Summary of the situation report bulletin (1/2016) published online

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The Finnish Government Decree (388/2016) relating to the Directive 2013/35/EU on the “minimum health and safety requirements regarding the exposure of workers to the risks arising from physical agents (electromagnetic fields)” came into force on 1 July 2016. Moreover, a practical guide has been issued, with advice on how to control hazards caused by electromagnetic fields in workplaces.

I have once again found some interesting publications for this bulletin. As many times before, the first papers are about field exposure and childhood leukemia, this time including one on the European Commission-funded ARIMMORA project, which I expect to produce further interesting publications later on.

Another paper reports on a study that investigated the perceived quality of life, among other things, in people with idiopathic environmental intolerance attributed to electromagnetic fields. Hopefully, research will find means to help those suffering from these symptoms.

Finally, I would like to mention that this is the first situation report bulletin produced outside Tampere University of Technology. I found interesting new challenges outside TUT, but the situation report bulletin will continue despite the change.

Hope you enjoy reading this summary in English!

Two new articles published and a forthcoming article

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The first article, Blue-Collar Workers’ Accidents and Close Call Situations Connected to the Use of Cell Phones among Finns Aged 18–65 by Leena Korpinen, Rauno Pääkkönen and Fabriziomaria Gobba is published in International Journal of Social, Behavioral, Educational, Economic, Business and Industrial Engineering Vol:10, No:3, 2016, 751- 754

The second article, Comparison of Injuries and Accidents Globally and in Finland by Rauno Pääkkönen and Leena Korpinen is published in International Journal of Social, Behavioral, Educational, Economic, Business and Industrial Engineering Vol:10, No:3, 2016, 786- 789

The forthcoming article, Simple estimation of induced electric fields in nervous system tissues for human exposure to non-uniform electric fields at power frequency by Hiroo Tarao, Hironobu Miyamoto, Leena Korpinen, Noriyuki Hayashi, Katsuo Isaka will be published in Physics in Medicine and Biology (Special Issue)

Summary of Situation Report Bulletin on Animals Exposed to Power Lines published online

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This situation report on power lines and animals was initiated in a Board discussion in which a regular situation report bulletin was reviewed prior to its publication. The question of potential effects of power lines on animals keeps coming up from time to time, and we found that, at least in Finnish, not much has been published on this topic. This gave us the idea to compile a special situation report dedicated to studies on animals.

The studies summarized in this bulletin focus exclusively on animals exposed to power lines, with all other animal-related studies left out of consideration. Emphasis was put on recent studies, and a variety of database searches were carried out to achieve extensive coverage. More time was spent on this than usual, as the search spanned a time period of a considerable number of years.

The first paper in this bulletin discusses bee hives in the vicinity of power lines. It reviews a number of previous studies and draws conclusions based on the findings. The Finnish guidelines recommend that bee hives should be located at the edge of a right-of-way. Also, hives reinforced with metal should, where necessary, be provided with electric-field shielding in the form of wire mesh connected to the ground. The article on bees is followed by several on dairy cows, investigating, for example, milk production in pregnant and non-pregnant cows, and hormone levels.

I hope you enjoy reading this summary in English!

Summary of Situation Report Bulletin on Animals Exposed to Power Lines published online

|

This situation report on power lines and animals was initiated in a Board discussion in which a regular situation report bulletin was reviewed prior to its publication. The question of potential effects of power lines on animals keeps coming up from time to time, and we found that, at least in Finnish, not much has been published on this topic. This gave us the idea to compile a special situation report dedicated to studies on animals.

The studies summarized in this bulletin focus exclusively on animals exposed to power lines, with all other animal-related studies left out of consideration. Emphasis was put on recent studies, and a variety of database searches were carried out to achieve extensive coverage. More time was spent on this than usual, as the search spanned a time period of a considerable number of years.

The first paper in this bulletin discusses bee hives in the vicinity of power lines. It reviews a number of previous studies and draws conclusions based on the findings. The Finnish guidelines recommend that bee hives should be located at the edge of a right-of-way. Also, hives reinforced with metal should, where necessary, be provided with electric-field shielding in the form of wire mesh connected to the ground. The article on bees is followed by several on dairy cows, investigating, for example, milk production in pregnant and non-pregnant cows, and hormone levels.

I hope you enjoy reading this summary in English!

Sixteen new articles published

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The first article, Examples of electromagnetic field (50-100 kHz) emissions from smart meters in Finland by Rauno Pääkkönen, Marko Lundström, Jari Mustaparta and Leena Korpinen was published in Radioprotection 50(3), 225-227 (2015).

The second article, Examples of extremely low-frequency magnetic fields in a Finnish metro station by Leena Korpinen, Artturi Lähdetie, Åke Amundin, Hannu Piippo and Lauri Sydänheimo was published in Radioprotection, Radioprotection 50(3), 229-232 (2015).

The third article, Examples of the Teaching of the Health Questions of Electric and Magnetic Fields at Tampere University of Technology in Finland, by Leena Korpinen and Rauno Pääkkönen, was published in Journal of Physical Science and Application 5 (4) (2015) 277-282.

The fourth article, Self-reported depression and anxiety symptoms and usage of computers and mobile phones among, working-age Finns by Leena Korpinen and Rauno Pääkkönen, was published in International Journal of Occupational Safety and Ergonomics (JOSE), 2015 Vol. 21, No. 2, 221–228.

The fifth article, Cardiac pacemakers in magnetic fields of a shunt reactor at a 400 kV substation by Leena Korpinen, Harri Kuisti, Hiroo Tarao, Jarmo Elovaara ja Vesa Virtanen, was published in International Journal of Occupational Safety and Ergonomics (JOSE), 2015 Vol. 21, No. 2, 229–232.

The sixth article, LED Lighting Interviews and Assessment in Forest Machines by Rauno Pääkkönen, Fabriziomaria Gobba and Leena Korpinen, was published in International Journal of Medical, Health, Biomedical, Bioengineering and Pharmaceutical Engineering Vol:9, No:9, 2015

The seventh article, Ergonomics Aspects of Work with Computers by Leena Korpinen, Rauno Pääkkönen and Fabriziomaria Gobba, was published in International Journal of Social, Behavioral, Educational, Economic, Business and Industrial Engineering Vol:9, No:9, 2015

The eighth article, Possible influences of spark discharges on cardiac pacemakers, by Leena Korpinen, Harri Kuisti, Hiroo Tarao, Vesa Virtanen, Rauno Pääkkönen,Thanh Dovan and Robert Kavet, was published in Health Physics: January 2016 – Volume 110 – Issue 1 – p 1–10.

Eight articles in Bulgarian journal of public health:

  • Comparison of methods to define power line and substation’s busbar wire capacitances in electric field calculation task by Okun, O. & Korpinen, L. 2015 In : Bulgarian journal of public health . Supplement, VII, 2(1), p. 55-61
  • Example measurements of exposure to ELF magnetic fields on the metro station in Finland by Korpinen, L., Lähdetie, A., Amundin, Å., Piippo, H. & Sydänheimo, L. 2015 In : Bulgarian journal of public health . Supplement, VII , 2(1), p. 250-253.
  • Exposure to RF fields during the remote readings of the smart meter in Finland by Pääkkönen, R., Lundström, M., Mustaparta, J. & Korpinen, L. 2015 In : Bulgarian journal of public health . Supplement, VII, 2(1), p. 69-71
  • Health surveillance according to the new EU directive 2013/35/EU:possible criteria by Korpinen, L. & Gobba, F. 2015 In : Bulgarian journal of public health . Supplement, VII , 2(1), p. 127-129.
  • Measurements of magnetic fields and contact currents produced by domestic induction hobs by Tarao, H., Korpinen, L., Hayashi, N. & Isaka, K. 2015 In : Bulgarian journal of public health . Supplement, VII, 2(1), p. 112-114
  • Occupational and environmental exposure to extremely low frequency magnetic fields in a large group of workers by Gobba, F., Rossi, P., Bravo, G., Contessa, G. M. & Korpinen, L. 2015 In : Bulgarian journal of public health . Supplement, VII, 2(1), p. 211-213
  • Possibility to decreasing the 50Hz electric field exposure with different jackets by Korpinen, L. & Pääkkönen, R. 2015 In : Bulgarian journal of public health. Supplement, VII, 2(1), p. 62-65.
  • Preliminary measurements of smart meter electromagnetic field (50-100kHz) emissions in Finland by Pääkkönen, R., Lundström, M., Mustaparta, J. & Korpinen, L. 2015 In : Bulgarian journal of public health . Supplement, VII, 2(1), p. 66-68