Relative contribution of residential and occupational magnetic field exposure over twenty-four hours among people living close to and far from a power line

This study sought to estimate the relative contribution of exposure to 50 Hz magnetic fields experienced at home, at work/school, or elsewhere to the total exposure over 24 hr. Personal exposure meters were carried by 97 adults and children in the Stockholm area. About half of the subjects lived close (<50 m) to a transmission line and half far (>100 m) away. Spot measurements and calculations for the residential exposure were also made. For subjects living<50 m from the line, the exposure at home contributed about 80% of the total magnetic field exposure, measured in mT-hours. Adults living far away experienced only 38% of the total exposure at home, but children still received 55%. Subjects with low time-weighted average (TWA) exposure both at home and at work spent 84% of their time in fields <0.1 microT, and those with high TWA at both locations spent 69% of their time in fields > or = 0.2 microT. This contrast was diluted if only exposure at one location was considered. For spot measurements and calculations of the residential exposure, both sensitivity and specificity was good. However, the intermediate field exposure category (0.1-0.19 microT) showed poor correlation to the 24 hr personal measurements.