U.S. Department of Transportation/Federal Railroad Administration

DOT/FRA SAFETY REGULATORY RESPONSIBILITIES

Advanced maglev and high speed rail technologies have been proposed for US demonstration and for applications in selected high density corridors. Under the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 1988, the FRA is responsible for identifying and assessing potential safety hazards associated with these advanced rail systems and operations, and with developing appropriate safety requirements and regulations to address them.

EMF RESEARCH GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

The potential for adverse health effects from Extremely Low Frequency (ELF, 3 Hz- 3 KHz) electric and magnetic fields (EMF) has attracted public and Congressional interest. Of special concern are the magnetic fields associated with the electric power generation, transmission and distribution (T&D), conditioning, transfer and propulsion, at frequencies of 50 and 60 Hz found in Europe and the U.S., respectively. These alternating (AC) magnetic fields are typically weaker than Earth's steady natural field (of about 500 milligauss). Unlike electric fields, magnetic fields are not attenuated by biological tissues, nor can they be easily shielded, and are thus of greater concern for potential health effects. Considerable R&D efforts have been devoted to these issues both nationally by the Department of Energy (DOE), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), Public Utility Commissions and States; and internationally, by the World Health Organization (WHO), the International Radiation Protection Association (IRPA) committees on Non-Ionizing Radiation (NIRPA/INIRC), and by other nations (Canada, Sweden, Japan, U.K.).

EMF RESEARCH PROGRAM ACTIVITIES AND INTERAGENCY COOPERATION

In response to these concerns, the Federal Railroad Administration's Office of Research and Development (FRA/ORD) established in 1990 an EMF research program. It is managed by the DOT/RSPA Volpe National Transportation Systems Center, as part of a comprehensive safety analysis and regulatory development effort for maglev and other advanced electrified rail technologies being considered for U.S. applications.

The goals of this program were to: characterize EMF emissions associated with conventional, advanced and prototype rail systems, such as high speed rail (HSR) and maglev; identify and assess their potential health and safety effects; and determine potential EMF control, mitigation and regulatory options and their cost/benefit.

The EMF characteristics of maglev and HSR systems were to be compared with existing transit and electrified rail systems and with other common environmental, home, work and office EMF sources. In the absence of federal EMF guidelines, development of FRA draft regulatory guidelines for EMF emissions and exposure of passengers, public and personnel from maglev and HSR systems was undertaken for proposed US applications (Orlando Maglev Project and Texas TGV).

As part of this program, the FRA established in 1990 multi-year Interagency Agreements with the Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Radiation Programs (EPA/ORP) and the Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory (DOE/ANL) for technical support with biological and environmental issues, through the Volpe Center. The FRA also shared its results on EMF in maglev, transit and intercity rail systems with the US DOT's Federal Transit Administration (FTA). The R&D team included:

• The Volpe Center - provided technical and administrative support to the FRA and assistance with identifying safety program research needs, formulating statements of work, award and technical oversight of contracts, program coordination, integration of results and preparation of reports.
• ERM - Electric Research and Management, Inc. (ERM) developed portable EMF measurement instrumentation and test protocols, and conducted field surveys and analyses of EMF in conventional and advanced rail systems. These include light and heavy electrified rail in the U.S., the German TR-07 maglev and the French TGV.
• EPA - developed a relative "EMF exposure profile" for passengers, workers and the public, based on comparison of surveyed transportation systems with typical work and home exposure environments. EPA also summarized and interpreted EMF biological effects research results related to maglev and HSR systems; evaluated common EMF exposure environments, compared to transportation systems; and reviewed existing exposure standards and guidelines in the U.S. and abroad.
• IVI - Information Ventures, Inc. (IVI) provided critical expertise and literature updates on EMF biological effects. IVI prepared comprehensive reviews of EMF interaction mechanisms with biological systems, of health issues and research findings relevant to rail systems.
• DOE/ANL - conducted laboratory investigations of the effects of maglev-like EMF emissions, as well as of steady (DC) and alternating (AC) field components, on well studied cell lines and rodents. Results indicated no effects on four types of human cancer cells, nor on melatonin levels and its hormonal precursor in rats. Some effects found for continuous exposures to AC fields stronger than maglev and to intermittent DC fields require replication and verification.
• NMI- Ongoing efforts within the National Maglev Initiative (NMI) program, such as the maglev technology and system concept definition (SCD) studies, also addressed design and mitigation options to minimize EMF passengers' exposure, e.g., active or passive magnetic shielding. General Electric Corp. (GE) defined the in-vehicle magnetic field strength and geometry for the superconducting Japanese maglev system, and parametrically assessed cost and performance impacts of active and passive shielding options. Under SBIR grants: Foster Miller (FM) demonstrated a novel High Temperature Superconductor (HTSC) shielding concept, offering active magnetic field control options for maglev designs under consideration. Intermagnetics General Corp. (IGC) explored modeling of stray fields and magnetic shielding options for a maglev design using superconducting magnets.

RESOURCES FOR RESEARCH ON EMF ISSUES

Over $ 1,840K was devoted in FY91-93 for EMF measurements, source analysis, exposure assessment and management options research. Congress provided to the FRA $500,000 in FY91 for the study of EMF-related health effects of maglev systems. The FY92 FRA allocation for this activity was $700,000, with an additional $350,000 allocated in FY93.

The multi-year EMF R&D program was largely completed and twelve reports published by Oct.,93. Technical inputs on EMF were also provided to related FRA efforts, including: the safety regulatory development for maglev and HSR, the National Maglev Initiative (NMI) report and proposed requirements on maglev prototype and operation, and to several electrification environmental assessments, including the NorthEast Corridor (NEC).

The Senate Appropriations report for FY94 acknowledged the value of program findings (indicating that EMF is not a "showstopper" issue for the TR-07 German EMS maglev) and asked the FRA to continue monitoring national and international EMF R&D findings, and to be ready to institute safe EMF exposure limits.

In FY94 the programmatic focus of EMF R&D shifted to engineering design, performance and options analysis for cost-effective EMF prevention, management or mitigation. EMF analyses were an integral part of the final Environmental Impact Study (EIS) for the electrification of the North-East Corridor (NEC). EMF, and related EM interference and compatibility (EMI/EMC) issues are considered in assessing safety of advanced automated train signal and control (ATCS) technologies, novel propulsion, power conditioning and transfer technologies, communications sensors and data processing hardware. In FY95, FRA is monitoring national and international R&D on EMF health effects and safety guidelines development activities.

INTERAGENCY AND OTHER R&D COORDINATION AND COMMUNICATION EFFORTS

The FRA and the Volpe Center have been cooperating with, and assisting Transportation Research Board (TRB) Committees in defining and resolving research priorities on EMF health and safety, ensuring that concerns for maglev and HSR are addressed in a timely manner to support national research goals, policies, and technical decisions on maglev and advanced rail systems in the U.S. The FRA and the Volpe Center played key roles in the April 1991 and October, 1993 TRB Workshop on "Maglev and High Speed Rail Safety". These workshops defined key EMF research needs, including:

• fields at system-specific frequencies, but typically in the extremely low frequency (ELF) range;
• characterize the EMF environments for maglev and HSR, and compare them to other rail and transit systems;
• consider the health and safety effects of exposure levels typical of both passengers and workers on such systems;
• conduct an epidemiological study of rail and transit workers (by assisting NIOSH); and
• examine magnetic field shielding and other engineering control options, as necessary, in a cost/benefit and design tradeoffs context.

Research communications included: invited papers at the 1992 and 1993 TRB Annual Meetings on the status and plans for the national EMF R&D effort, with a focus on potential EMF health and safety issues associated with electrified rail transportation; newsletter items for BEMS, American Public Power Association (APPA), EPRI, NMIO and MicroWave News; briefings for the US DOT R&D Council and the Office of the Secretary; EMF technical support to the NEC electrification contractors between Boston and New Haven, and to the TX-HSR Authority and FL-DOT; responses to White House/OSTP and Congressional (OTA, GAO, CRS) requests for information regarding EMF R&D; participation in national and international EMF conferences; organizing a workshop on "EMF Issues in Transportation" at the 1991 BEMS Meeting and a special symposium on "EMF Issues for Electrified Transportation Systems" (co-organized by DOT/FRA and DOE) in June, 1992, at the First World Congress for Electricity and Magnetism in Biology and Medicine.

Technical support has also been provided to the US DOT representatives on the White House Committee on Interagency Radiation Research and Policy Coordination (CIRRPC), including a review of the 1991 EPA draft report on "Potential Carcinogenicity of EMF" and an agency review of the CIRRPC 1992 report on "Health Effects of Low Frequency Electric and Magnetic Fields".

The EMF Program Manager and FRA officials have participated in the Interagency EMF Research and Communication Working Group, convened by DOE, which prepared a National EMF Research Strategy document. Due to FRA's proactive program, DOT is represented on the EMF Interagency Committee mandated by the 1992 Energy Policy Act (EPACT) to assure broader national R&D coordination. With FRA support, DOT is a full participant in the 5 years, $ 65M, public-private Research and Public Information Dissemination (RAPID) program. The FRA coordinates EMF policy and R&D programs with other DOT Administrations and the Office of the Secretary in support of a DOT Policy Statement on EMF and EMR, while continuing to monitor and integrate national and international R&D findings and regulatory activities in its HSR safety regulatory development.

FRA also represented the DOT on the International R&D Coordination Group in FY92-94, and its sponsored R&D projects are featured in the International Research data base maintained by W/L Associates.

For further information contact:

Dr. Aviva Brecher
EMF Research Program Manager
DOT/RSPA Volpe Center
Cambridge, MA 02142
Phone: (617) 494-3470; FAX: (617) 494-3688
Internet: aviva@mailstorm.dot.gov, or brecher@volpe1.dot.gov

Magnetic Field Testing of TR-07 Maglev Vehicle and System, Volumes 1- Analysis and Volume 2- Appendices (DOT/FRA/ORD-92/09.I and .II, April 1992); NTIS: PB92-224666 and PB-224674

Magnetic and Electric Field Testing of the AMTRAK Northeast Corridor and New Jersey Transit North Jersey Coastline Rail Systems, Volume 1- Analysis and Volume 2- Appendices (DOT/FRA/ORD-93/01.I and .II, April 1993); NTIS: PB93-219434 and PB93-219442

Magnetic and Electric Field Testing of the French Train a Grande Vitesse- Atlantique (TGV-A) Rail System, Volume 1- Analysis and Volume 2- Appendices (DOT/FRA/ORD-93/03.I and.II, May 1993); NTIS: PB93-223071 and PB93-223089

Magnetic and Electric Field Testing of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) Metrorail System, Volume 1- Analysis and Volume 2- Appendices (DOT/FRA/ORD-93/04.I and.II, June 1993); NTIS: PB94-102472 and PB94-102480

Magnetic and Electric Field Testing of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) Urban Transit System, Volume 1- Analysis and Volume 2- Appendices (DOT/FRA/ORD-93/05.I and.II, June 1993); NTIS: PB93-227619 and PB93-227627

Comparison of Magnetic and Electric Fields of Conventional and Advanced Electrified Transportation Systems (DOT/FRA/ORD-93/07, August 1993); NTIS: PB94-103397

Review of Existing EMF Guidelines, Standards and Regulations (DOT/FRA/ORD-93/27, August 1993); NTIS: PB94-117819

EMF Exposure Environments Summary Report (DOT/FRA/ORD-93/28, August 1993); NTIS: PB94-152402

Broad Band Magnetic Fields: Their Possible Role in EMF-Associated Bioeffects (DOT/FRA/ORD-93/29, August 1993); NTIS: PB94-129780

Biological Effects of Maglev Magnetic Field Exposures, Kenneth R. Groh, Argonne National Laboratory (DOT/FRA/ORD-93/30, August 1993); NTIS: PB94-118593

Potential Health Effects of Low Frequency Electromagnetic Fields Due to Maglev and Other Electric Rail Systems (DOT/FRA/ORD-93/31, August 1993); NTIS: PB94-121217

An Overview of Biological Effects and Mechanisms Relevant to EMF Exposures From Mass Transit and Electric Rail Systems (DOT/FRA/ORD-93/32, August 1993); NTIS: PB94-128220