1994) Assessing Historical Exposure of Children to Power Frequency Magnetic Fields. Journal of Exposure Analysis Environmental Epidemiology, 4, 149-170.
[13]	Kovetz, A. (2000) Electromagnetic Theory. Clarendon Press.
[14]	National Council on Radiation Pro-tection and Measurements (1984) Some Issues Important in Developing Basic Radi- tion Protection Recommendations. Proceedings of the 20th Annual Meeting, 4-5 April 1984. www.ncrp.com
[15]	National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (2002) Electric and Magnetic Fields Associated with the Use of Electric Power, Questions and Answers. NIEHS/DOE EMF RAPID Program.http:// www.niehs.nih.gov/health/assets/docs_p_z/results_of_emf_research_emf_questions_answers_booklet.pdf
[16]	NJ Dept Radiation Protection, Department of Environmental Protection. Radiation Protection and Release Prevention, 60 Hz Power Lines. www.state.nj.us/dep/rpp (Select Non-Ionizing Radiation) http://www.niehs.nih.gov/health/topics/agents/emf/ http://www.who.int/peh-emf/en/
[17]	Office of Radiation, Radiation Studies Division (1992) EMF in Your Environment: Magnetic Field Measurements of Everyday Electrical Devices. US Environmental Protection Agency, Washington DC.
[18]	Tarone, R.E., Kaune, W.T., Linet, M.S., Hatch, E.E., Kleinerman, R.A., Robison, L.L., Boice, J.D. and Wacholder, S. (1998) Residential Wire Codes: Reproducibility and Relation with Measured Magnetic Fields. US En-vironmental Pro- tection Agency. Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 55, 333-339. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/oem.55.5.333
[19]	US Department of Transportation, NTIS (1999) Public Exposure in the Transportation Environment. Report of the Document PB99-130908. National Technical Information Service, Arlington, VA.
[20]	Vanderlinde, J., (2004) Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (1993) Classical Electromagnetic Theory. 2nd Edition, Wiley, New York.
[21]	World Health Organization, Standards and Guidelines. Electromagnetic Fields (EMF). http://www.who.int/peh-emf/standards/en/
[22]	World Health Organization EMF Project (2011: Lyon, France) Non-Ionizing Radiation, Part II: Radiofrequency Elec- tromagnetic Fields/IARC Working Group on the Evaluation of Carcinogenic Risks to Humans, IARC Monographs on the Evaluation of Carcinogenic Risks to Humans. www.who.ch/peh-emf
[23]	Department of Protection of the Human Environment, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland (2002) Establishing a Dialogue on Risks from Electromagnetic Fields, Radiation and Environmental Health. http://www.who.int/peh-emf/publications/risk_hand/en/
[24]	Zaffanella, L. (1993) Survey of Residential Magnetic Field Sources. Volume 1: Goals, Results and Conclusions. Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), Palo Alto, CA, 1-224.