THE BIOELECTROMAGNETICS SOCIETY ADVANCED RESEARCH WORKSHOP RADIO FREQUENCY RADIATION DOSIMETRY: ITS RELATIONSHIP TO THE BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELDS, 12-16 OCTOBER 1998 GOZD MARTULJEK, SLOVENIA A NATO Advanced Research Workshop on Radio Frequency Radiation Dosimetry: Its Relationship to the Biological Effects of Electromagnetic Fields was held 12-16 October 1998, Gozd Martuljek, SLOVENIA. This five-day workshop brought together world class scientists from NATO countries and NATO Co-operation Partner (CP) and Partner for Peace (PfP) countries. The experts reviewed the state of the science dealing with Radio Frequency Radiation dosimetry, measurements and the relationship between SAR, power density and the biological effects of the electromagnetic fields. This meeting continues a series of planned NATO workshops on Radio Frequency Radiation Health and Safety that began in 1993 with the NATO ARW on Radio Frequency Standards held in Rome, IT. The speakers will have papers published in a NATO ASI proceedings. The first three days consisted of presentations by 55 speakers from 17 nations, including eight PfP nations. The sessions and the chairs were Basics of Electromag-netics and Dosimetry, Prof. Yuri Grigoriev, (Russia); Dielectric Properties of Biological Tissue, Dr. Camelia Gabriel (United Kingdom); Theoretical Dosimetry, Dr. Om Gandhi (United States); Experimental Dosimetry, Dr. Niels Kuster (Switzerland); Contact and Induced Currents, Dr. Michel Israel (Bulgaria), Responses of Man and Animals I, Dr. Eleanor Adair (United States); Responses of Man and Animals II, Dr. John D'Andrea (United States); Applications of Dosimetry in Biology & Medicine, Dr. Damijan Miklavcic (Slovenia); Standards and Applications, Dr. John Osepchuk (United States); and The Dosimetry Handbook, Dr. Patrick Mason (United States). In the final two days of the workshop, participants formed working groups to evaluate the material presented in the sessions and reached a consensus about what material should be included in the 5th revision of the Radiofrequency Radiation Dosimetry Handbook. The meeting was hosted by the Faculty of Electro-technical Engineering, University of Ljubljana and the Slovenian Institute of Quality and Metrology. The meeting was sponsored and funded by the NATO Scientific & Environmental Affairs Division: High Technology Priority Area, the NATO Research & Technology Organization: Human Factors & Medicine Panel, the U.S. Department of Air Force, Air Force Research Laboratory, Brooks AFB, Texas, in cooperation with the Ministry of Science and Technology of the Republic of Slovenia, the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Slovenia, the European Bioelectromagnetics Association, The Bioelectro-magnetics Society, United States Air Force European Office of Aerospace Research and Development, and the World Health Organization. The workshop was by invitation only. Observers could not attend this working meeting. For information contact the co-directors: Dr. B. Jon Klauenberg - AFRL/HEDR, Brooks AFB, USA, Fax: (1) 210 536 3977, E-mail: b.jon.klauenberg@aloer.brooks.af.mil. Dr. Damijan Miklavcic - Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Ljubljana, Slovenia, Fax: +386 61 126 46 58, E-mail: damijan@svarun.fe.uni-lj.si. JOURNAL ASSOCIATE EDITORS ANDERSON AND CHIABRERA RETIRE FROM BIOELECTROMAGNETICS It is with deep regret that I inform the bioelectromagnetics community that Dr. Larry Anderson and Dr. Alessandro Chiabrera are stepping aside as Associate Editors of Bioelectromagnetics. They will finish the files they currently are handling, but will not be receiving new papers. Until their replacements are appointed, newly submitted manuscripts will be assigned to the other Associate Editors or me. Dr. Anderson has served as Associate Editor since 1993; prior to that he was a member of the Editorial Board, appointed in 1988. He has handled a significant number of the papers published concerning ELF effects in vivo and in vitro, as well as papers concerning ELF dosimetry, epidemiology, and even theoretical concerns. He is resigning because of the changes in his assignments and other aspects of his home organization, Battelle, Pacific Northwest National Laboratories, due to shifts in research funding for electromagnetic effects. As a long term, dependable member of the editorial staff he will be missed. Dr. Chiabrera has been Associate Editor since 1996. One of the two Associate Editors living in Europe, he has been highly skillful in assessing papers from all over the world, including North America, concerning both theoretical modeling and experimental aspects of exposure to both high and low frequency electromagnetic fields. As Vice President of the University of Genoa, his increasing administrative duties have made it necessary for him to resign as Associate Editor. On behalf of the editorial staff and the entire bioelectromagnetics community, I want to thank both Dr. Anderson and Dr. Chiabrera for their efforts on behalf of our science and this journal. Speaking personally, I also want to thank them, for truthfully, the journal could not have achieved its level of success without their efforts. Replacement Associate Editors will be named as quickly as possible, within the established procedures of the Bioelectromagnetics Society (BEMS) and, in the case of Dr. Chiabrera's replacement, the European Bioelectromagnetics Association (EBEA, which initially nominated him). Suggestions are welcome and can be sent either to me, as Editor-in-Chief, or to Dr. Asher Sheppard, BEMS Publications Committee chair, or EBEA's President, Dr. Guglielmo D'Inzeo. Suggestions for new members of the Editorial Board are also welcome, since we rotate membership periodically. These should be sent directly to me, as Editor-in-Chief. Ben Greenebaum * * * * * * * * * * * * Ben Greenebaum Professor of Physics, University of Wisconsin- Parkside Editor-in-Chief, BIOELECTROMAGNETICS PO Box 2000, 900 Wood Rd., Kenosha WI 53141-2000 Tel.: 414-595-2065; Fax: 414-595-2056 Email: greeneba@uwp.edu Bioelectromagnetics Journal Email: bems@uwp.edu SOCIETY ELECTS NEW OFFICERS AND BOARD MEMBERS As reported earlier, the members at the Annual Business Meeting voted to mail a second ballot for the election of Officers and Board Members due to the delay in mailing the original ballot. Of the 445 eligible voting members, 222 submitted ballots. This number of ballots represents a 54% increase over the ballots received in June. The results of the election are: Vice President/President Elect: Kenneth McLeod Secretary: Ewa Czerska Board, Biology and Medical Sciences: Larry Anderson, Frank Prato Board, Engineering & Physical Sciences: Asher Sheppard Board, At Large: Alan Preece Information on how to contact the 1998-99 Board of Directors appears below. 1998-99 OFFICERS AND BOARD MEMBERS
STANDING AND AD HOC COMMITTEE CHAIRS Awards Committee - Larry Anderson Budget Committee - Paul Gailey Development Committee - Henry Lai Elections Committee - Greg Lotz Inter-Society Affairs Committee - Greg Lotz Journal Committee - Martin Blank & Asher Sheppard Membership Committee - Frank Prato Nominating Committee - Martin Blank Public Affairs Committee - Martin Blank Publications Committee - Asher Sheppard Technical Program Committee - Kenneth McLeod A NOTE FROM THE NEW PRESIDENT IN MEMORIAM WILLIAM TAYLOR HAM, JR. William Ham, Professor Emeritus of Medical Bioengineering at Virginia
Commonwealth University, died on September 2, 1998 in Richmond, Virginia. He
had been retired since 1989. He was an expert and world leader on the
biomedical application of lasers and light-induced-vision problems, such as
solar retinitis. CALL FOR NOMINATIONS FOR D'ARSONVAL AWARD The d'Arsonval Award is presented by the Society to recognize the extraordinary accomplishment within the discipline of bioelectromagnetics. Nominations are now being solicited for a seventh Award in 1999. Previous d'Arsonval Award winners include: Dr. O. P. Gandhi (1995), University of Utah; Dr. C. H. Durney (1993), University of Utah; Dr. C. A. L. Bassett (1991), Dr. W. Ross Adey (1989), Dr. Arthur W. Guy (1987), University of Washington; and Dr. Herman P. Schwan (1985), University of Pennsylvania. The procedure for administering the Award is described on this page. Briefly, a Full, Charter or Emeritus Member of the Society may nominate any person on the basis of their extraordinary accomplishments in bioelectromagnetics. Membership in the Society is not a prerequisite for nomination. Letters of nomination should present the reasons and justification for the nomination and a complete Curriculum Vitae with publications must accompany the nomination. More than one Society member may nominate or endorse the same individual. However, only one Vita is required. The Society's Nominating Committee may also nominate individuals for the Award. Nominations in proper order are retained and reconsidered for five years, those that do not meet these guidelines will not be considered or retained. Current Officers and members of the Board of Directors are not eligible to make or support nominations to the Nominating Committee. Nominations will be considered by the Awards Committee and all letters and supporting documents together with the recommendations of the Awards Committee will be presented to the Board of Directors at the Winter Board Meeting. To ensure time for consideration by the Awards Committee, all nominations and supporting materials must reach the Chairman of the Awards Committee by December 1, 1998. All nominations and correspondence about the Award should be addressed to the Awards Chairman: Bioelectromagnetics Section, PO Box 999, M/S K4-28, Richland, WA 99352 (Tel: 509-375-2294, Fax: 509-375-3764, E-mail: le_anderson@pnl.gov). BIOELECTROMAGNETICS SOCIETY D'ARSONVAL AWARD Description: The purpose of the d'Arsonval Medal is to recognize outstanding achievement in bioelectromagnetics. The Award, which consists of a silver medal, an illuminated testimonial, and a $1,000 honorarium, is presented at the Annual Meeting of the Society. The Award shall be given from time to time at the discretion of the Board of Directors, but no more than one Award shall be given in any one year. Eligibility: The sole requirement is extraordinary accomplishment within the discipline of bioelectromagnetics, which can consist of exceptional scientific accomplishments or practical application of electromagnetic fields for human benefit. Membership in the Society is not a requirement. Criteria and Procedure for Selection of Candidates: The Awards Committee will administer the Award. Six members will be appointed by the President with the approval of the Board of Directors. Each member will serve a three-year term on a rotating basis. Three members each will represent engineering and physical sciences, and experimental biology and medicine. A seventh member, a Chairman, will be selected from the Board of Directors during his/her first year of membership on the Board for a term of three years. Previous Award winners shall be included on the Awards Committee for a period of five years after receiving the Award. The Committee shall consider those individuals properly nominated during the previous five years and current nominations. The Chairman will be a nonvoting member except in the case of a tie vote. a. Selection of a Recipient: Notice of the Award shall be published in the Bioelectromagnetics Newsletter and Full, Charter or Emeritus Members are invited to submit names and supporting information to the Chairman of the Awards Committee. The Committee shall evaluate the credentials of the individual proposed. Once one or more candidates have been considered qualified for the Award, the Chairman will transmit in confidence a written recommendation with supporting information to the Board. The Board, in turn, may reject or accept any or all candidates during any calendar year. Acceptance of any candidate will require a two-thirds majority vote by the Board, with a quorum present and the Chair of the Awards Committee ineligible to vote. The Board may, if requested, authorize travel support to help cover the cost of the attendance of the nominee to the Annual Meeting. b. Restrictions: No member of the Board of Directors or the Awards Committee shall be considered a nominee for this Award during his/her membership on the Board or Committee. c. Timing: Decisions regarding the d'Arsonval medal shall be made by the Board during the Winter Board Meeting before the Annual Meeting at which the Award is to be presented. Immediately after the decision, the Chairman of the Awards Committee shall notify the candidate(s), ensure his/her attendance at the Annual Meeting, and request that the candidate present a lecture at the Annual Meeting. The name of the candidate and the title of the lecture shall be published in the program for the meeting. ONGOING PROJECT ON MAGNETIC FIELD EXPOSURE ASSESSMENT by G. Villoresi and N. Ptitsyna [Coordinator and Co-Coordinator for Eastern Countries INCO-COPERNICUS] The European commission in the frame of the INCO-COPERNICUS Program is sponsoring a 3-year (1997-2000) multi-disciplinary international project titled "Improvement of methods of exposure assessment for magnetic fields from electric traction with regard to coronary heart diseases." Recently electrified transport modes came into consideration in studies of health related issues of MFs. It was found that railway employees had increased risk for some specific kind of cancer. Adverse effects on general health, while raising less public concern than enhanced cancer risks could, nevertheless, have an even greater impact on the safety of trains by affecting the nervous system and cardiovascular system and thus the performance of transport operators. Because the mechanisms through which MFs might produce adverse health effects are still obscure, the characteristics of MFs to be measured for testing their linkage to biological responses/diseases are unclear. In most studies MF exposures are generally characterised only in terms of root-mean square (rms) of the field strength, a time-weighted average field-strength parameter. There is little or no systematic information on such characteristics as the frequency content, including intermittent components, frequency-dependence and 3-dimensional distribution of these characteristics. Meanwhile biological and epidemiological studies of possible effects of MFs indicate that there is not a well-established dose-response relationship when "dose" is the time-weighted average field strength (TWA). Frequency-intensity "windows", intermittence, presence of DC field and polarisation can be important. The project studies exposure parameters other than the customary considered TWA. A portable wave-form capture system MVC-2 (torsion-type magnetometer) has considered TWA. A portable wave-form capture system MVC-2 (torsion-type magnetometer) has used continuous registration of static and variable MFs along 3 orthogonal axes. This computer-based device, with sampling rate up to 200 Hz, permits the capture of a field profile and the characterisation of field magnitudes over time and frequency. In so doing all information characterising intensity, frequency domain and geometry is captured. The main activity of the project is focused on the following tasks: Development of extensive archive of MF records in different kind of electrified railroad systems. Measurement survey in Russian DC and in Swiss AC (16,67HZ) electric trains is underway. Examination of the hypothesis whether MFs from electric traction constitute a mortality risk for coronary heart diseases among engine drivers population. The cohort data of the Swiss Federal Railway (18,000 members) in the years 1972-1993 serves as a main body to answer this question. Development of MF patterns typical for Russian and Swiss electric trains based on thorough analysis of specific features of transport MF: complex, multi-frequency spectra, including intermittent components and quasi-statistic fields, variable amplitude frequency dependence, polarisation. These patterns will be used to study the biological response of nervous and cardiovascular systems in animals and humans exposed to simulated transport-like MF. To generate complex train MF, a special exposure facility has been developed: three sets of mutually orthogonal coils fed by amplifiers and computer driven current. Results of epidemiological and biological studies will provide information for identifying an appropriate exposure metrics, which takes into account specific features of transport MF. For the realisation of this project a transnational collaboration of various experts (physicists, dosimetric, and medical specialist, biologists, epidemiologist) from Belgium, Italy, Russia, Switzerland and Ukraine has been established. Dr. G. Villoresi (coordinator of the project) CNR, Italy Dr. N. Ptitsyna, (co-coordinator for Eastern countries) SPbFIZMIRAN, Russia BREAST CANCER IN WOMEN, HIGH-VOLTAGE POWER LINES AND MELATONIN by Roger Santini [National Institute of Applied Sciences - Laboratory of Biochemistry Pharmacology, 20, Av. A. Einstein-69621 VILLEURBANNE (France).] In a recent study, Feychting et al. (1) observe that among estrogen receptor-positive women (younger than 50 years) the relative risk for breast cancer is significantly increased if those women are living near high voltage power line (exposure cutoff point for ELF magnetic fields >0.1 yT). In their article, Feychting et al. (1) discuss the role of melatonin as an oncostatic agent and propose that electromagnetic fields from high-voltage power lines decrease melatonin which may be a mechanism correlated with cancer development (2). A publication of Danforth et al. (3) has shown that women with estrogen-receptor positive breast cancer have a nocturnal increase in plasma melatonin significantly lower than control subjects. From those results, we can propose that women with estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer have a nocturnal increase in plasma melatonin significantly lower than control subjects. These results could indicate that in women with estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer, the specific decrease of melatonin in those subjects (3) is a supplementary factor which can have a synergistic action with the melatonin decrease due to the electromagnetic fields. This synergistic decreasing action on melatonin may contribute to potential breast cancer development in estrogen receptor-positive women living near high-voltage power lines. 1. Feychting M, Forssen U, Rutquist LE and Ahlbom A(1998): Magnetic fields and breast cancer in Swedish adults residing near high-voltage power lines. Epidemiology 9:392-397. 2. Rieter RJ (1994): Melatonin suppression by static and extremely low frequency electromagnetic fields: relationship to the reported increased incidence of cancer. Rev Environ Health 10:171-186. 3. Danforth D, Lichter A, Demoss E, Cohen M, Chabner B, and Lippman M (1982): Decreased nocturnal plasma melatonin peak in patients with estrogen receptor positive breast cancer. Science 216:1003-1005. PRESS RELEASE FROM SPRBM MEETING by Robert Fitzsimmons The Queen Mary, which once upon a time sported a staff
of one for every two guests aboard, provided the setting for the 18th Annual
Meeting of the Society for Physical Regulation in Biology and Medicine (SPRBM).
The meeting was attended by an international representation of scientists who
walked the very decks crossed by numerous famous persons including King Edward
of England who gave up the position, status, and power of a King for the love
of a woman. One can imagine the deals and negotiations that the rich and famous
entertained on the Queen Mary in its glory days. Likewise, this SPRBM meeting
introduced scientists with various backgrounds in physical regulation to one
another. For example, experiments modeling spinal cord injuries were shown to
recover approximately 10% of their original nerve conduction. This achievement
was possible following exploration of physical parameters involving cell
membrane fusion. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT Dr. Joe Bowman is publishing a Manual for Measuring Occupational Electric and Magnetic Field Exposures as a NIOSH technical report. Written with EMF researchers Michael Kelsh and William Kaune, this publication contains sixteen methods which have been used successfully to measure EMF exposures in previous health hazard evaluations and epidemiologic studies, plus suggestions for using this material to develop measurement protocols for new applications. The methods are summarized and critiqued in a standard format designed to assist industrial hygienists and EMF researchers in locating particular measurement techniques. The manual has been approved for publishing in a loose-leaf binder so that new methods can be added in the future. ABSTRACT Bowman JD, Kelsh MA, and Kaune WT (editors). Manual for measuring occupational electric and magnetic field exposures. DHHS (NIOSH) Publication 98-154, 1998. The purpose of this manual is to assist investigators in developing methods for occupational exposure assessments for electric and magnetic fields (EMF). Scientific reports that associate EMF with increased risks of various diseases have led to exposure assessments for the purposes of research, source assessment, and the surveillance of worker exposures. To provide guidance for these studies, methods that have been used successfully to measure EMF are summarized and presented in a standard format. The scope of the manual is methods for measuring occupational EMF with frequencies below 30 kHz. This covers most fields resulting directly from DC or 50/60 Hz AC electricity, as well as common electric and electronic equipment such as Video Display Terminals (VDT). In this manual, exposure assessment protocols are classified either as complete methods or partial methods. Complete methods are sets of instructions for the sampling strategy, calibration, measurement, data management and calculation of EMF exposure metrics. The exposure metric and other information about the method are contained in a summary table accompanied by a critique of the method's strengths and weaknesses. Partial methods are essentially parts of a full method that emphasize important aspects of EMF exposure assessments: sampling strategies, spot measurement surveys, personal monitoring, area monitoring, measuring EMF characteristics, measuring EMFs from sources, walkthrough monitoring, quality control, calibration, data management, and calculating exposure metrics. By combining aspects of these complete and partial methods, industrial hygienists and other investigators can assemble protocols specifically tailored to assess EMF exposures for different purposes, applications, and work environments. CALENDAR January, 1999. Thirtysecond Midyear Topical Meeting of the Health Physics Society, Albuquerque, NM, USA. Contact: Richard J. Burk, Health Physics Society, 1313 Dolly Madison Blvd., Suite 402, McLeam, VA 22101, USA. (Tel: 703-790-1745, Fax: 703-790-2672, E-mail: hps@burkinc.com). March 22-26, 1999. Progress in Electromagnetic Research Symposium, Taipei International Convention Center, Taipei, Taiwan. One-page abstract must be received by Deptember 1, 1998. Acceptance notification by October 10, 1998 and presenting author must pre-register by December 1, 1998. Advance registration fee (January 15, 1999) is US $300. Contact: Prof. Kun Shan Chen, PIERS 1999, Center for Space and Remote Sensing Research, National Central University, Chung-Li, Taiwan. (Tel: +886-3-425-7232, Fax: +886-3-425-5535, E-mail: dkschen@csrsr.ncu.edu.tw) March 28-31, 1999. 1999 EPRI EMF Science Seminar, "20 Years Back to Denver", Hyatt Regency Denver Downtown, Denver, CO. Electrical utility industry attendance is limited to those supporting EPRI's EMF Program. Contact: Robert S. Banks Associates, Inc., PO Box 141049, Minneapolis, MN, USA. (Tel: 612-623-4600, Fax: 612-623-3645, E-mail: vlprock@rsba.com). June 20-24, 1999. Twenty-first Annual Meeting of the Bioelectromagnetics Society, Long Beach, CA, USA. Contact: W/L Associates, 7519 Ridge Road, Frederick, MD 21702-3519, USA. (Tel: 301-663-4252, Fax: 301-371-8955, E-mail: 75230.1222@compuserve.com,Website: http://www.bioelectromagnetics.org). ERRATUM In issue number 143 (July/August 1998) there was an error in the article "Roots: Founding of the Bioelectromagnetics Society" by Carl Blackman and Tom Rozzell. The article indicated that the first meeting of the Society was in 1978 in Seattle, WA in conjunction with the Antenna and Propagation Society and that the first independent meeting was in San Antonio, TX in 1979. In fact the Seattle meeting was in 1979 and the San Antonio meeting was in 1980.
For Newsletter items, contact the Editor. BEMS Web Site: http://www.bioelectromagnetics.org Web Page Editor: Richard Luben
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