Ensuring effective protection against ELF adverse effect: the Australian experience

A recent Environmental Health Criteria (EHC) monograph on Extremely Low Frequency fields (ELF) involved health risk assessment [1]. It recommended that exposure limits were needed to protect against certain established acute effects which could lead to adverse health. It noted the evidence for long-term low-intensity exposure being associated with increased risk of childhood leukaemia for average time-weighted exposure above 0.3 – 0.4 μT, but considered that the evidence was insufficiently strong to be considered causal. However, because of this evidence, procedures for implementing very low-cost precautionary procedures for reducing exposure were considered to be warranted. The Australian radiation protection agency, ARPANSA, commenced revision of 50/60 Hz guidelines, to encompass the 0 – 3 kHz frequency range, in 2002. The drafting committee considered local and international expert input as well as from stakeholders. The rationale behind the public consultation draft is reviewed in this paper. To protect against established effects, Basic Restrictions were derived by reassessing the literature, including the more recent data from MRI studies. Reference Levels were then derived making use of recent voxel-based models of male and female humans. A requirement for considering low-cost precautionary measures was included, with an annex discussing the form that these measures could take.