Development of a source-exposure matrix for occupational exposure assessment of electromagnetic fields in the INTEROCC study

Details

• Personal Author:
  Bowman, Joseph D. ; Cardis E ; Figuerola J ; Kincl, Laurel ; Morina D ; Richardson L ; Vila J
• Description:
  To estimate occupational exposures to electromagnetic fields (EMF) for the INTEROCC study, a database of source-based measurements extracted from published and unpublished literature resources had been previously constructed. The aim of the current work was to summarize these measurements into a source-exposure matrix (SEM), accounting for their quality and relevance. A novel methodology for combining available measurements was developed, based on order statistics and log-normal distribution characteristics. Arithmetic and geometric means, and estimates of variability and maximum exposure were calculated by EMF source, frequency band and dosimetry type. The mean estimates were weighted by our confidence in the pooled measurements. The SEM contains confidence-weighted mean and maximum estimates for 312 EMF exposure sources (from 0 Hz to 300 GHz). Operator position geometric mean electric field levels for radiofrequency (RF) sources ranged between 0.8 V/m (plasma etcher) and 320 V/m (RF sealer), while magnetic fields ranged from 0.02 A/m (speed radar) to 0.6 A/m (microwave heating). For extremely low frequency sources, electric fields ranged between 0.2 V/m (electric forklift) and 11,700 V/m (high-voltage transmission line-hotsticks), whereas magnetic fields ranged between 0.14 muT (visual display terminals) and 17 muT (tungsten inert gas welding). The methodology developed allowed the construction of the first EMF-SEM and may be used to summarize similar exposure data for other physical or chemical agents. Corrigendum: This work was also funded by the European Commission grant 603794 (GERoNiMO project). [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Database Electromagnetic Phenomena Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Radiation Dosimeters Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety Surveys And Questionnaires
• Keywords:
  Analytical-processes Author Keywords: Electromagnetic Fields Databases Dosimetry Electrical Measurement Electromagnetic-energy Electromagnetic-fields Electromagnetic Radiation Emission Sources Exposure-levels Exposure Assessment Information Retrieval Systems JEM Job Exposure Matrix Log-normal Distribution Mathematical Models Occupational Exposure Occupational Exposure Assessment Questionnaires Risk-factors Semi-empirical Exposure Estimation Source-exposure Matrix

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• ISSN:
  1559-0631
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Ohio ; Oregon ; OSHA Region 10 ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DART - Division of Applied Research and Technology
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  398-408
• Volume:
  27
• Issue:
  4
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20048969
• Citation:
  J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol 2017 Jul/Aug; 27(4):398-408
• Contact Point Address:
  Javier Vila, ISGlobal, Centre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology, Parc de Recerca Biomèdica de Barcelona, Doctor Aiguader, 88 1st Floor, Room 183.01.C, Barcelona 08003, Spain
• Email:
  javier.vila@isglobal.org
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2017
• NORA Priority Area:
  Manufacturing
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:29acec544eee96205d30877a739671fd01a71f65fa2ec9331b78806d7d8a9371d94806790a24b7f7204abf47b12bed689839b1cd85a78ea7c034c84edf82d2bb
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/203578/cdc_203578_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 280.63 KB ]