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ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELDS - EMF
The following links are provided as a public service to help answer questions relating to Electro-Magnetic Fields (EMF). The State of Maine does not presently have any regulations that govern EMF fields.
Generally speaking EMF is divided into two different groups, Extremely Low Frequency (ELF) EMF like those found around electrical devices operating at Alternating Current (AC) frequencies, and other EMF of higher frequencies like those found around broadcast radio antennas and cell phone antennas. If there are links that you have found that are not presented here but you feel should be included, or if you have any questions please contact us.
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (part of the National Institute of Health) EMF page
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
World Health Organization EMF page
Swedish Radiation Protection Authority (SSI)
Health Protection Agency, United Kingdom
ELF Electromagnetic Fields and Epidemiological Studies (9Mb, pdf)
General conclusion (from above document)
Laboratory experiments have provided no good evidence that extremely low frequency electromagnetic fields are capable of producing cancer, nor do human epidemiological studies suggest that they cause cancer in general. There is, however, some epidemiological evidence that prolonged exposure to higher levels of power frequency magnetic fields is associated with a small risk of leukaemia in children. In practice, such levels of exposure are seldom encountered by the general public in the UK. In the absence of clear evidence of a carcinogenic effect in adults, or of a plausible explanation from experiments on animals or isolated cells, the epidemiological evidence is currently not strong enough to justify a firm conclusion that such fields cause leukaemia in children. Unless, however, further research indicates that the finding is due to chance or some currently unrecognised artefact, the possibility remains that intense and prolonged exposures to magnetic fields can increase the risk of leukaemia in children.
Conference of Radiation Control Program Directors
(these are older documents but still informative)
