Personal Exposure to Electromagnetic Fields Emitted from Household Electrical Appliances in Alexandria

Background: While the benefits of electricity in everyday life are unquestionable, the public becomes increasingly concerned about the health effects of exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMF) at the power frequencies from common household current at 50-60 Hz range. Electromagnetic fields at homes depend on many factors including the distance from the local power lines, the number and type of electrical appliances in use at home, and the configuration and position of household electrical wiring. Objective: To determine levels of exposure to EMF at home. Methods: Thirteen electrical appliances which are most commonly used at home were selected. For each appliance two sets of measurements were taken. The first set was at a distance of 3 centimeters (cm) and the second set was at a distance of 100 cm. Results: The highest level of EMF was obtained from the vacuum machine and the hair dryer with a range of 154.6-198.3mG and 129.9183.1mG respectively. Levels emitted from the CRT monitor were much more than those emitted from the LCD one. Field levels were substantially greater at small distances but they decreased rapidly with distance. There was a statistically significant difference between levels of electric appliances and background EMF except for terrestrial phone. Conclusion: People live in a bowl of electromagnetic radiation which affects the body. General consumption of electricity should be managed and unused electric appliances should be unplugged.


INTRODUCTION
While the enormous benefits of using electricity in everyday life are unquestionable, the general public has become increasingly concerned about potential adverse health effects of exposure to electric and magnetic fields (EMF) at extremely low frequencies (ELF).Such exposures arise mainly from the transmission and use of electrical energy at the power frequencies from common household current at 50-60 Hz range.Electric and magnetic fields at homes depend on many factors including the distance from the local power lines, the number and type of electrical appliances in use at home, and the configuration and position of household electrical wiring.Electric fields around most household appliances and equipment typically do not exceed 500 V/m and magnetic fields Bull High Inst Public Health Vol.42 No.2 [2012] typically do not exceed 150 µT.In both cases, field levels may be substantially greater at small distances but they decrease rapidly with distance.

AIM OF THE STUDY
The aim of the present study was to determine the levels of EMF emitted from electrical appliances at 30 and 100 cm.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Study Design: Descriptive environmental study.

Study Setting:
The study was carried in a residential area to the East of Alexandria.

MATERIALS
Thirteen electrical appliances which are most commonly used at home were selected.
These appliances were laptop, television (TV), washing machine, hair dryer, electric iron, personal computer (PC), cell phone, electric fan, electric oven, refrigerator, vacuum cleaner, deep freezer, and terrestrial phone.

Measurement Location and Duration:
1-For each appliance two sets of measurements were taken.The first set was at a distance of 3 centimetres (cm).
The second set was at a distance of 100 cm.These two sets were needed to declare the effect of distance on the strength of the EMF.
2-A trial was made to assess if different models of the same appliance have different strengths of EMF but no meaningful difference was found; so, only one model of each appliance was selected.3-Theduration of taking measurements was about six months.the other ten measurements were at a distance of 100 cm.Fadia A El-Marakby 228 2-In case of the PC, measurements were done twice.First, when the appliance was connected to the Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) monitor, and second when connected to the Liquid Crystal Display (LCD).3-In case of the washing machines, measurements were taken in different washing steps such as normal wash and wrung out.4-In case of the electric fan, measurements were taken in different locations especially in the backward where the motor is located.5-Measurements were taken using an EMF tester type DER EE, model DEbackground EMF level exposure which arises mainly from the transmission and use of electrical energy at the power frequencies from common household current at 50-60 Hz range were measured in a closed room that did not contain any electrical appliances.Statistical AnalysisData were entered and analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS-13).Descriptive statistics and tests of significance were done.RESULTS AND DISCUSSION:Table (1) and figure (1) represent the levels of exposure to EMF at home as a result of different electronic appliances.The highest level of EMF was obtained from the vacuum cleaner followed by the hair dryer with a range of 154.6-198.3mG,a mean of 179.2±16.9 and a range of 129.9-183.1mG,a mean of 162.6±19.7 respectively.There was a statistically significant difference between the levels of exposure to EMF at home as a result of different electronic appliances and the background levels of EMF that resulted from electric current and were measured at a room containing no appliances and having a range of 0.0 -0.3 mG.