Joint HVAC transmission EMF environmental study

Technical Report · Fri May 01 04:00:00 EDT 1992

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/7278523· OSTI ID:7278523

Stormshak, F.; Thompson, J. ^[1]

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1. Oregon State Univ., Corvallis, OR (United States)

This document describes the rationale, procedures, and results of a carefully controlled study conducted to establish whether chronic exposure of female (ewe) Suffolk lambs to the environment of a 500-kV 60-Hz transmission line would affect various characteristics of growth, endocrine function, and reproductive development. This experiment used identical housing and management schemes for control and line-exposed ewes, thus minimizing these factors as contributors to between-group experimental error. Further, throughout the 10-month duration of this study, changes in electric and magnetic fields, audible noise, and weather conditions were monitored continuously by a computerized system. Such measurements provided the opportunity to identify any relationship between environmental factors and biological responses. Because of reports in the literature that electric and magnetic fields alter concentrations of melatonin in laboratory animals, the primary objective of this study was to ascertain whether a similar effect occurs in lambs exposed to a 500-kV a-c line in a natural setting. In addition, onset of puberty, changes in body weight, wool growth, and behavior were monitored. To determine whether the environment of a 500-kV line caused stress in the study animals, serum levels of cortisol were measured. The study was conducted at Bonneville Power Administration's Ostrander Substation near Estacada, Oregon.

• Research Organization: USDOE Bonneville Power Administration, Portland, OR (United States); Oregon State Univ., Corvallis, OR (United States); Oregon Regional Primate Research Center, Beaverton, OR (United States); Portland State Univ., OR (United States); Oregon Health Sciences Univ., Portland, OR (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: DOE; USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: BI79-90BP04293
• OSTI ID: 7278523
• Report Number(s): DOE/BP-1792; ON: DE92017863
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

560400* -- Other Environmental Pollutant Effects
63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
AC SYSTEMS
AMINES
ANIMALS
AROMATICS
AZAARENES
AZOLES
BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS
BODY
BONNEVILLE POWER ADMINISTRATION
CHRONIC EXPOSURE
COOPERATION
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
DOCUMENT TYPES
DOMESTIC ANIMALS
ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION
ENDOCRINE GLANDS
FEDERAL REGION X
GLANDS
HETEROCYCLIC COMPOUNDS
HVAC SYSTEMS
INDOLES
INTERGOVERNMENTAL COOPERATION
MAMMALS
MELATONIN
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
NORTH AMERICA
OREGON
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC NITROGEN COMPOUNDS
ORGANS
POWER SYSTEMS
POWER TRANSMISSION LINES
PROGRESS REPORT
PYRROLES
RADIATIONS
REPRODUCTION
RUMINANTS
SHEEP
TRYPTAMINES
US DOE
US ORGANIZATIONS
USA
VERTEBRATES