Environmental Considerations Concering The Biological Effects of Power Frequency (50 or 60 Hz) Electric Fields

The results of a comprehensive literature survey on the biological effects of 60 Hz electric fields are summarized to describe two contrasting sets of research findings. On one hand, research results in Western Europe and America have failed to provide any evidence that human exposure to present levels of fields from high voltage overhead power lines, as normally encountered, has any harmful biological effect. On the other hand, studies performed in the USSR report some undesirable effects on workers--not in the typical power line environment--but in the more complex environments found in high voltage switchyards.