Occupational and Residential Exposures to ELF Magnetic Fields Over a 24-h Period Among a Sample of Urban Populations in Korea

The objective of this survey is to characterize the extremely low frequency (ELF) personal magnetic field (MF) exposure of the general population in Korea. This is the first-ever personal MF exposure survey done in Korea. The participants of the survey on MF exposure were randomly selected by occupation. The survey was conducted as follows: study participants wore an MF meter for about 25-28 h, and the exposure data were stored in the meter every 4 s. The personal MF exposure meter that was used for this survey was EMDEX-LITE, made by Enertech Consultants, Inc., USA. The participants were asked to record their activities so that MF exposure can be evaluated for a 24-h period. The personal MF exposure survey has been conducted for about four years, and the total number of participants was 466. To get the 24-h exposure data is one of the main purposes of this survey. The survey also provided an opportunity to analyze exposures corresponding to different types of activities. The exposure was analyzed in separate periods corresponding to the following activities: the entire 24-h period, in bed, at work, and by occupation. Therefore, the database was utilized to analyze the present status of personal MF exposure.