National Academies Press: OpenBook
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1993. Assessment of the Possible Health Effects of Ground Wave Emergency Network. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/2046.
×

ASSESSMENT OF THE POSSIBLE HEALTH EFFECTS OF GROUND WAVE EMERGENCY NETWORK

Committee on Assessment of the Possible Health Effects of Ground Wave Emergency Network

Board on Radiation Effects Research

Commission on Life Sciences

National Research Council

NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS
Washington, D.C.
1993

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1993. Assessment of the Possible Health Effects of Ground Wave Emergency Network. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/2046.
×

NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS
2101 CONSTITUTION AVENUE, N.W., WASHINGTON, D.C. 20418

The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competencies and with regard for appropriate balance.

This report has been reviewed by a group other than the authors according to procedures approved by a Report Review Committee consisting of the members of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine.

The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Frank Press is president of the National Academy of Sciences.

The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. Robert M. White is the president of the National Academy of Engineering.

The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an advisor to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Kenneth I. Shine is president of the Institute.

The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy's purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Frank Press and Dr. Robert M. White are chairman and vice chairman, respectively, of the National Research Council.

This project was prepared under contract No. F49620-90-0012 between the National Academy of Sciences and the Department of the Air Force.

Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 92-60706

International Standard Book Number 0-309-04777-3

B-616

Limited number of copies available from the Board on Radiation Effects Research, Commission on Life Sciences, National Research Council, 2101 Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20418

Copyright 1993 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.

Printed in the United States of America

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1993. Assessment of the Possible Health Effects of Ground Wave Emergency Network. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/2046.
×

COMMITTEE ON ASSESSMENT OF THE POSSIBLE HEALTH EFFECTS OF GROUND WAVE EMERGENCY NETWORK

THOMAS S. TENFORDE (Chairman),

Battelle Pacific Northwest Laboratories, Richland, Washington

CLAUDIO J. CONTI, M. D.

Anderson Cancer Center, Smithville, Texas

H. KEITH FLORIG,

Resources for the Future, Washington, D.C.

OM P. GANDHI,

University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah

MICHAEL E. GINEVAN,

Department of Energy, Washington, D.C.

GEORGE H. HARRISON,

University of Maryland Medical School, Baltimore, Maryland

MAUREEN M. HENDERSON,

Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington

J. ROSS MACDONALD,

University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina

REGINA M. SANTELLA,

Columbia University, New York, New York

JAN A. J. STOLWIJK,

Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut

HOWARD WACHTEL,

University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado

National Research Council Staff

D. DENNIS MAHLUM, Study Director until February 28, 1993

LARRY H. TOBUREN, Study Director as of February 1, 1993

DORIS E. TAYLOR, Administrative Assistant

NORMAN GROSSBLATT, Editor

SPONSOR'S PROJECT OFFICERS

Major Robert Veal, U.S. Air Force

Lt. Col. Stephen Martin, U.S. Air Force

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1993. Assessment of the Possible Health Effects of Ground Wave Emergency Network. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/2046.
×

BOARD ON RADIATION EFFECTS RESEARCH

WARREN K. SINCLAIR (Chairman),

National Council on Radiation Protection & Measurements (ret.), Bethesda, Maryland

DOUGLAS GRAHN,

Argonne National Laboratory (ret.), Madison, Indiana

ERIC J. HALL,

Columbia University, New York, New York

MAUREEN M. HENDERSON,

Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington

LEONARD S. LERMAN,

Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts

JOHN B. LITTLE,

Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts

JONATHAN M. SAMET,

New Mexico Tumor Registry, University of New Mexico Albuquerque, New Mexico

THOMAS S. TENFORDE,

Battelle Pacific Northwest Laboratories, Richland, Washington

ARTHUR C. UPTON,

New York University Medical Center (ret.), New York, New York

National Research Council Staff

CHARLES W. EDINGTON, Director

D. DENNIS MAHLUM, Senior Program Officer until February 28, 1993

EVAN B. DOUPLE, Senior Program Officer

LARRY H. TOBUREN, Senior Program Officer as of February 1, 1993

CATHERINE S. BERKLEY, Administrative Associate

MAURITA A. DOW, Project Assistant

DORIS E. TAYLOR, Administrative Assistant

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1993. Assessment of the Possible Health Effects of Ground Wave Emergency Network. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/2046.
×

COMMISSION ON LIFE SCIENCES

THOMAS D. POLLARD (Chairman),

Johns Hopkins Medical School, Baltimore, Maryland

BRUCE M. ALBERTS,

University of Califormia, San Francisco, California

BRUCE N. AMES,

University of California, Berkeley, California

J. MICHAEL BISHOP,

University of California Medical Center, San Francisco, California

DAVID BOTSTEIN,

Stanford Univesity School of Medicine, Stanford, California

MICHAEL T. CLEGG,

University of California, Riverside, California

GLENN A. CROSBY,

Washington State University, Pullman, Washington

LEROY E. HOOD,

University of Washington, Seattle, Washington

MARIAN E. KOSHLAND,

University of California, Berkeley, California

RICHARD E. LENSKI,

University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom

STEVEN P. PAKES,

Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas

EMIL A. PFITZER,

Hoffmann-La Roche Inc., Nutley, New Jersey

MALCOLM C. PIKE,

USC School of Medicine, Los Angeles, California

PAUL G. RISSER,

Miami University, Oxford, Ohio

JONATHAN M. SAMET,

New Mexico Tumor Registry, Albuquerque, New Mexico

HAROLD M. SCHMECK, JR.,

Armonk, New York

CARLA J. SHATZ,

University of California, Berkeley, California

SUSAN S. TAYLOR,

University of California at San Diege, La Jolla, California

P. ROY VAGELOS,

Merck & Co., Inc., Whitehouse Station, New Jersey

TORSTEN N. WIESEL,

Rockefeller University, New York, New York

National Research Council Staff

ALVIN G. LAZEN, Acting Executive Director

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1993. Assessment of the Possible Health Effects of Ground Wave Emergency Network. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/2046.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1993. Assessment of the Possible Health Effects of Ground Wave Emergency Network. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/2046.
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PREFACE

This report was prepared in response to a request from the U.S. Air Force for the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) to review the potential health effects of electromagnetic fields emitted by the Ground Wave Emergency Network (GWEN). This system was designed to protect strategic communication capabilities in the event of a highaltitude nuclear detonation. The GWEN communication system broadcasts UHF messages (225-400 MHz) that are transmitted at low altitudes by a network of low-frequency (150-175 kHz) relay nodes located throughout the United States. This mode of message transmission is immune to interference from the strong electromagnetic pulse produced by a high-altitude nuclear detonation.

An Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the GWEN system was issued in 1987. However, in 1990 members of Congress requested the Air Force to evaluate recent evidence for adverse health effects of electromagnetic fields and to assess the relevance of this information to the issue of possible health effects of GWEN emissions. The release of federal funds to bring the entire system of GWEN transmitters and relay nodes into operation was delayed until a response to this request for information was received by Congress. The Air Force subsequently established a contract with the National Research Council (NRC) to convene a committee of independent scientists to address the question of potential health effects of GWEN electromagnetic fields.

An NRC committee of eleven scientists who are recognized for expertise in the areas of dosimetry, biological interactions, epidemiology, and health effects of electromagnetic fields was appointed by the NAS Board on Radiation Effects Research and approved by the NRC Chairman, Dr. Frank Press. The GWEN committee met on five occasions for a total of nine days during the period December 14, 1990 to September 15, 1991. A draft report was prepared during this interval, and subsequently refined for submission to an NRC-appointed peer review committee in April, 1992.

The GWEN report was designed to be responsive to a series of questions raised by the Air Force on the potential health effects of electromagnetic fields, including risks of shocks and burns, effects of these fields on membrane processes in living cells, and the possible carcinogenic effects of these fields. Although relatively little information exists on the biological and health risks of electromagnetic fields in the frequency bands used for GWEN transmissions, the committee was nonetheless able to draw conclusions on the basis of available data for fields with frequencies below and above those of the GWEN system. Detailed dosimetric calculations were performed to characterize the physical interaction of GWEN fields with humans, and the existing biological and human health literature on the effects of electromagnetic fields was evaluated in this context. The levels of GWEN fields in public areas were also analyzed in relation to exposure standards and guidelines for electromagnetic fields that have been issued by governments and agencies throughout the

Page viii Cite
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1993. Assessment of the Possible Health Effects of Ground Wave Emergency Network. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/2046.
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world. Finally, estimates of cancer risk imposed by public exposure to GWEN fields were made by comparison of GWEN field intensities with those of AM and FM communication systems, for which there is currently no evidence of adverse health impacts.

The overall conclusion of the committee was that no unacceptable risks to public health should result from full operation of the GWEN communication system. The committee also recommends that its report be used in conjunction with the original EIS as a definitive assessment of potential effects on public health of electromagnetic fields emitted by the GWEN system.

Thomas S. Tenforde

Chairman

Committee on Assessment of the

Possible Health Effects of Ground

Wave Emergency Network

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1993. Assessment of the Possible Health Effects of Ground Wave Emergency Network. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/2046.
×

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The committee would like to extend its appreciation to Dr. D. Dennis Mahlum of the Board on Radiation Effects Research, who served as Study Director from January, 1991 through the conclusion of the report activities. We also thank Dr. Raymond D. Cooper, who was instrumental in establishing the Air Force contract in 1990 and served as the initial Study Director. The committee also thanks Mrs. Doris E. Taylor for her role in organizing the committee meetings and in preparing this report.

Appreciation is extended to Major Robert T. Veale and Lt. Col. Stephen Martin, who served as the Air Force project offices and provided extensive background information on the GWEN system to the committee; to Lt. Col. G. Andrew Mickley, Dr. James H. Merritt and Dr. Sidney Everett of the Armstrong Laboratory for Human Systems at Brooks Air Force Base, who provided perspectives and information on the biological effects of radiofrequency radiation; and to Dr. Steven M. Sussman and Dr. Roswell P. Barnes, Jr. of the MITRE Corporation in Bedford, MA for providing information on the physical characteristics of GWEN electromagnetic fields. Appreciation is also extended to Dr. John E. Burris, the Executive Director of the NRC Commission on Life Sciences, and Dr. Charles W. Edington, Director of the Board on Radiation Effects Research, for their support of the GWEN committee's activities.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1993. Assessment of the Possible Health Effects of Ground Wave Emergency Network. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/2046.
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 Chapter 6

 

EFFECTS OF ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELDS ON ORGANS AND TISSUES

 

67

   

 Introduction

 

67

   

 Nervous System

 

67

   

 Visual System

 

69

   

 Endocrine System

 

70

   

 Immune System

 

71

   

 Hematologic and Cardiovascular Systems

 

71

   

 Animal Carcinogenesis

 

72

   

 Conclusions

 

74

   

 References

 

76

 Chapter 7

 

IN VITRO CELLULAR AND SUBCELLULAR END POINTS

 

85

   

 Bone Healing

 

89

   

 Mutagenic Effects

 

89

   

 Cytogenetic Effects

 

90

   

 Cell Transformation

 

92

   

 Effects on Transcription

 

92

   

 Tumor Promotion

 

94

   

 Conclusions

 

98

   

 References

 

99

 Chapter 8

 

HUMAN LABORATORY AND CLINICAL EVIDENCE OF EFFECTS OF ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELDS

 

109

   

 Cutaneous Perception

 

109

   

 Phosphenes

 

110

   

 Pacemaker Interference

 

110

   

 Microwave Auditory Effect

 

110

   

 Circadian Rhythms

 

110

   

 Brain Evoked Potentials

 

111

   

 Heart Rate

 

111

   

 Reaction Time

 

111

   

 Mood and Cognitive Function

 

113

   

 Blood Composition

 

113

   

 Bone Repair and Growth Stimulation

 

113

   

 Conclusions

 

114

   

 References

 

115

 Chapter 9

 

EPIDEMIOLOGICAL RESEARCH RELEVANT TO IDENTIFICATION OF HEALTH HAZARDS ASSOCIATED WITH GWEN FIELDS

 

121

   

 Studies of General Environmental Exposure

 

121

   

 Occupational Studies

 

126

   

 Epidemiologic Studies of Health Effects of Microwave Exposure

 

127

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1993. Assessment of the Possible Health Effects of Ground Wave Emergency Network. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/2046.
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ASSESSMENT OF THE POSSIBLE HEALTH EFFECTS OF GROUND WAVE EMERGENCY NETWORK

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Written at the request of the U.S. Air Force and Congress, this book evaluates the potential health effects associated with deployment of the Ground Wave Emergency Network (GWEN), a communications system to be used in case of a high-altitude detonation of a nuclear device.

The committee, composed of experts in biophysics, physics, risk assessment, epidemiology, and cancer, examines data from laboratory and epidemiologic studies of effects from electromagnetic fields to determine the likelihood of health effects being caused by the operation of a fully implemented GWEN system.

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