Powerline EMF Magnetic Fields Factsheet

Powerline (AC) Magnetic Fields

When an appliance is turned on, there will be a powerline magnetic field, due to current, which can be measured by an AC gaussmeter in the unit of the milligauss or microTesla.

Key scientific reports and statements on magnetic fields include the following, with 1 milligauss being the recommendation of recent scientific groups:

1. Bioinitiative Report of 2012 -- Recommendation of 1 mG limit
2. Seletun Scientific Panel of 2011 Recommendation of 1 mG exposure limit. See the conference proceedings.
3. Pathophysiology Journal, August 2009 - Special Issue on EMF's
4. Congress of the United States, Office of Technology Assessment, May 1989: Biological Effects of Power Frequency Electric and Magnetic Fields
5. EPA Draft 1990 "Evaluation of the Potential Carcinogenicity of Electromagnetic Fields"

This stands in stark contrast to much higher official standards of 833 mG at 60 Hz, which are not sufficiently protective of public health.

Typical Sources of Powerline Magnetic Fields

Typical sources include electricity towers, appliances (point sources), and wiring errors. The most glaring issues are sometimes from reparable wiring errors.

Electricity Towers and High Voltage Lines

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Electricity towers are sources of AC magnetic fields, and homes should be sited at least ~150 meters from the larger 400 kV electricity towers. Large and small power lines both need to be considered, although the former requires more distance than the latter. PowerWatch approximates that to drop below 2mG, one should be ~150 meters away from the strongest 400 kV lines as opposed to only ~15 meters for 11 kV lines. However, it recommends measurement, since fields could vary over time.

Point Sources of Magnetic Fields

Point Sources: Anything that runs electricity, including all electrical appliances are sources of magnetic fields. However, for most point sources, the strength decreases quickly with the square of the distance (see Distance Matters). After 1 meter from typical appliances, levels are generally within limits thought to be acceptable, but conversely, levels within 1 foot of the source could be high. Coils can also generate huge magnetic fields which decrease with the cube of the distance. (Karl Riley's Tracing EMFs in Building Wiring and Grounding). For precautionary guidelines, see the Precautions table. For most household appliances, observing a 1 meter distance is usually good enough for ELF safety concerns, since the strength of the field decreases quickly with distance from the source. To give you a general feel for EMF levels of typical appliances, an alarm clock or radio measures about ~50mG (milligauss) directly at the source, ~2mG at 1 foot, and ~0.6mG at 2 feet.

Wiring Sources of Magnetic Fields

Wiring errors, such as connecting the neutrals/return wiring of 2 different branch circuits (also known as "ganged neutrals" or "paralleled neutrals"), can create large areas of high AC magnetic fields, which decrease linearly with distance, unlike point sources that decrease with the square or cube of the distance. Another common error is making neutral to ground connections outside of the main service panel. By creating multiple return paths for the return current, this causes some of the return current to travel on an unintended path, causing a deficit on the intended path and a surplus on the unintended parallel path. If there is net current on any cable (current on hot/supply and neutral/return wires do not cancel), then the strength of the magnetic field may be high, and decrease linearly with the distance rather than with the square of the distance. The resulting magnetic fields may be ranging over a wide area and may be higher than living near an electricity tower.

Wiring Correction

Wiring errors should be corrected by a licensed electrician, familiar with Karl Riley's Tracing EMF's in Building Wiring and Grounding. In some cases, due to wiring code violations, there can be larger regions with high EMF in a home or office. In this case, the recommendation is to check Karl Riley's video or book on tracing EMF's in the home, produced for the California EMF program. In a 1995 study, Karl Riley measured 150 buildings and found 65% of high fields were related to wiring violations. For more information, see California EMF Program Guidelines on Fixing Electric Wiring.

Other Sources of Magnetic Fields

Other sources of high magnetic fields include the following:

• Magnetic field on water pipes.
• Outdated knob-and-tube wiring. With the separation of conductors by a spacing, there is less cancellation of magnetic fields than when the hot and neutral are together.

Properties of Powerline Magnetic Fields

• Also known as ELF-EMF (Extremely Low Frequency Electromagnetic Field) and alternating current (AC) magnetic fields
• Typical Unit of measurement is in milliGauss (mG) or microTesla (μT), where 10 μT = 1 mG.
• Flowing current, upon turning on appliances, produces the magnetic field.
• AC Magnetic fields penetrate walls and are very difficult to shield.
• Typically involves 50/60 Hz power frequency or multiples of this frequency in the electromagnetic spectrum.
• Alternating current (AC) magnetic fields, reportedly induce electric fields in the body unlike the natural direct current (DC) Magnetic fields from the earth.
• Whereas Electric fields may also be present on energized wires even before a device is turned on, magnetic fields require the device is turned on..

Safety Recommendations

Recommended Limit: For long term exposures, it is recommended that the power frequency magnetic field levels be less than 1 mG, or 0.1 μT, according to the Bioinitiative Working Group and the Seletun Scientific Panel recommendations. Some standards go even further, such as SBM 2008, to recommend even lower values for sleeping areas. The World Health Organization indicates that "pooled analyses of epidemiological studies" demonstrate "a consistent pattern of a two-fold increase in childhood leukaemia associated with average exposure to residential power-frequency magnetic field above 0.3 to 0.4 μT", which corresponds to 3 to 4 mG. Samuel Milham reports over 50 residential and 100 occupational studies on the link between power frequency EMF and cancer. Sperm quality can be lowered by chronic exposures to levels as low as 1.6 mG and chick embryonic development may be affected as low as 1mG.

Health Risks of Power Lines

There are a number of studies, both at the cellular level, and at the epidemiological level, showing potential harm from AC magnetic field exposure.

Cellular Studies and Suggested Mechanisms

• DNA Strand Breaks and Genotoxic Effects: Svedentstal et al (1999), Lai and Singh (2004), EU-sponsored REFLEX project
• Cellular stress response found by Martin Blank. Power frequency EMF may induce heat shock protein 70 synthesis in mammalian cells.
• Calcium efflux: Power line EMFs, like microwaves, may cause calcium efflux from brain tissue which could affect neurotransmitters. ELFs can interact with calcium channel proteins in the cell membrane.
• Prolonged life of free radicals may be caused by delaying recombination.
• Reduction of melatonin which is an important free radical scavenger and cancer fighter. See Liburdy et al. 1993, Reiter and Robinson 1995, and Wilson et al. 1990, referenced in Biological Effects of Low Frequency

Epidemiological and Human Case Studies

• Childhood Cancer: In the 1970s, epidemiologist Nancy Wertheimer detected increased childhood leukemia in children near electric power lines. This was later replicated by Dr. David Savitz. Epidemiology studies suggest link to childhood leukemia at and over 3-4 mG. Even 1mG chronic exposure can increase cancer risk for children. This may especially affect children with genetic DNA repair problems. For more information, see Ahlbom et al (2000), Greenland et al (2000), and Michael Kundi's review.
• Schuz et al showed that risk for leukemia increased with the higher magnetic fields, when comparing (a) <1 mG, (b) 1-<2mG, (c) 2-<4mG, and (d) >4 mG. Furthermore, the risk for children was much greater than for all ages. A helpful introduction to the epidemiology by Magda Havas shows the significance of the dose in the risk for leukemia.
• Occupational EMF's and Cancer: Office workers exposed to electronics EMFs were also found to have higher melanoma on covered parts of the body. Occupational studies also suggest that greater EMF exposure results in increased risk of breast cancer. This included women electrical workers and even the rarer male breast cancer. It has been hypothesized that breast cancer may be related to reduced melatonin production in animals and humans (Reiter, 1995). Melatonin is a major radical scavenger and a great antidote against cancer.
• Alzheimer's: Certain occupations with stronger exposures (sewing or electrical occupations) carry greater risk, e.g., Alzheimer's for industrial sewing machine operators. A Swiss study showed that people living within 50 meters of a high-voltage power line had increased risk of Alzheimer's over time. See Microwave News. The Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine reported in 2013 that occupational exposure to magnetic fields may be associated with moderately increased risk of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
• IARC type 2B carcinogens (potentially carcinogenic). The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) panel of 30 scientists voted 19-8 to identify EMF (Power frequency electromagnetic fields, e.g. 50/60Hz) as type 2B carcinogens, the same category that lead (as well as coffee) is in. Dr. Marron says, "Now the public will know what the members of the EMF research community have known for years" and yet a lot of the public still doesn't know.
  "...a hospital in San Diego, California, found that 14 out of 18 autistic children had lesions in the brain identical to those in rats exposed to EMFs between one and six days after birth." -- (Alasdair & Jean Philips, The Powerwatch Handbook, 178)

• Infertility and Miscarriages: De-Kun Li found men exposed to over 1.6mG for over six hours a day were four times more likely to have substandard sperm and women exposed to over 16mG had higher rates of miscarriages. Li found a strong link between vacuum cleaner usage and increased risk of miscarriage. (The Powerwatch Handbook, 174). Chick embryonic development is affected as low as 1 mG at 100 Hz (Dr. Delgado in Levitt, 163).
• Depression: Several studies have looked at the potential association between electromagnetic fields and depression (Poole et al. 1993 and DeMatteo 1986, Wilson 1988.) One potential mechanism proposed has been related to disrupted melatonin secretion.Biological Effects of Low Frequency, p.219.
• Asthma: Maternal exposure during pregnancy may increase risk of asthma of offspring, with rates of asthma increasing with the magnetic field. (De-Kun Li et al, 2011)
• VDT's: With the older CRT monitors, there have been studies of birth defects of children of CRT computer users (Levitt, 169). Olle Johansson's research has found biological effects of CRT monitors on both healthy people and people with electrohypersensitivity. These relate to the skin and the immune system. Magda Havas also looked at her own blood and observed blood clumping after roughly 70 minutes of computer work. See Live Blood Cells and Electrosmog . Fortunately, she said it returned to normal within 10 minutes after computer use.
• Attracting Toxic Gases: Electricity pylon towers might also attract certain toxic gases, such that living within the air current of one of them may not be such a good idea either.

Precautionary Steps

• Measurement: Ideally, you would test a residence before moving in, because these levels can be hard to rectify. You can measure your home, office, and car, and identify any abnormal magnetic fields which may be caused by faulty wiring. The advantage of a triaxial meter is that the orientation will not matter. The advantage of a single-axis meter is that it makes it easier to determine the source of the field. Read the pros and cons of various gaussmeters.
• Fix Wiring Errors such as ganged neutrals which may be responsible for causing high EMF's in buildings. For more information, read Karl Riley's book on tracing EMF's.
• LCD computer monitors emit much less magnetic field radiation than the old-fashioned huge CRT monitors. An LCD flat panel monitor meeting TCO99 or TCO03 standard may be a better choice, but still emits intermediate frequencies. Laptops have ELF radiation as well, and the magnetic field levels fluctuate a lot. To reduce this, keep a distance. An external USB keyboard and USB mouse can be used, but avoid wireless keyboards or wireless mice, and measure magnetic fields to make sure that the keyboard you selected does not itself have high magnetic fields.
• Electrical Devices: Rule of thumb would be to observe a minimal 1 yard distance from electrical devices such as power surge protectors, power backup equipment (UPS), AC-powered alarm clocks, boomboxes, etc. Some hair dryers are designed to have an air tube to increase the distance between the hair dryer and your head. Certain lamps are better in their ELF radiation than others, e.g., incandescent lamps are typically safer than halogen or CFL lamps.
• A battery-powered alarm clock may be better than an AC-powered alarm clock. However, if you have a battery-powered motor, it gets converted into AC magnetic fields. Hence, battery-powered sewing machines have high AC magnetic fields.
• Cell phones: Note that some cell phones not only have high microwave levels, but can also emit high power line magnetic fields, and therefore should be kept at a distance from both the head and the body as long as they are turned on.
• Be aware of powerline magnetic fields from electric blankets and massage chairs, since these require close proximity for their effectiveness. Besides magnetic fields, an electric blanket may also have electric field risks.
• Check your car's magnetic fields-- some cars are worse near the front dashboard, and some are worse only on one side of the car, e.g., the right side of the car. Different highways may also have different magnetic field levels due to power lines (above or under ground). Note: Even if magnetic fields are low, a car may still have high electric fields as well.

For more ideas, check out the Illustrated Table of Precautions

Further Reading

• The Seletun Statement - Recommends the 1 mG exposure limit
• Powerwatch UK Website - Powerfrequency EMFs Overview
• Biological Effects of Low Frequency Electromagnetic Fields, by Magda Havas
• Wiring Issues: House Wiring Issues (from Powerwatch) and Mike Holt Code Forum,
  What Electricians should know about EMF
• California EMF Program
• US EPA, Dr. Carl F. BlackmanAlterations in Calcium Ion Activity Caused by ELF and RF Electromagnetic Fields

Books

• Robert Becker's The Body Electric
• B. Blake Levitt, Electromagnetic Fields (1995)
• Martin Blank, Overpowered
• Ellen Sugarman, Warning: The Electricity Around You May Be Hazardous to Your Health. How to protect yourself from electromagnetic fields
• Alasdair and Jean Philips, The Powerwatch Handbook (2006)
• Ann Louise Gittleman, Zapped (2010)
• Samuel Milham, Dirty Electricity (2010)

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