© Safety of High Speed U. S. Department of Transportation Guided Ground Federal Railroad Administration Transportation Systems Office of Research and Development Washington, D.C. 20590 DOT/FRA/ORD-93/31 Final Report This document Is available to the DOT-VNTSC-FRA-93-18 August 1993 public through the National Technical Information Service, Springfield, VA22161 NOTICE This document is disseminated under the sponsorship of the Department of Transportation in the interest of information exchange. The United States Government assumes no liability for its contents or use thereof. NOTICE The United States Government does not endorse products or manufacturers. Trade or manufacturers' names appear herein solely because they are considered essential to the object of this report. NOTICE In places, this report discusses whether various aspects of the technology that is the subject of this report comply with Federal safety laws and regulations. Those discussions, which reflect the seasoned judgement of commentators qualified in their fields, do not constitute rulings by the Federal Railroad Administration's Office of Safety or its Office of Chief Counsel concerning compliance with the law. REPORT DOCUMENTATION PAGE Form Approved OMB No. 0704-0188 Public reporting burden for.this collection of information is estimated to average 1 hour per response, including the completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to Washington Headquarters Services, Directorate for information Operations and Reports, 1215 Jefferson Davis Highway. Suite 1204, Arlington. VA ?2?0?-4302. and to the Office of Management and Budget, Paperwork Seduction Proit.pt f0704-01Bm Uashinotnnr fir ?nS0V 1. AGENCY USE ONLY (Leave blank) 2. REPORT DATE REPORT TYPE AND DATES COVERED August 1, 1993 Final Report October 1991 - July 1993 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE 5. FUNDING NUMBERS Safety of High Speed Guided Ground Transportation Systems; Potential Health Effects of Low Frequency Electromagnetic RR393/R4021 Fields Due to Maglev and Other Electric Rail Systems 6. AUTHOR(S) William A. Creasey, Robert B. Goldberg 7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 8. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION Information Ventures, Inc.* REPORT NUMBER 1500 Locust Street, Suite 3216 D0T-VNTSC-FRA-93-18 Philadelphia, PA 19102-4321 9. SPONSORING/MONITORING AGENCY NAHE(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 10. SPONSORING/MONITORING U.S. Department of Transportation AGENCY REPORT NUMBER Federal Railroad Administration DOT-FRA/0RD-93/31 Office of Research and Development 400 7th Street, S.W. Washington, DC 20590 11. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES U.S. Department of Transportation •Under contract to: Research and Special Programs Administration John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center Cambridge, MA 02142 12a. DISTRIBUTION/AVAILABILITY STATEMENT 12b. DISTRIBUTION CODE This document is available to the public through the National Technical Information Service, Springfield, VA 22161 13. ABSTRACT (Maximum 200 words) The safety of magnetically-levitated (maglev) and high-speed rail (HSR) trains proposed for use in the United States is the responsibility of the Federal Railroad Administration. There are concerns for physical safety associated with equipment operation and high-voltage currents, and for potential adverse health effects on transportation workers and the public from the electric and magnetic fields (EMF) produced in the Extremely Low Frequency (ELF) range (3-3,000 Hz). This report outlines research on the biological and health effects of EMF most relevant to fields generated by maglev and HSR systems. Among the conclusions are: epidemiologic results suggest a low-level health risk for power-line frequency ELF EMF which is, at present, the most relevant risk to ascribe to maglev systems; bioeffects may occur at specific window frequencies and intensities; of effects ascribed to EMF, the most convincing are altered circadian rhythms of melatonin secretion, modulation of transmembrane calcium transport, slight increases in the risks for some rare cancers, and mild behavioral disturbances; occupational categories used as the basis for epidemiologic studies need better definition in terms of the characteristics of EMF exposure; and, there is need to improve bioassay systems and test maglev-type fields on them. 14. SUBJECT TERMS 15. NUMBER OF PAGES Electric and Magnetic Fields (EMF); Extremely Low Frequency (ELF); Power Line Frequency; 84 Static Magnetic Fields; EMF Analysis; Electrified Rail; Trains; Magnetically-Levitated Trains (maglev); Power Substations; Health Effects; Biological Effects, Animal; Biological Effects, Human; Biological Effects, Epidemiologic Studies; Experimental Studies; 16. PRICE CODE Literature Review. 17. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION 18. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION 19. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION 20. LIMITATION OF ABSTRACT OF REPORT OF THIS PAGE OF ABSTRACT Unclassified Unclassified Unclassified nsn 7540-01-2SO-5500 Standard Form 290 (Rev. 2-89) Prescribed by ANSI Std. 239-18 PREFACE This final report has been prepared by the staff of Information Ventures, Incorporated, for submission to the U.S. Department ofTransportation (DOT), Federal Railroad Agency (FRA), Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (VNTSC). It is an independent assessment of the current state of knowledge about the potential health effects of the low frequency electromagnetic emissions associated with maglev and other high-speed rail technology. The primary authors ofthis report are William A. Creasey, D.Phil., and Robert B. Goldberg, Ph.D. Analysis ofmeasurement data from the TR07 system, obtained from Electric Research and Management (ERM) and FRA, was performed by Kenneth R. Foster, Ph.D. of the Department of Bioengineering, University of Pennsylvania. The authors would like to thank, for guidance and review comments: Dr. Aviva Brecher, the Volpe Center EMF Research Program Manager and technical monitor for this project; Mr. Arne Bang, FRA Senior Manager of Special Programs, who sponsored this research; and Mr. Robert Dorer, the Volpe Center Manager of the High Speed Guided Ground Transportation Safety Program. in SYSTEME INTERNATIONAL fSD UNIT DEFINITIONS AND CONVERSIONS USED IN THIS REPORT DISTANCE (ENGLISH-TO-SI CONVERSION): 1 inch (in) = 2.54 centimeters (cm) = 0.025 meters (m) 1 foot (ft) = 30.5 centimeters (cm) = 0.305 meters (m) 1 yard (yd) =91.4 centimeters (cm) = 0.914 meters (m) 1 mile (mi) =1.61 kilometers (km) = 1,610 meters (m) ELECTRICAL QUANTITIES: Electric Fields 1 Volt/meter (V/m) = 0.01 Volts/centimeter (V/cm) 1 kiloVolt/meter (kV/m) = 1000 Volts/meter (V/m) 1 kiloVolt/meter (kV/m) = 10 Volts/centimeter (V/cm) Magnetic Flux Densities (English-to-SI Conversion) 10,000 Gauss (G) = 1 Tesla (T) 10 milHGauss (mG) = 1 microTesla (/xT) 1 milHGauss (mG) = .1 microTesla QtT) 0.01 milHGauss (mG) = 1 nanoTesla (nT) Electromagnetic Frequency Bands 1 cycle per second = 1 Hertz (Hz) 1,000 cycles per second = 1 kiloHertz (kHz) Ultra Low Frequency (ULF) Band = 0 Hz to 3 Hz Extreme Low Frequency (ELF) Band = 3 Hz to 3 kHz Very Low Frequency (VLF) Band = 3 kHz to 30 kHz Low Frequency (LF) Band = 30 kHz to 300 kHz IV TABLE OF CONTENTS Section EagS 1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1-1 1.1 The Problem of ELF EMF Risk Assessment 1-1 1.2 Exposure Assessment of the TR07 Maglev Train 1-2 1.3 Exposure Assessment of Other Rail Systems 1-2 1.4 Review of Relevant EMF Research Literature 1-3 1.4.1 Epidemiologic Studies 1-3 1.4.2 Animal Toxicology Studies 1-3 1.4.3 Animal and In Vitro Bioeffect Studies 1-4 1.5 Guidelines 1-4 1.6 Conclusions 1-4 2. INTRODUCTION 2-1 3. CLINICAL AND EPIDEMIOLOGIC STUDIES OF RAILROAD WORKERS AND OTHERS EXPOSED TO EMF ASSOCIATED WITH RAILROAD OPERATION 3-1 4. DOSIMETRY: CHARACTERIZATION OF EMF EXPOSURE OF RAILROAD WORKERS, UTILITY WORKERS, AND THE GENERAL PUBLIC 4-1 4.1 Genera] Occupational Environments 4-1 4.2 Residential Environment 4-2 4.3 Maglev and Other Rail Transport Systems 4-3 4.4 Shielding 4-8 5. EPIDEMIOLOGIC STUDIES OF WORKERS AND THE GENERAL PUBLIC EXPOSED TO POWER FREQUENCY (50 AND 60 HZ) ELECTRIC AND MAGNETIC FIELDS I ... 5-1 5.1 Cancer Risk 5-1 5.2 General Effects on Physiology and Behavior 5-10 5.3 Neuroendocrine Effects 5-11 5.4 Reproductive and Teratologic Effects 5-12 5.5 Mutagenic Effects 5-14 5.6 Specialized Health Problems 5-14 TABLE OF CONTENTS (continued) Section Pggg 6. CLINICAL AND EPIDEMIOLOGIC STUDIES OF HUMAN EXPOSURE TO STATIC MAGNETIC FIELDS (MRI AND RESEARCH FACILITIES) .. 6-1 7. ANIMAL HEALTH EFFECTS AND BEHAVIORAL STUDIES 7-1 7.1 EMF as a Stressor - Endocrinologic Effects 7-1 7.2 Effects of ELF EMF on the Immune System . 7.3 7.3 Effects on Reproduction and Development 7.4 7.4 Effects of EMF on Induction and Growth of Tumors 7-6 7.5 Behavioral Effects . 7-7 7.6 Studies of High-Strength Static Magnetic Fields 7-9 8. ANIMAL AND CELLULAR STUDIES ON "WINDOW" EMF EFFECTS ... 8-1 9. EMF GUIDELINES 9.! 10. CONCLUSIONS 10_i 11. REFERENCES H_l VI LIST OF FIGURES Figure 4-1 BASIC DESIGN OF MAGLEV PROTOTYPE TRAINS 4-5 LIST OF TABLES Table 5-1 SUMMARY OF EPIDEMIOLOGIC STUDIES OF PRESUMED RESIDENTIAL EMF EXPOSURE AND CANCER INCIDENCE 5-2 5-2 SUMMARY OF EPIDEMIOLOGIC STUDIES OF PRESUMED OCCUPATIONAL EMF EXPOSURE AND CANCER INCIDENCE 5-4 9-1 NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL GUIDELINES AND RECOMMENDATIONS WITH RESPECT TO TIME-VARYING MAGNETIC FIELDS 9-2 vii/viii 1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The introduction of new large-scale electronic technology such as magnetic levitation (maglev) rail transport raises concerns over possible human health effects resulting from electromagnetic field (EMF) exposures for workers and the general public. In preparing this report, the staff ofInformation Ventures, Inc., have reviewed the scientific literature on EMF bioeffects for the Department of Transportation's Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (VNTSC) to identify studies which might be relevant to maglev fields. This report describes those studies which mightprovide some basis for makingpreliminaryrecommendations on the possiblehuman health impact of this technology.