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Electric And Magnetic Fields

What Are Electric and Magnetic Fields?

Electric and magnetic fields (EMF) are produced by moving electrical charges. They come from electric lines as well as household wiring, appliances and all other electrical equipment. Simply put, they are everywhere. Virtually everyone in industrialized countries are exposed to them.

Want to know more? Watch this short video to get facts about EMF.

Frequency of EMF in Hertz (cycles per second)

When you tune your radio, watch TV, send a text message, or pop popcorn in a microwave oven, you're using electromagnetic energy.

Typical magnetic field ranges (in mG)

Distance From Appliance	6"	1'	2'	4'
Microwave Ovens	100-300	1-200	1-30	*-20
Electric ranges	20 - 200	* - 30	* - 9	* - 6
Refrigerators	4 - 100	* - 20	* - 10	* - 10
Clothes washers	4 - 100	1-30	* - 6	*
Clothes dryers	2 - 10	* - 3	*	*
Fluorescent lamps	20 - 100	* - 30	* - 8	* - 4
Hair dryers	1 - 700	* - 70	* - 10	* - 1
Color televisions		* - 20	* - 8	* - 4
Analog clocks		1 - 30	* - 5	* - 3
Vacuum cleaners	100 - 700	20 - 200	4 - 50	* - 10
Copy machines	4 - 200	2 - 40	1 - 13	* - 4
Video display terminals	7 - 20	2 - 6	1 - 3	*
Electric blankets	1 - 40 (at 2")

Note: An asterisk (*) indicates the same level as background fields.
Source: EMF In Your Environment, EPA 1992.

Example of 24-hour magnetic field exposure

Because EMF can be found in nature, and because our society relies on electricity, people are exposed to EMF multiple times throughout the day.

While asleep, this person's magnetic field exposure was less than 1 mG. During the day, exposure varied to a peak of about 20 mG. Average magnetic field exposure during this 24-hour period was 0.5 mG.

Where We Stand on EMF

Scientific studies over the past several decades have explored the possibility of health effects from EMF. The majority of research has found no association between EMF and certain health effects. Significantly, laboratory research has not shown any causal relationship between EMF exposure and cancer, or any other adverse health effects.

We helped sponsor the U.S. Department of Energy's $45 million EMF Research and Public Information Dissemination (RAPID) Program, which concluded that "scientific evidence suggesting that EMF exposures pose any health risk is weak."

How We're Advancing Research

We continue to explore the EMF health effects by following worldwide scientific developments, participating in EMF research, sponsoring studies and communicating with customers and employees on the issue.

We are also is a member of the Electric Power Research Institute, which sponsors and coordinates EMF laboratory, epidemiological and exposure studies. We always share the results of these programs with customers and employees.

Our overall responsibility is to continue providing safe and reliable electric service and a safe working environment for employees.

Measuring EMF In Your Home

Your are bound to encounter portions of the EMF spectrum in your day-to-day life. Upon request, a representative will conduct EMF measurements in a customer's home. We won't be able to interpret the results because no level of exposure has been determined to be unsafe.

We conduct measurements for current customers, not prospective home buyers or realtors.

More Information on EMF

You can obtain additional information about EMF at the websites below. By providing these links, we are not endorsing the accuracy or quality of the article or agreeing with the conclusions set forth by the sources.

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