# NWI EMF + Infrasound Pilot — SBDC Meeting Prep Sheet

**Meeting:** NWI SBDC with Eric Beschinski  
**Date:** May 26, 2026 (tomorrow)  
**Location:** Zoom (Purdue Tech Center, Crown Point)

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## Opening Statement (30 seconds)

> "Thanks for meeting with me, Eric. I want to share a pilot project we're developing — a baseline assessment of EMF and infrasound exposure in the Hammond-Whiting-East Chicago industrial corridor.
>
> The West Lake Corridor opened in March, and no one is measuring what that means for the 15,000+ workers in the region. We're not claiming harm — we're proposing to establish the first baseline dataset, similar to a Phase I environmental assessment.
>
> I'm here to ask for an SBDC letter of support, not funding. This would unlock SBIR Phase I funding and equipment access through Purdue."

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## Key Talking Points

### 1. This Is About Due Diligence, Not Disease

- **Phase I Environmental Site Assessments** establish baseline before property transactions
- **Radon testing** establishes baseline before home purchase
- **We're doing the same for EMF + infrasound** — measuring exposure, not asserting harm

### 2. The Industrial Corridor

The Hammond-Whiting-East Chicago corridor contains:
- **BP Whiting Refinery** — ~3,500 workers, largest in Midwest
- **Cleveland-Cliffs Burns Harbor** — ~3,000 workers, major steel mill
- **Cleveland-Cliffs Indiana Harbor** — ~4,000 workers, largest integrated steel in US
- **Unilever, Dover Chemical, Cargill** — additional major employers

**No baseline data exists** for any of these facilities.

### 3. The New Variable: Electrified Rail

- West Lake Corridor opened **March 31, 2026**
- **25 kV AC overhead catenary** — generates time-varying magnetic fields
- **Train frequency:** ~30 trains/day during peak operations
- **Infrasound sources:** Rail-wheel interaction, braking, passing trains

### 4. Why Include Infrasound?

- **Pile driving** during construction produces infrasound (2–20 Hz)
- **Industrial machinery** — compressors, generators, mills
- **Ventilation systems** — large fans, exhaust systems
- **Rail operations** — train passing, braking, wheel-rail contact

Unlike audible noise, infrasound:
- Is not easily blocked by standard hearing protection
- Can penetrate walls
- Affects the vestibular system
- Is linked to nausea, dizziness, sleep disturbance

### 5. What We're NOT Doing

- ❌ Targeting any specific company
- ❌ Claiming EMF or infrasound causes cancer or any disease
- ❌ Seeking regulatory action
- ❌ Disrupting operations

### 6. What We ARE Doing

- ✅ Establishing baseline data
- ✅ Measuring actual field levels (both EMF and infrasound)
- ✅ Creating a regional dataset
- ✅ Supporting future research

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## The Ask

| Item | Purpose | Timeline |
|------|---------|----------|
| **SBDC Letter of Support** | Endorse pilot as economic development | May 2026 |
| **Purdue RF Alliance** | Equipment access (EMF meters, infrasound sensors) | June 2026 |
| **SBIR Phase I** | $323,090 for pilot execution | Aug 2026 |

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## Numbers to Remember

- **15,000+** workers in corridor
- **8.3 miles** of electrified rail
- **25 kV** overhead catenary
- **0** baseline EMF/infrasound studies in region
- **$323,090** SBIR Phase I cap
- **6+** major employers in corridor

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## Key Citations (If Asked)

### EMF/ELF
1. **WHO/IARC (2002):** ELF magnetic fields = Group 2B (possibly carcinogenic)
2. **Jafari et al. (2025):** Systematic review — fatigue, sleep disturbance, neurovegetative symptoms
3. **Zhang et al. (2016, PLoS ONE):** OR 1.72 leukemia at ≥0.4 µT
4. **Bowman (2013, NIOSH):** $5,100/worker/µT economic benefit from mitigation

### Infrasound
1. **MDPI Applied Sciences (2021):** Systematic review — sleep disturbance, nausea, dizziness, vestibular effects
2. **RIVM Report (2020):** Wind turbine infrasound linked to sleep disturbance, headaches
3. **Pile Buck Magazine (2024):** Industry acknowledges pile driving infrasound requires mitigation

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## Documents to Share

1. **Deck:** `deck.html` — visual overview, share in Zoom chat
2. **One-Page Summary:** `ONE-PAGE-SUMMARY.md` — leave-behind
3. **Support Letter Draft:** `SUPPORT-LETTER-DRAFT.md` — ready for Eric's edits

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## Closing

> "Eric, this is about positioning NWI as a leader in occupational health monitoring. We have the technology, the expertise, and the regional context. An SBDC letter of support unlocks federal funding and equipment access — at no cost to SBDC.
>
> The project measures both EMF and infrasound — two exposures that have peer-reviewed health literature but zero baseline data in this corridor.
>
> What questions do you have?"