The Electric and Magnetic Fields Research and Public Information Dissemination (EMF-RAPID) Program

In the United States, public concern that exposure to powerline fields was linked to cancer led to the establishment of a Congressionally mandated pro gram, the Electric and Magnetic Fields Research and Public Information Diss emination (ERF-RAPID) Program. A major goal of the program was to "determin e whether or not exposures to electric and magnetic fields produced by the generation, transmission, and use of electrical energy affect human health" . Between 1994 and 1998, the EMF-RAPID program spent approximately $41 mill ion on biological research. Much of the work funded by the EMF-RAPID progra m has not yet been published in the peer-reviewed literature. The U.S. Nati onal Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) asked that Radiatio n Research publish this special issue in an attempt to remedy this publicat ion gap. The issue includes reviews of studies that were done to assess the biological plausibility of claims that power-frequency fields caused leuke mia and breast cancer. The issue continues with two teratology studies and one immunology study, The section of the issue covering in vitro studies be gins with an overview of the efforts NIEHS made to replicate a wide range o f reported effects of power-frequency fields and continues with four papers reporting the absence of effects of power-frequency fields on the expressi on of stress-response genes and oncogenes, Other reports of ill vitro studi es and studies of mechanisms cover cytotoxicity, gap junction intracellular communication, calcium ion transport across the plasma membrane, and intra cellular electric fields. (C) 2000 by Radiation Research Society.