Development of a protocol for assessing time-weighted-average exposures of young children to power-frequency magnetic fields

A study was carried out in 1990 to guide the development of a protocol for assessing residential exposures of children to time-weighted-average (TWA) power-frequency magnetic fields. The principal goal of this dosimetry study was to determine whether area (i.e., spot and/or 24 h) measurements of power-frequency magnetic fields in the residences and in the schools and daycare centers of 29 children (4 months through 8 years of age) could be used to predict their measured personal 24-h exposures. TWA personal exposures, measured with AMEX-3D meters worn by subjects, were approximately log-normally distributed with both residential and nonresidential geometric means of 0.10 μT (1.0 mG). Between-subjects variability in residential personal exposure levels (geometric standard deviation of 2.4) was substantially greater than that observed for nonresidential personal exposure levels (1.4). The correlation between log-transformed residential and total personal exposure levels was 0.97. Time-weighted averages of the magnetic fields measured in children's bedrooms, family rooms, living rooms, and kitchens were highly correlated with residential personal exposure levels (r = 0.90). In general, magnetic field levels measured in schools and daycare centers attended by subjects were smaller and less variable than measured residential fields and were only weakly correlated with measured nonresidential personal exposures. The final measurement protocol, which will be used in a large US study examining the relationship between childhood leukemia and exposure to magnetic fields, contains the following elements: normal- and low-power spot magnetic field measurements in bedrooms occupied by subjects during the 5 years prior to the date of diagnosis for cases or the corresponding date for controls; spot measurements under normal and low power-usage conditions at the centers of the kitchen and the family room; 24-h magnetic-field recordings near subjects' beds; and wire coding using the Wertheimer-Leeper method. © 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

1 This article is a US Government work and, as such, is in the public domain in the United States of America.

     

Magnetic-field flux density and spectral characteristics of motor-driven personal appliances

Flux density and spectral measurements were carried out on magnetic fields generated by several types of motor-driven personal appliances used near the body. Among the units tested were several for which the average flux densities, as determined at the surfaces of the appliance, exceeded 0.4 mT. Time-rates-of-change (dB/dt) for several units exceeded 1000 T/s, and several units exhibited high-frequency components in the low-MHz range. Use of such appliances, although normally of short duration, can represent exposure to magnetic fields of relatively high flux density, which may also have high-frequency components. Compared to other household and commercial sources of magnetic fields, those generated by certain motor-driven personal appliances may represent a significant contribution to time-weighted average exposure and may represent an important source of local induced currents in the body. Furthermore, high-frequency transients that represent only a minor contribution to time-weighted average exposure may generate significant instantaneous induced currents. © 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

1 This article is a US Government work and, as such, is in the public domain in the United States of America.

     

Residential exposure to 60-Hz magnetic fields from appliances.

A model has been developed that permits assessment of residential exposure to 60-Hz magnetic fields emitted by appliances. It is based on volume- and time-averaging of magnetic-dipole fields. The model enables the contribution of appliances in the total residential exposure to be compared with that of other sources in any residence under study. Calculations based on measurements reported in the literature on 98 appliances revealed that appliances are not a significant source of whole-body exposure, but that they may be the dominant source of exposure of the body's extremities.     

Comparison between personal exposure to 60 Hz magnetic fields and stationary home measurements for people living near and away from a 735 kV power line.

This study compares stationary home measurements with a personal exposure monitor of 60 Hz magnetic fields in a group of 18 people living near a 735 kV line and 17 people living far away from the line. Most of them were white collar workers who worked during the day. They wore a personal Positron meter for 24 h, while a similar meter was left in their home, away from any appliances. For people living away from the line, the impact of residential activities appeared rather weak when considering the average intensity of the field during the awake period (at home): 0.22 microT for personal exposure versus 0.18 microT for stationary measurements (P = 0.09). The impact of residential activities during the awake period was more detectable when using the percentage of time with exposure above 0.78 microT: median 0.4 for personal vs. 0.0 for stationary measurements (P =.01). The temporal variability of the exposure during the awake period was also significantly higher for personal exposure than for stationary measurements. For people living near the line, the intensity of the magnetic field from the line dominated the personal exposure when considering the mean of measurements and the percentage of time above a threshold. However, the temporal variability was greater for the personal exposure during the awake period. Although limited due to its small sample size, the present study seems to demonstrate the usefulness of considering different indexes of exposure when assessing residential exposure to 60 Hz magnetic fields.     

Effects function simulation of residential appliance field exposures

This paper demonstrates the application of effects function analysis to residential magnetic field exposure, focusing on appliance sources and mitigation choices. Residential field exposure time series were synthesized by using a sample of background household field measurements, a model of average daily appliance use, and a small sample of EMDEX data of field exposure from 12 household appliances. Four alternative effects functions (average field strength with or without a threshold, field strength window, sudden field changes) were simulated by using the synthesized time series data for different exposure situations, such as high and low levels of appliance use, simple avoidance, and use of a set of hypothetical “low field” appliances (50% lower fields). In particular, field exposure from the use of bedside clocks and electric blankets was examined. Results demonstrate that the choice of effects function is critical for the ranks of field sources and exposure reduction choices. For the effects function of average field strength with or without a threshold, exposure from background fields dominated exposure from all appliances except for bedside clocks and electric blankets. In the case of the field strength window effects function, the dominant field sources changed with the width of the window. For the effects function based on rapid field changes, appliance use was the major source of exposure. Because of the small sample size of our data set and other simplifications, specific results should be viewed as illustrative. Bioelectromagnetics 18:116–124, 1997. © 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Residential exposure to magnetic fields generated by 110-400 kV power lines in Finland

In a specific case, the magnetic field generated in a building by a nearby power line is usually easy to calculate, although the accuracy of these calculations is sensitive to the quality of source information. To be able to study public health dimensions of magnetic field exposure (e.g., risk of cancer), it is necessary to evaluate the size and exposure of the population at risk. Relatively little quantitative information on public exposure to power-frequency magnetic fields of high-voltage power lines is available. This report describes residential exposure to magnetic fields from 110 kV, 220 kV, and 400 kV power lines in Finland at the national level, including 90% of the total line length in 1989. A geographical information system (GIS) was used to identify the buildings located near the power lines. After determining the distances between the lines and the buildings, historical data on load currents of these lines were used to calculate the magnetic fields. The residential magnetic field histories were then linked to the residents by means of a computerized central population register. The data obtained on personal exposure have also been utilized in a nationwide epidemiological study on magnetic field exposure of power lines and risk of cancer. The methods of exposure assessment and results of the number of buildings near 110 kV, 220 kV, and 400 kV power lines, their average annual magnetic fields, and personal exposure to magnetic fields from these lines are described. We found that 15,600 residents lived in an average residential magnetic field ≥0.1 μT caused by power lines in 1989. The number of these residents increased fivefold during 1970-1989. We estimated that 0.3% of the population was exposed in their residences to an annual average magnetic flux density from 110 kV, 220 kV, and 400 kV power lines higher than 0.1 μT, the level that the background magnetic flux density in general does not exceed in Finnish homes. Thus, the problem of magnetic field exposure generated by high-voltage lines concerns only a relatively small fraction of the total population in Finland. However, the size and exposure of the population at risk remain somewhat arbitrary in practical multisource situations, as the biological interaction mechanism, the concept of harmful dose, and, in particular, the significance of the duration of exposure are unknown. © 1995 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

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.     

Magnetic field exposure assessment: a comparison of various methods

The accurate and valid measurement of personal exposure to magnetic fields poses a major challenge for epidemiologic studies. When considering the various methods to assess exposure, it is unclear which measures are most relevant for studies of human disease, if any. Given these uncertainties, the Electromagnetic Fields and Breast Cancer on Long Island Study (EBCLIS) undertook a pilot study to develop the data collection protocol for a case-control study of breast cancer and magnetic fields. The pilot study used and compared various methods to assess residential exposures to magnetic fields, and related these measures to personal exposures. It included 31 women without breast cancer (mean age, 63+/-7 yr) who lived in their present homes for at least 15 yr. The pilot study consisted of an in-home interview, spot and 24-h magnetic field waveforms and broadband recordings, ground currents, wire coding, and personal 24-h broadband measurements. From the regression analyses, the model that best predicted personal magnetic field exposures included 24-h measurements in the bedroom and in the most lived-in room; as well as ground current test loads taken at the center of this most lived in room (r(2)=86%). The addition of other variables in this regression model yielded only small and nonsignificant increases in r(2). As a direct result of this pilot, EBCLIS will include ground current measurements in its protocol, which have not previously been collected as part of an epidemiologic study. Ground currents may be important because they may be richer in 180 Hz components than are the other currents in a power system. EBCLIS will have the opportunity to examine the ground-current hypothesis in the context of female breast cancer.     

Residential magnetic fields predicted from wiring configurations: I. Exposure model.

A physically based model for residential magnetic fields from electric transmission and distribution wiring was developed to reanalyze the Los Angeles study of childhood leukemia by London et al. For this exposure model, magnetic field measurements were fitted to a function of wire configuration attributes that was derived from a multipole expansion of the Law of Biot and Savart. The model parameters were determined by nonlinear regression techniques, using wiring data, distances, and the geometric mean of the ELF magnetic field magnitude from 24-h bedroom measurements taken at 288 homes during the epidemiologic study. The best fit to the measurement data was obtained with separate models for the two major utilities serving Los Angeles County. This model's predictions produced a correlation of 0.40 with the measured fields, an improvement on the 0.27 correlation obtained with the Wertheimer-Leeper (WL) wire code. For the leukemia risk analysis in a companion paper, the regression model predicts exposures to the 24-h geometric mean of the ELF magnetic fields in Los Angeles homes where only wiring data and distances have been obtained. Since these input parameters for the exposure model usually do not change for many years, the predicted magnetic fields will be stable over long time periods, just like the WL code. If the geometric mean is not the exposure metric associated with cancer, this regression technique could be used to estimate long-term exposures to temporal variability metrics and other characteristics of the ELF magnetic field which may be cancer risk factors.     

Rate of occurrence of transient magnetic field events in U.S. residences

Recent interest in the transient magnetic field events produced by electrical switching events in residential and occupational environments has been kindled by the possibility that these fields may explain observed associations between childhood cancer and wire codes. This paper reports the results of a study in which the rate of occurrence of magnetic field events with 2-200 kHz frequency content were measured over 24 h or longer periods in 156 U.S. residences. A dual-channel meter was developed for the study that, during 20 s contiguous intervals of time, counted the number of events with peak 2-200 kHz magnetic fields exceeding thresholds of 3. 3 nT and 33 nT. Transient activity exhibited a distinct diurnal rhythm similar to that followed by power frequency magnetic fields in residences. Homes that were electrically grounded to a conductive water system that extended into the street and beyond, had higher levels of 33 nT channel transient activity. Homes located in rural surroundings had less 33 nT transient activity than homes in suburban/urban areas. Finally, while transient activity was perhaps somewhat elevated in homes with OLCC, OHCC, and VHCC wire codes relative to homes with underground (UG) and VLCC codes, the elevation was the smallest in VHCC and the largest in OLCC homes. This result does not provide much support for the hypothesis that transient magnetic fields are the underlying exposure that explains the associations, observed in several epidemiologic studies, between childhood cancer and residence in homes with VHCC, but not OLCC and OHCC, wire codes.     

Survey of electromagnetic field exposure in bedrooms of residences in lower Austria

Previous investigations of exposure to electric, magnetic, or electromagnetic fields (EMF) in households were either about electricity supply EMFs or radio frequency EMFs (RF‐EMFs). We report results from spot measurements at the bedside that comprise electrostatic fields, extremely low‐frequency electric fields (ELF‐EFs), extremely low‐frequency magnetic fields (ELF‐MFs), and RF‐EMFs. Measurements were taken in 226 households throughout Lower Austria. In addition, effects of simple reduction measures (e.g., removal of clock radios or increasing their distance from the bed, turning off Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunication (DECT) telephone base stations) were assessed. All measurements were well below International Commission on Non‐Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) guideline levels. Average night‐time ELF‐MFs (long‐term measurement from 10 pm to 6 am, geometric mean over households) above 100 nT were obtained in 2.3%, and RF‐EMFs above 1000 µW/m² in 7.1% of households. Highest ELF‐EFs were primarily due to lamps beside the bed (max = 166 V/m), and highest ELF‐MFs because of transformers of devices (max = 1030 nT) or high current of power lines (max = 380 nT). The highest values of RF‐EMFs were caused by DECT telephone base stations (max = 28979 µW/m²) and mobile phone base stations (max = 4872 µW/m²). Simple reduction measures resulted in an average decrease of 23 nT for ELF‐MFs, 23 V/m for ELF‐EFs, and 246 µW/m² for RF‐EMFs. A small but statistically significant correlation between ELF‐MF exposure and overall RF‐EMF levels of R = 0.16 (P = 0.008) was computed that was independent of type (flat, single family) and location (urban, rural) of houses. Bioelectromagnetics 31:200–208, 2010. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Exposure of welders and other metal workers to ELF magnetic fields

This study assessed exposure to extremely low frequency (ELF) magnetic fields of welders and other metal workers and compared exposure from different welding processes. Exposure to ELF magnetic fields was measured for 50 workers selected from a nationwide cohort of metal workers and 15 nonrandomly selected full-time welders in a shipyard. The measurements were carried out with personal exposure meters during 3 days of work for the metal workers and 1 day of work for the shipyard welders. To record a large dynamic range of ELF magnetic field values, the measurements were carried out with “high/low” pairs of personal exposure meters. Additional measurements of static magnetic fields at fixed positions close to welding installations were done with a Hall-effect fluxmeter. The total time of measurement was 1273 hours. The metal workers reported welding activity for 5.8% of the time, and the median of the work-period mean exposure to ELF magnetic fields was 0.18 μT. DC metal inert or active gas welding (MIG/MAG) was used 80% of the time for welding, and AC manual metal arc welding (MMA) was used 10% of the time. The shipyard welders reported welding activity for 56% of the time, and the median and maximum of the workday mean exposure to ELF magnetic fields was 4.70 and 27.5 μT, respectively. For full-shift welders the average workday mean was 21.2 μT for MMA welders and 2.3 μT for MIG/MAG welders. The average exposure during the effective time of welding was estimated to be 65 μT for the MMA welding process and 7 μT for the MIG/MAG welding process. The time of exposure above 1 μT was found to be a useful measure of the effective time of welding. Large differences in exposure to ELF magnetic fields were found between different groups of welders, depending on the welding process and effective time of welding. MMA (AC) welding caused roughly 10 times higher exposure to ELF magnetic fields compared with MIG/MAG (DC) welding. The measurements of static fields suggest that the combined exposure to static and ELF fields of MIG/MAG (DC) welders and the exposure to ELF fields of MMA (AC) welders are roughly of the same level. Bioelectromagnetics 18:470–477, 1997. © 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

ELF magnetic fields in electric and gasoline‐powered vehicles

We conducted a pilot study to assess magnetic field levels in electric compared to gasoline‐powered vehicles, and established a methodology that would provide valid data for further assessments. The sample consisted of 14 vehicles, all manufactured between January 2000 and April 2009; 6 were gasoline‐powered vehicles and 8 were electric vehicles of various types. Of the eight models available, three were represented by a gasoline‐powered vehicle and at least one electric vehicle, enabling intra‐model comparisons. Vehicles were driven over a 16.3 km test route. Each vehicle was equipped with six EMDEX Lite broadband meters with a 40–1,000 Hz bandwidth programmed to sample every 4 s. Standard statistical testing was based on the fact that the autocorrelation statistic damped quickly with time. For seven electric cars, the geometric mean (GM) of all measurements (N = 18,318) was 0.095 µT with a geometric standard deviation (GSD) of 2.66, compared to 0.051 µT (N = 9,301; GSD = 2.11) for four gasoline‐powered cars (P < 0.0001). Using the data from a previous exposure assessment of residential exposure in eight geographic regions in the United States as a basis for comparison (N = 218), the broadband magnetic fields in electric vehicles covered the same range as personal exposure levels recorded in that study. All fields measured in all vehicles were much less than the exposure limits published by the International Commission on Non‐Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). Future studies should include larger sample sizes representative of a greater cross‐section of electric‐type vehicles. Bioelectromagnetics 34:156–161, 2013. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Exposure to extremely low-frequency magnetic fields and the risk of childhood cancer: update of the epidemiological evidence

There is an ongoing scientific controversy whether the observed association between exposure to residential extremely low-frequency magnetic fields (ELF-MF) and the risk of childhood leukaemia observed in epidemiological studies is causal or due to methodological shortcomings of those studies. Recent pooled analysis confirm results from previous studies, namely an approximately two-fold risk increase at ELF-MF exposures ≥0.4 μT, and demonstrate consistency of studies across countries, with different design, different methods of exposure assessment, and different systems of power transmission and distribution. On the other hand, recent pooled analyses for childhood brain tumour show little evidence for an association with ELF-MF, also at exposures ≥0.4 μT. Overall, the assessment that ELF-MF are a possible carcinogen and may cause childhood leukaemia remains valid. Ongoing research activities, mainly experimental and few new epidemiological studies, hopefully provide additional insight to bring clarity to a research area that has remained inconclusive.     

Use of spot measurements for assessing residential ELF magnetic field exposure: a validity study

The purpose of this study was to evaluate residential short term "spot" measurements as surrogates for long term personal magnetic field (MF) exposure. In an epidemiological study on birth weight and pregnancy delay, MF exposure was assessed by taking five spot measurements in each room. For a subsample of 30 subjects 24 h personal MF measurements were made, and the following exposure metrics were calculated: 24 h arithmetic mean, 24 h median, percentage of time above 0.15 microT, and percentage of time above 0.29 microT. The 24 h exposure metrics were used as gold standards, when evaluating the validity of various summary measures calculated from spot measurements for assessing personal exposure. Based on Spearman correlation coefficient (r), specificity and sensitivity, the average of the spot measurements of a residence resulted in least exposure measurement error (misclassification). Also the above bed spot value correlated better with the 24 h metrics than any room average. Spot measurements performed about equally well in predicting different types of exposure metrics.     

The possible role of contact current in cancer risk associated with residential magnetic fields

Residential electrical wiring safety practices in the US result in the possibility of a small voltage (up to a few tenths of a volt) on appliance surfaces with respect to water pipes or other grounded surfaces. This "open circuit voltage" (V(OC)) will cause "contact current" to flow in a person who touches the appliance and completes an electrical circuit to ground. This paper presents data suggesting that contact current due to V(OC) is an exposure that may explain the reported associations of residential magnetic fields with childhood leukemia. Our analysis is based on a computer model of a 40 house (single-unit, detached dwelling) neighborhood with electrical service that is representative of US grounding practices. The analysis was motivated by recent research suggesting that the physical location of power lines in the backyard, in contrast to the street, may be relevant to a relationship of power lines with childhood leukemia. In the model, the highest magnetic field levels and V(OC)s were both associated with backyard lines, and the highest V(OC)s were also associated with long ground paths in the residence. Across the entire neighborhood, magnetic field exposure was highly correlated with V(OC) (r = 0.93). Dosimetric modeling indicates that, compared to a very high residential level of a uniform horizontal magnetic field (10 mu T) or a vertical electric field (100 V/m), a modest level of contact current (approximately 18 mu A) leads to considerably greater induced electric fields (> 1 mV/m) averaged across tissue, such as bone marrow and heart. The correlation of V(OC) with magnetic fields in the model, combined with the dose estimates, lead us to conclude that V(OC) is a potentially important exposure with respect to childhood leukemia risks associated with residential magnetic fields. These findings, nonetheless, may not apply to residential service used in several European countries or to the Scandinavian studies concerned with populations exposed to magnetic fields from overhead transmission lines.     

Residential magnetic fields predicted from wiring configurations: II. Relationships To childhood leukemia.

Case-control data on childhood leukemia in Los Angeles County were reanalyzed with residential magnetic fields predicted from the wiring configurations of nearby transmission and distribution lines. As described in a companion paper, the 24-h means of the magnetic field's magnitude in subjects' homes were predicted by a physically based regression model that had been fitted to 24-h measurements and wiring data. In addition, magnetic field exposures were adjusted for the most likely form of exposure assessment errors: classic errors for the 24-h measurements and Berkson errors for the predictions from wire configurations. Although the measured fields had no association with childhood leukemia (P for trend=.88), the risks were significant for predicted magnetic fields above 1.25 mG (odds ratio=2.00, 95% confidence interval=1.03-3.89), and a significant dose-response was seen (P for trend=.02). When exposures were determined by a combination of predictions and measurements that corrects for errors, the odds ratio (odd ratio=2.19, 95% confidence interval=1.12-4.31) and the trend (p =.007) showed somewhat greater significance. These findings support the hypothesis that magnetic fields from electrical lines are causally related to childhood leukemia but that this association has been inconsistent among epidemiologic studies due to different types of exposure assessment error. In these data, the leukemia risks from a child's residential magnetic field exposure appears to be better assessed by wire configurations than by 24-h area measurements. However, the predicted fields only partially account for the effect of the Wertheimer-Leeper wire code in a multivariate analysis and do not completely explain why these wire codes have been so often associated with childhood leukemia. The most plausible explanation for our findings is that the causal factor is another magnetic field exposure metric correlated to both wire code and the field's time-averaged magnitude.     

Evaluating alternative exposure indices in epidemiologic studies on extremely low-frequency magnetic fields

Choosing the right exposure index for epidemiological studies on 50–60 Hz magnetic fields is difficult due to the lack of knowledge about critical exposure parameters for the biological effects of magnetic fields. This paper uses data from a previously published epidemiological investigation on early pregnancy loss (EPL) to study the methods of evaluating the exposure-response relationship of 50 Hz magnetic fields. Two approaches were used. The first approach was to apply generalized additive modeling to suggest the functional form of the relationship between EPL and magnetic field strength. The second approach evaluated the goodness of fit of the EPL data with eight alternative exposure indices: the 24 h average of magnetic field strength, three indices measuring the proportion of time above specified thresholds, and four indices measuring the proportion of time within specified intensity windows. Because the original exposure data included only spot measurements, estimates for the selected exposure indices were calculated indirectly from the spot measurements using empirical nonlinear equations derived from 24 h recordings in 60 residences. The results did not support intensity windows, and a threshold-type dependence on field strength appeared to be more plausible than a linear relationship. In addition, the study produced data suggesting that spot measurements may be used as surrogates for other exposure indices besides the time average field strength. No final conclusions should be drawn from this study alone, but we hope that this exercise stimulates evaluation of alternative exposure indices in other planned and ongoing epidemiological studies. © 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Individual exposure to NO2 in relation to spatial and temporal exposure indices in Stockholm, Sweden: the INDEX study

Epidemiology studies of health effects from air pollution, as well as impact assessments, typically rely on ambient monitoring data or modelled residential levels. The relationship between these and personal exposure is not clear. To investigate personal exposure to NO(2) and its relationship with other exposure metrics and time-activity patterns in a randomly selected sample of healthy working adults (20-59 years) living and working in Stockholm. Personal exposure to NO(2) was measured with diffusive samplers in sample of 247 individuals. The 7-day average personal exposure was 14.3 μg/m(3) and 12.5 μg/m(3) for the study population and the inhabitants of Stockholm County, respectively. The personal exposure was significantly lower than the urban background level (20.3 μg/m(3)). In the univariate analyses the most influential determinants of individual exposure were long-term high-resolution dispersion-modelled levels of NO(2) outdoors at home and work, and concurrent NO(2) levels measured at a rural location, difference between those measured at an urban background and rural location and difference between those measured in busy street and at an urban background location, explaining 20, 16, 1, 2 and 4% (R(2)) of the 7-day personal NO(2) variation, respectively. A regression model including these variables explained 38% of the variation in personal NO(2) exposure. We found a small improvement by adding time-activity variables to the latter model (R(2)?=?0.44). The results adds credibility primarily to long-term epidemiology studies that utilise long-term indices of NO(2) exposure at home or work, but also indicates that such studies may still suffer from exposure misclassification and dilution of any true effects. In contrast, urban background levels of NO(2) are poorly related to individual exposure.     

The detection threshold for extremely low frequency magnetic fields may be below 1000 nT-Hz in mice

Previous experiments with mice have shown that a repeated 1 h daily exposure to an ambient magnetic field shielded environment induces analgesia (anti-nociception). This shielding reduces ambient static and extremely low frequency magnetic fields (ELF-MF) by approximately 100 times for frequencies below 120 Hz. To determine the threshold of ELF-MF amplitude that would attenuate or abolish this effect, 30 and 120 Hz magnetic fields were introduced into the shielded environment at peak amplitudes of 25, 50, 100 and 500 nT. At 30 Hz, peak amplitudes of 50, 100, and 500 nT attenuated this effect in proportion to the amplitude magnitude. At 120 Hz, significant attenuation was observed at all amplitudes. Exposures at 10, 60, 100, and 240 Hz with peak amplitudes of 500, 300, 500, and 300 nT, respectively, also attenuated the induced analgesia. No exposure abolished this effect except perhaps at 120 Hz, 500 nT. If the peak amplitude frequency product was kept constant at 6000 nT-Hz for frequencies of 12.5, 25, 50, and 100 Hz, the extent of attenuation was constant, indicating that the detection mechanism is dependent on the nT-Hz product. A plot of effect versus the induced current metric nT-Hz suggests a threshold of ELF-MF detection in mice at or below 1000 nT-Hz.