The U.S. Navy established an ecological monitoring program to determine whether electric and magnetic fields from extremely low frequency (ELF) communications systems influenced plant and animal populations near the transmitting facilities. Although some of the researchers believe that a few biological changes might have occurred, they concluded that the results do not indicate significant adverse ecological effects.

This book evaluates the 11 ecological studies of the Navy's monitoring program and examines the adequacy of experimental design, the data collection and analysis, and the soundness of the conclusions. It also addresses whether the monitoring program was capable of detecting subtle effects due to ELF exposure and examines the biological changes observed by some program researchers, such as enhanced tree growth.

Contents

• Committee to Evaluate the U.S. Navy's Extremely Low Frequency Communications System Ecological Monitoring Program
• Board on Environmental Studies and Toxicology
• Commission on Life Sciences
• Other Recent Reports of the Board on Environmental Studies and Toxicology
• [The National Academies]
• Preface
• Executive Summary
• 1. Introduction
  • The ELF Communications System
  • The Navy's Ecological Monitoring Program
  • The Committee's Charge and Approach
  • Specific Theories of Biologic Effects of EMF Exposure
  • Scope of the Report
• 2. EMF Measurements, Exposure Criteria, and Dosimetry
  • Characterization of Electric and Magnetic Fields
  • Exposure Criteria for Site Selection
  • Exposure Data Supplied to Researchers
  • Using Formulas for Predicting Electric and Magnetic Fields
  • Dosimetry
  • Differences in Effect Between Unmodulated 60-Hz and Modulated 76-Hz Signals
  • Conclusions Regarding EMF Measurements
• 3. Evaluation of Final Reports of Individual Studies
  • Introduction
  • Wetlands
  • Slime Mold
  • Wisconsin Birds and Michigan Birds
  • Small Vertebrates
  • Litter Decomposition and Microflora
  • Upland Flora
  • Aquatic Ecosystems
  • Pollinating Insects
  • Soil Arthropods and Earthworms
  • Soil Amebas
• 4. Common Issues
  • Use of Exposure Data By Ecological Monitoring Teams
  • Study-Site Selection
  • Pseudoreplication
  • Species Selection
  • Response-Variable Selection
  • Statistical Power
  • Response to Reviews and Critiques
  • Appropriateness of Interpretation
  • Different Methods for Similar Organisms
  • Lack of Integration Among Studies and Synthesis of Information
  • Data Archiving
• 5. Overall Conclusions and Recommendations
  • Ecological Effects
  • IITRI's Engineering Support and Program Management
  • Recommendation
  • Suggested Next Steps
• References
• Appendix A Biographic Information on Committee Members
• Appendix B Calculations of Induced Electric Fields

The project was supported by contract DAMD 17-89-C-9086 between the National Academy of Sciences and the U.S. Department of Defense. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the organizations or agencies that provided support for this project.

NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.

This report has been reviewed by a group other than the authors according to procedures approved by a Report Review Committee consisting of members of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine.