The U.S. Department of Energy 60-Hz Electric Fields Bioeffects Research

Major difficulties exist in reliably evaluating the consequences of human and animal exposure to electric fields from transmission lines: lack of experimental and epidemiological data on human exposures, insufficient data from experimental animals, lack of an understanding of the basic mechanisms by which low-intensity fields interact with biological systems, and problems in extrapolating data from animals to humans. Research to date has not resolved these difficulties, but it has led to significant advances in methodologies and an accumulation of effects data. This paper summarizes the results of the last 5 years of DOE research in this area.