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Lockheed Martin Energy Systems, Inc. (the Company), managing the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), in support of the Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Energy Management, invites you to submit proposals to conduct any of three electric and magnetic fields (EMF) engineering research projects. The Statement of Work has five chapters.
The EMF Research and Public Information Dissemination (RAPID) Program, which was established by the U.S. Congress in Section 2118 of the Energy Policy Act of 1992, is jointly managed by the DOE and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS). The engineering research component of the program is conducted by the DOE and addresses issues such as determination of environmental field levels, exposure assessment, and assessment of field reduction strategies. Research conducted within the program is performed cooperatively with other F-W research activities currently underway and is intended to fill gaps in existing knowledge so that a risk assessment can be performed at the completion of the 5-year RAPID program. If health effects are identified through the biomedical research component of the program, EMF engineering information will also be used for developing scientifically valid risk reduction strategies.
The new research projects described in this Request for Proposal are designed to meet a subset of the goals described in the RAPID Engineering Research Program Plan. Other research goals, such as development of recommendations for measurement guidelines, environmental exposure assessments, and database development are being addressed through subcontracts awarded last year which are now underway. It is intended that all EMF RAPID research projects should use the measurement and data formatting guidelines being developed through the EMF subcontracts awarded last year. The two primary goals of the engineering projects in FY 1995-1996 are as follows:
Project 6, "Survey of Personal Magnetic Field Exposures," described in chapter 2 is the first phase of a larger effort to estimate personal EMF exposures of the U.S. population. Although considerable research has been conducted to determine field levels in some specific environments and personal exposure levels for some groups of individuals, there is not enough data to estimate overall levels of human exposure to 60 Hz magnetic fields. This problem is compounded by the lack of a measure for dose which describes the parameter or set of parameters (if any) which affect human health. Project 6 is a pilot study to explore the feasibility of obtaining statistical data on personal EMF exposures. Depending on the results of Ws pilot study, a larger study may be conducted in the future.
The second project, Project 7, "Development of Field Exposure Models," is intended to generate methods for predicting human EMF exposure levels based on source measurement data and human activity patterns. These models have the potential to save considerable time and expense by eliminating the need for personal exposure measurements in specific environments.
The final project for this year, Project 8, "Evaluation of Field Reduction Technologies," will describe and evaluate the existing techniques for reducing EMF fields and/or exposures. This project does not include development of new technologies, but is designed to provide a comprehensive list of options and identify their advantages and limitations.