Handbook of Epidemiological Methods with Special Emphasis on Extremely Low-Frequency Electromagnetic Fields

摘要

Three questions have been raised: (1) Do the perturbations seen in laboratory systems represent adverse health issues for high-voltage transmission lines, or are they only biologically interesting. (2) Do health effects result from household and/or industrial electromagnetic exposures. (3) What is the relationship between exposure to high-voltage transmission lines and household electromagnetic field exposures. Purpose of this document is to describe some means by which human-level studies can contribute to the resolution of these questions. Included with descriptions of five alternative epidemiologic study designs are factors of interest such as cost, time, sources of data, and strengths and weaknesses of the designs. Definitive work could be carried out by long-term population surveillance, but such studies would be accompanied by significant costs. With the present uncertainty over whether or not there are health risks associated with power-frequency electromagnetic fields, an intermediate level of research may be more appropriate. By knowing the various trade-offs involved in choosing between the available study methods, utility managers and others interested in initiating new work can better judge the merits of the alternative designs. (ERA citation 11:010166)