{
  "id": "emitters:household-background-magnetic",
  "collection": "emitters",
  "slug": "household-background-magnetic-field",
  "name": "Household background magnetic field (50/60 Hz)",
  "summary": "Away from appliances, homes typically sit below a few milligauss; the WHO's epidemiological association with childhood leukaemia begins at a daily average of 3–4 mG (0.3–0.4 µT).",
  "status": "verified",
  "lastVerified": "2026-08-12",
  "data": {
    "aliases": [
      "background EMF",
      "ambient magnetic field"
    ],
    "category": "elf-magnetic",
    "environment": [
      "home"
    ],
    "bands": [
      {
        "label": "Power frequency",
        "minHz": 50,
        "maxHz": 60
      }
    ],
    "dutyCycle": "Continuous, varying with household and grid load; evening peaks are common.",
    "distanceProfile": [
      {
        "meters": 1,
        "value": {
          "quantity": "magnetic-flux-density",
          "unit": "mG",
          "value": 0.1,
          "max": 4,
          "basis": "measured",
          "note": "Range commonly reported in residential surveys away from appliances and service equipment. Values above this usually indicate a specific source: service panel, wiring error, or an external line.",
          "sourceIds": [
            "niehs-emf",
            "who-elf"
          ]
        }
      }
    ],
    "mitigations": [
      {
        "action": "Log for 24 hours rather than spot-reading; use the 95th percentile of night-time values for a bedroom assessment.",
        "effect": "Power-frequency fields track load and vary hour to hour, so spot readings mislead.",
        "sourceIds": [
          "sbm-2024"
        ]
      },
      {
        "action": "Walk the perimeter with the meter to find the source before considering any mitigation.",
        "effect": "Elevated background is nearly always one identifiable source, most often the service panel or a net-current wiring fault."
      }
    ],
    "measureWith": [
      "elf-gaussmeter",
      "data-logger"
    ],
    "related": [
      "limits:who-elf-leukaemia-association",
      "limits:sbm-2024-magnetic-bands",
      "protocols:elf-magnetic-survey"
    ],
    "questions": [
      "what-is-a-safe-milligauss-level"
    ]
  },
  "sources": [
    {
      "id": "niehs-emf",
      "title": "Electric and Magnetic Fields",
      "publisher": "National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences",
      "url": "https://www.niehs.nih.gov/health/topics/agents/emf",
      "kind": "government",
      "retrieved": "2026-08-12"
    },
    {
      "id": "who-elf",
      "title": "Electromagnetic fields and public health: exposure to extremely low frequency fields",
      "publisher": "World Health Organization",
      "url": "https://www.who.int/teams/environment-climate-change-and-health/radiation-and-health/non-ionizing/exposure",
      "year": 2007,
      "kind": "government",
      "retrieved": "2026-08-12"
    },
    {
      "id": "sbm-2024",
      "title": "Building Biology Evaluation Guidelines for Sleeping Areas (SBM-2024)",
      "publisher": "Institut für Baubiologie + Nachhaltigkeit (IBN)",
      "url": "https://buildingbiology.com/site/downloads/SBM-2024_EVALUATION_GUIDELINES_EN.pdf",
      "year": 2024,
      "kind": "ngo",
      "retrieved": "2026-08-12"
    }
  ],
  "links": {
    "self": "https://emfbase.com/api/emitters/household-background-magnetic-field",
    "html": "https://emfbase.com/emitters/household-background-magnetic-field",
    "markdown": "https://emfbase.com/emitters/household-background-magnetic-field.md",
    "collection": "https://emfbase.com/api/emitters"
  }
}