• Journal of electromagnetic engineering and science
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.271-279
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• 2012

The effects of extremely low frequency magnetic fields (ELF-MFs) on physiological processes at the cellular level remain unclear despite a number of studies. To investigate the effects of ELF-MFs on gene expression, we exposed human mammary epithelial MCF10A cells to fields of 1 mT magnetic flux density at 60 Hz for 4 and 16 h and measured the transcriptional responses of 24,000 genes using Illumina microarrays. In three independent experiments, we found no statistically significant alteration of expression levels for any of the genes assayed using a cutoff value of 1.2-fold. To confirm this result, we selected six genes with trends suggesting possible expression level changes, although these trends were not statistically significant, and investigated their expression levels further using a semiquantitative reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction. In three independent experiments, we did not find any alterations in the expression levels of these genes. From these results, we conclude that ELF-MFs do not affect gene expression profiles under our exposure conditions.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.191-206
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• 2004

The present study investigated the hypothesis that a extremely low frequency magnetic field partially suppresses the synthesis of melatonin in a group of 28 primary schoolchildren living nearby and 60 primary schoolchildren aged 12 years living far away from overhead transmission power lines from December 2003 to April 2004 in Seoul, Korea. The mean personal exposure levels of the primary schoolchildren living nearby overhead transmission power line were 0.37 ${\mu}$T, whereas the value for the primary schoolchildren living away from overhead transmission power line 0.05 mT. From simple analyses, the mean melatonin levels in the primary schoolchildren living nearby were lower than away from overhead transmission power line, but not statistically significant differences in the levels of the melatonin (p=0.2421), whereas the statistically significant differences in the levels of the melatonin related to the distance from residence to power line less and more than 100 m by cut-off point (p=0.0139). In multiple linear regression analyses, distance from residence to power line (p=0.0146) and dietary habit about burned meat (p=0.0170) proved to be significant risk factors in the mean nocturnal melatonin levels in the primary schoolchildren. In conclusion, these results demonstrate that urinary levels of nocturnal melatonin are not altered in primary schoolchildren exposed to extremely low frequency magnetic field(ELF-MF) at overhead transmission power line.

• Journal of Electrical Engineering and Technology
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.376-383
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• 2012

A number of scientific researches are currently being conducted on the potential health hazards of power frequency electric and magnetic field (EMF). There exists a non-objective and psychological belief that they are harmful, although no scientific and objective proof of such exists. This possible health risk from ELF magnetic field (MF) exposure, especially for children under 17 years of age, is currently one of Korea's most highly contested social issues. Therefore, to assess the magnetic field exposure levels of those children in their general living environments, the personal MF exposure levels of 436 subjects were measured for about 6 years using government funding. Using the measured database, estimation formulas were developed to predict personal MF exposure levels. These formulas can serve as valuable tools in estimating 24-hour personal MF exposure levels without directly measuring the exposure. Three types of estimation formulas were developed by applying evolutionary computation methods such as genetic algorithm (GA) and genetic programming (GP). After tuning the database, the final three formulas with the smallest estimation error were selected, where the target estimation error was approximately 0.03 ${\mu}T$. The seven parameters of each of these three formulas are gender (G), age (A), house type (H), house size (HS), distance between the subject's residence and a power line (RD), power line voltage class (KV), and the usage conditions of electric appliances (RULE).