EMF Research Activities Completed Under the Energy Policy Act of 1992

Preface

Public concern over the possible health effects of exposure to low-intensity, 60-Hertz (Hz) electric and magnetic fields (EMF) continues to be a driving force in setting the research agendas for government and private organizations. This concern led to a number of workshops held from 1990 through 1992, with participation of representatives of the Department of Energy, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Electric Power Research Institute, public utilities, state governments, scientists, and others. The workshops were designed to elicit strategies for research on the biologic effects of EMF exposure and various methods for disseminating of research findings to the public were considered. These workshops provided the basic framework for establishmen t of an enhanced national program in EMF research that was ultimately authorized by Congress in the Energy Policy Act of 1992 (Public Law 102-486).

Under Item 303, Section 2118, the act outlined a national program involving a partnership between government and industry to determine whether exposure to 60-Hz EMF produced by the generation, transmission, and use of electric energy affects human health ; to carry out research, development, and demonstration of technologies that would mitigate any adverse human health effects; and to provide for dissemination of information related to possible human health effects of EMF exposure. The program provides f or the collection, compilation, publication, and dissemination of information on the types and extent of human health effects that might be induced by EMF exposure; the results of research on mechanisms of interaction of EMF and their relationship to poss ible human health effects; and research, development, and demonstration of technologies to improve measurement, characterization, and management of exposure. The legislation included establishment of a National EMF Interagency Committee (IAC) and a Natio nal EMF Advisory Committee (NEMFAC) to guide the effort. The legislation also directed the secretary of the Department of Energy (DOE) to enter into an agreement with the National Academy of Sciences to evaluate the research activities completed under th e program and to periodically report its finding to IAC and NEMFAC.

Charge to the Committee

To be responsive to the legislation described above, and at DOE's request, the National Research Council's (NRC) Board on Radiation Effects Research (BRER) established a committee of eminent scientists to aid in its review of the EMF research activities completed under the Electric and Magnetic Fields Research and Public Information Dissemination (EMF-RAPID) program authorized by the National Energy Policy Act. The NRC committee was asked to review the EMF program adopted by DOE and the National Institu te of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), as well as research strategies suggested by other federal and nonfederal groups, including the NRC Committee on the Possible Effects of Electromagnetic Fields on Biologic Systems, which was initiated in 1992. Within the framework of this knowledge, the committee was asked to do the following:

Review and evaluate the scientific and technical content of projects completed under the EMF-RAPID program. The results of this review, with implications of the effect and significance of the work in addressing the issues defined in the national EM F research plan, are to be reported to DOE, IAC, and NEMFAC.
Review continuing research activities for scientific content and suitability to meet the goals of the EMF-RAPID plan. Continuing projects will be given only a brief review with regard to content and direction, based on a brief statement of scope, goals, and progress submitted to the committee using a format developed specifically for that purpose, to assess their potential to fulfill the goals of the national program.
Recommend modifications to the EMF-RAPID program, as appropriate, based on information the committee acquires concerning new research findings not available when the national research agenda was developed, from briefings the committee might request , and from analysis of research strategies developed by other groups.
Assess the scientific and technical content, and make recommendations as deemed necessary, for activities initiated under the EMF-RAPID agenda to promote the transfer of information derived from research projects.

The results of the NRC committee review and evaluations are to be reported to the DOE, IAC, and NEMFAC annually. At the conclusion of the EMF-RAPID program specified by the National Energy Policy Act (the legislation has a sunset provision that all auth ority under the law expires December 31, 1997), the NRC will submit a final report to DOE, IAC, and NEMFAC with an assessment of the research activities conducted under the act.

Organization of the Study

To carry out its charge, BRER appointed a committee of scientists, experienced in EMF measurement and dosimetry, molecular and cellular biology, tissue and animal biology, biophysics, mechanisms of cancer induction, and behavior, to provide a thorough review of the research strategy and of the research completed under the national program. Two members of this NRC review committee under the EMF-RAPID program are also members of the NRC Committee on the Possible Effects of Electromagnetic Fields on Bio logic Systems which was charged with the review of the research literature relating to possible adverse health effects. They are, therefore, intimately familiar with the literature on EMF effects. This study is conducted under the general guidance of the Board on Radiation Effects Research and the Commission on Life Sciences of the National Research Council.

As of July 1995, the committee has had access to documents provided by DOE and NIEHS that describe the EMF-RAPID program, brief descriptions of the projects initiated in 1994 under the DOE and NIEHS portion of the EMF-RAPID program, and the informatio n brochure completed in January 1995 as a project funded under the EMF-RAPID program.

This report is organized to provide a brief discussion of the status of research relating to the biologic effects of EMF exposure, a review of the research strategy adopted by the EMF-RAPID program, a discussion of the work initiated under the EMF-RAPID program, and a review of the one project that has been completed under the EMF-RAPID program.

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