Possible Health Effects of Exposure to Residential Electric and Magnetic FieldsCommittee on the Possible Effects of Electromagnetic Fields on Biologic Systems, National Research Council . Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 1997. 356 pp., illus. $39.95. ISBN 0-309-05447-8

Extract

We are continuously bathed in a menagerie of non-ionizing frequencies emanating from home appliances, personal computers, power lines, radios, and mobile cellular telephones. Non-ionizing radiations such as electric and magnetic fields (EMFs) of low frequency (60 Hz) are created whenever electricity flows. Because of public concern over possible health risks from residential EMF, the U.S. Congress requested the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) to determine the scientific basis for adverse health effects. The NAS delivered an exhaustive review of the published literature up to 1996. The report concludes, “. . . the current body of evidence does not show that exposures to these fields present a human health hazard. Specifically, no conclusive and consistent evidence shows that exposures to residential electric and magnetic fields produce cancer, adverse neural behavior effects, or reproductive and development effects.”

There are five major sections covering exposure and physical interactions, cellular and molecular effects, animal and tissue effects, epidemiology, and risk assessment. These sections are written by leading authorities and provide useful summaries and detailed discussion of possible hazards. The exposure and physical interaction section was clearly written and contained several interesting observations. For instance, while typical residential fields of 60 Hz (about 1 milligauss) can induce currents within the body, these induced currents are about 1000 times less than endogenous currents associated with electric activity of nerve cells (about 1000 milligauss). Purported cellular and molecular effects of magnetic field exposure were stated to be unconvincing and not reproducible except at very high field strengths. Similar conclusions were reached regarding animal and tissue effects, including carcinogenesis. It was noted that, at sufficiently high field strengths, neurologic responses can occur as well as bone healing in animals.