EXTREMELY-LOW-FREQUENCY ELECTROMAGNETIC-FIELD MEASUREMENTS (ELF-EMF) IN SWISS RAILWAY ENGINES

The health effects of ELF-EMFs pose an intriguing unsolved problem in epidemiology. Prompted by an earlier occupational study demonstrating an excess mortality from malignancies of the haematopoietic and lymphatic systems (abbreviated as MHLS, ICD-8: 200-209) among railway engine drivers, exposure measurements in the driver's cabin were taken. Measurements of the alternating magnetic field strength (frequency 16.67 Hz) were made in a representative set of locomotives prevalent in Switzerland in the 1950s and 1960s. Because of particular working conditions of the railway engine driver, exposures may be estimated fairly reliably. Estimated yearly exposures amounted to 0.7 mT.d up to 9 mT.d depending on the type of engine. The earlier finding of an elevated mortality from MHLS among Swiss railway engine drivers has to be seen in the light of these fairly high estimates for some engine types.