# Research Note — 2026-05-27

## Confirmed facts
- NIOSH’s *Manual for Measuring Occupational Electric and Magnetic Field Exposures* is a protocol-driven exposure assessment reference and includes 16 exposure measurement protocols.
- EPA describes the Grand Calumet River AOC as one of the most heavily industrialized areas in the United States, spanning Gary, East Chicago, Hammond, and Whiting, with legacy pollutants still driving cleanup and monitoring work.
- EPA’s Former Cities Service Refinery page describes the East Chicago site as a mixed heavy industrial and residential area, with the active CITGO terminal and former refinery complex near the Grand Calumet River and Gary/Chicago International Airport.
- NIPSCO says its electric AMI rollout is being installed in phases for about 490,000 customers over three years starting in March 2024, and that meter exchange work may involve a brief service interruption.

## Working hypotheses
- Active utility work should be tagged as a transient source-state, not pooled with ordinary utility-adjacent background readings.
- If a stop appears to be an AMI meter exchange or brief service interruption, the route log should capture that explicitly so later analysis can separate construction-state from steady-state exposure.
- The current corridor/control structure still looks right; the practical upgrade is better source-state metadata, not a more complicated theory.

## Practical pilot implications
- Keep logging source class, operating state, and access constraints at every utility-adjacent stop.
- Add a clear flag for AMI / meter-exchange activity when it is visible.
- Preserve quiet inland controls so active work can be compared against ordinary background conditions instead of being blended together.

## Sources used
- https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/98-154/default.html
- https://www.epa.gov/great-lakes-aocs/grand-calumet-river-aoc
- https://www.epa.gov/hwcorrectiveactioncleanups/hazardous-waste-cleanup-former-cities-service-refinery-east-chicago
- https://www.nipsco.com/services/work-in-your-neighborhood/advanced-metering-ami/electric-ami

## Update — 2026-05-27 01:15 CT

## Confirmed facts
- NIOSH’s spot-measurement examples in the ELF-EMF literature use a stand that aligns a single-axis probe in three orthogonal directions and keeps it stationary, which means motion-gradient fields are suppressed in those measurements.
- NIPSCO’s electric AMI page says installations are done by QUES, usually take less than 15 minutes, and may include a brief service interruption; if a meter exchange is needed, Infrasource or NIPSCO personnel may do it.

## Working hypotheses
- The pilot should treat stationary spot readings, walking scans, and body-worn samples as different measurement modes and avoid pooling them without an explicit transformation.
- A raw log column for measurement mode and probe setup should reduce downstream confusion better than trying to reconstruct the setup later from notes.

## Material update made
- Tightened the field protocol and analysis plan to keep stationary spot, walking scan, and body-worn data separate.
- Added measurement-mode and probe-setup fields to the field log template and checklist.
- Kept the new NIPSCO AMI source-state detail as a utility-work flag rather than a new exposure theory.

## Sources used
- https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/98-154/default.html
- https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/98-154/default.html
- https://www.nipsco.com/services/work-in-your-neighborhood/advanced-metering-ami/electric-ami

## Update — 2026-05-27 02:15 CT

## Confirmed facts
- EPA’s Grand Calumet River AOC page lists NIPSCO among the cleanup/restoration partners for the corridor.
- NIPSCO’s electric AMI rollout is still best treated as a phased, transient utility-work context rather than a stable background source.

## Working hypotheses
- Utility-adjacent site logs should capture source_state separately from source_class so AMI exchanges, active work, and steady energized equipment do not get blurred together.
- The cleanest pilot upgrade is a small metadata expansion, not a broader theory change.

## Material update made
- Added a `source_state` / `utility_work_flag` style split to the field log template.
- Added explicit source-state logging to the field protocol, checklist, and analysis plan.
- Added NIPSCO's AOC partner role to the local context note in the project README.

## Sources used
- https://www.epa.gov/great-lakes-aocs/grand-calumet-river-aoc
- https://www.nipsco.com/services/work-in-your-neighborhood/advanced-metering-ami/electric-ami

## Update — 2026-05-27 03:15 CT

## Confirmed facts
- The 2025 NWI Urban Waters Federal Partnership work plan says the NWI UWFP spans Lake, Porter, and LaPorte counties, is co-led by EPA, USFS, and NPS, and is hosted through Purdue University Northwest.
- The same work plan lists NIPSCO as a partner in the Little Calumet River Conservation Collaborative.
- The NWI region described in that work plan explicitly combines heavy industrial complexes with high-quality natural areas along the Lake Michigan shore.

## Working hypotheses
- Some corridor stops may be dual-use utility and restoration/managed-land sites, so the field log should keep restoration context separate from source class.
- A short note on managed-corridor or restoration context will reduce misclassification better than trying to infer it later from address alone.

## Practical pilot implications
- Treat restoration corridors as a routing/context variable, not a new exposure theory.
- When a stop falls inside an active restoration or managed-land area, record that context alongside the usual source_state and nearby_source notes.
- Keep corridor-vs-control comparisons clean by avoiding accidental pooling of utility-adjacent, restoration-adjacent, and inland-background stops.

## Sources used
- https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2025-05/2025-nwi-uwfp-work-plan.pdf

## Update — 2026-05-27 04:15 CT

## Confirmed facts
- EPA’s Northwest Indiana Urban Waters Partnership page now explicitly says the region has more than 70 local, state, and federal partners and that it spans Lake, Porter, and LaPorte counties along Lake Michigan, including the Grand Calumet River AOC and Indiana Dunes National Park.
- EPA’s Northwest Indiana Urban Waters Partnership Work Plan page lists a 2025 work plan with 2024 accomplishments and says the work plan is updated annually.
- EPA’s web search snippet for the 2025 work plan says the NWI UWFP Ambassador position is hosted through a shared agreement with Purdue University Northwest and is supported with funding from EPA and USFS.
- NIPSCO’s electric AMI page says installations are phased over approximately 490,000 customers over three years starting in March 2024, usually take less than 15 minutes, may involve a brief service interruption, and are performed by QUES, with meter exchanges sometimes handled by Infrasource or NIPSCO staff.

## Working hypotheses
- The pilot should keep recording utility-work / AMI activity as a transient source-state flag, but the stronger local context now also justifies logging whether a stop sits inside a broader Urban Waters / managed-corridor context.
- PNW looks like a practical institutional contact point for the pilot because it is already embedded in the local Urban Waters structure, so it may be a better coordination anchor than a generic university reference.

## Practical pilot implications
- Add a lightweight `urban_waters_context` note to the field log when a stop overlaps an active Urban Waters corridor or partner site.
- If a route is planned through East Chicago, Hammond, or Whiting, tag whether the stop is also in a recognized Urban Waters / restoration context so later analysis can separate utility-adjacent background from stewardship corridors.
- Keep the pilot narrow; this is metadata improvement, not a theory expansion.

## Sources used
- https://www.epa.gov/urbanwaterspartners/northwest-indiana-urban-waters-partnership
- https://www.epa.gov/urbanwaterspartners/northwest-indiana-urban-waters-partnership-work-plan
- https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2025-05/2025-nwi-uwfp-work-plan.pdf
- https://www.nipsco.com/services/work-in-your-neighborhood/advanced-metering-ami/electric-ami

## Update — 2026-05-27 05:10 CT

## Confirmed facts
- NIOSH’s *Manual for Measuring Occupational Electric and Magnetic Field Exposures* is a protocol-driven reference for occupational EMF assessment and includes 16 exposure measurement protocols.
- EPA’s Northwest Indiana Urban Waters Partnership page says the region spans Lake, Porter, and LaPorte counties, includes the Grand Calumet River AOC and Indiana Dunes National Park, and has more than 70 local, state, and federal partners.
- EPA’s Grand Calumet River AOC page says the river sits in one of the most heavily industrialized areas in the United States, with legacy pollutants, ongoing remediation, and NIPSCO listed as a cleanup partner.
- EPA’s Former Cities Service Refinery page says the East Chicago site is a mixed heavy industrial and residential area near the Grand Calumet River and Gary/Chicago International Airport, under RCRA corrective action.
- NIPSCO’s electric AMI page says the rollout covers about 490,000 customers over three years starting in March 2024, is installed by QUES, usually takes less than 15 minutes, and may include a brief service interruption.

## Working hypotheses
- Stops inside the Grand Calumet / East Chicago corridor should be treated as a distinct location context from generic “industrial” sites because the area combines legacy cleanup, active utility work, and mixed residential exposure.
- A single compact `corridor_context` field will be cleaner than scattering AOC, Urban Waters, and cleanup-site status across free-text notes.

## Practical pilot implications
- Add one controlled `corridor_context` value for `Grand Calumet AOC`, `East Chicago mixed-use cleanup area`, and `Urban Waters corridor`.
- Keep `source_state` and `utility_work_flag` separate; use corridor context only for location classification, not exposure magnitude.
- Preserve inland control sites, because the NWI corridor is not ordinary urban background — it is a cleanup-and-restoration corridor with its own institutional activity.

## Update — 2026-05-27 06:15 CT

## Confirmed facts
- EPA’s Northwest Indiana Urban Waters Partnership page now says the region spans Lake, Porter, and LaPorte counties and has more than 70 local, state, and federal partners.
- EPA’s Northwest Indiana Urban Waters Partnership Work Plan page says the work plan is updated annually and links the current 2025 work plan with 2024 accomplishments.
- NIPSCO’s electric AMI page says the rollout is phased for about 490,000 customers over three years starting in March 2024, installations typically take less than 15 minutes, a brief interruption may occur, and meter exchanges may be handled by Infrasource or NIPSCO staff.

## Working hypotheses
- Because the Urban Waters partner network and work plan are current, `urban_waters_context` should stay a route-planning and classification field, not a fixed assumption pulled from older notes.
- AMI activity remains a transient source-state flag; it should continue to be logged separately from steady utility-adjacent background.

## Practical pilot implications
- Use the current-year Urban Waters work plan when deciding whether a stop sits in an active restoration or managed-corridor context.
- Keep the log simple: `corridor_context`, `urban_waters_context`, and `source_state` should stay separate so dynamic partnership activity does not get mistaken for exposure mechanism.

## Update — 2026-05-27 07:15 CT

## Confirmed facts
- EPA’s Program Contacts page for Northwest Indiana was last updated January 30, 2026 and lists Victoria Wittig, Ph.D. as the Northwest Indiana Urban Waters Ambassador at Purdue University Northwest.
- NIPSCO’s electric and gas projects page says utility construction may take place in public right-of-way and yards, and that customers may see construction activity in their area.

## Working hypotheses
- The pilot should use the current EPA contact page as the coordination anchor when a stop overlaps an Urban Waters corridor or managed site.
- Route planning should distinguish short AMI meter-exchange activity from broader system-upgrade construction, because both are transient utility contexts but not the same thing.

## Practical pilot implications
- Add a lightweight pre-field check for the current EPA program contacts page when planning corridor stops.
- Log broader construction context separately from `source_state` and `utility_work_flag` so access constraints are not mistaken for exposure conditions.
- Keep the update narrow; this improves coordination and metadata quality, not the underlying exposure hypothesis.

## Sources used
- https://www.epa.gov/urbanwaterspartners/program-contacts-northwest-indiana-indiana
- https://www.nipsco.com/services/work-in-your-neighborhood/system-upgrades

## Update — 2026-05-27 09:15 CT

## Confirmed facts
- NIOSH’s EMF manual remains the core occupational exposure reference and is explicitly protocol-driven, which makes it a better fit than ad hoc spot checking for this pilot.
- NIPSCO’s electric and gas projects page says utility construction may happen in public right-of-way and yards, may temporarily block streets or driveways, and may briefly interrupt service.
- NIPSCO’s electric AMI page says AMI installs are done in phases by QUES and can involve a short interruption; meter exchange work may be done by Infrasource or NIPSCO staff.

## Working hypotheses
- Construction context is now a distinct field worth logging separately from source state because blocked access and active work zones can otherwise masquerade as exposure differences.
- Access constraints should be treated as route metadata, not as an EMF signal.

## Material update made
- Added `construction_context` and `access_constraints` to the field log template.
- Separated construction context from source state in the field protocol, analysis plan, checklist, and README.
- Tightened the checklist so utility-adjacent stops explicitly capture AMI, system-upgrade, or routine-service context plus any access limits.

## Sources used
- https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/98-154/default.html
- https://www.nipsco.com/services/work-in-your-neighborhood/system-upgrades
- https://www.nipsco.com/services/work-in-your-neighborhood/advanced-metering-ami/electric-ami

## Update — 2026-05-27 10:15 CT

## Confirmed facts
- EPA’s Northwest Indiana Program Contacts page was last updated January 30, 2026 and lists Victoria Wittig, Ph.D. as the Northwest Indiana Urban Waters Ambassador at Purdue University Northwest in Hammond.
- NIOSH’s EMF manual remains a protocol reference with 16 measurement protocols; the page itself does not add newer operational guidance beyond that.
- NIPSCO’s electric AMI and system-upgrades pages still describe AMI exchanges as brief, phased utility work and broader construction as activity that can block streets or driveways and briefly interrupt service.

## Working hypothesis
- For route planning, the current EPA program-contacts page should be the first coordination check for any stop that may overlap the Urban Waters corridor; that is a cleaner anchor than relying on older local references.

## Practical pilot implications
- Add a pre-field step to verify the current EPA Program Contacts page before corridor routes.
- Use the named Urban Waters ambassador as the default local coordination contact when a stop sits in the managed-corridor window.
- Keep the measurement protocol unchanged; the upgrade is coordination and metadata, not a new EMF theory.

## Sources used
- https://www.epa.gov/urbanwaterspartners/program-contacts-northwest-indiana-indiana
- https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/98-154/
- https://www.nipsco.com/services/work-in-your-neighborhood/advanced-metering-ami/electric-ami
- https://www.nipsco.com/services/work-in-your-neighborhood/system-upgrades

## Update — 2026-05-27 12:15 CT

## Confirmed facts
- EPA’s Northwest Indiana Program Contacts page was last updated January 30, 2026 and lists Victoria Wittig, Ph.D. as the Northwest Indiana Urban Waters Ambassador at Purdue University Northwest in Hammond.
- NIPSCO’s electric AMI page says technicians request access if the meter is inside or behind a locked gate.
- NIPSCO’s electric and gas projects page says work is often in the grassy public right-of-way and yards, may temporarily block streets, lanes, or driveways, and may briefly interrupt service.

## Working hypotheses
- Utility-adjacent stops should separate `workzone_location`, `access_blockage`, and `access_method` so a locked gate, a street closure, and a right-of-way work zone do not get collapsed into one generic access note.
- The current EPA contacts page should stay the first coordination check for corridor routes, because it is current and names the local ambassador directly.

## Practical pilot implications
- Add a route-plan note when a stop is likely to involve a locked gate or a public-right-of-way work zone.
- Keep access metadata separate from exposure values and separate from source-state labels.
- Use the current EPA Program Contacts page as the default coordination anchor when planning corridor stops.

## Update — 2026-05-27 15:15 CT

## Confirmed facts
- NIPSCO’s electric AMI page says installs are phased, may involve brief service interruption, and if the meter is inside or behind a locked gate, technicians will request access.
- NIPSCO’s electric and gas projects page says work may happen in the grassy public right-of-way and yards, equipment may sit in the street, and streets, lanes, or driveways can be temporarily blocked.
- EPA’s Northwest Indiana program-contacts page still lists Victoria Wittig, Ph.D. as the Northwest Indiana Urban Waters Ambassador at Purdue University Northwest in Hammond.

## Working hypothesis
- `workzone_location` and `access_method` should be logged separately from `access_constraints` because a locked gate, a street closure, and a right-of-way work zone describe different route conditions and should not get collapsed into one note.

## Practical pilot implications
- Add `workzone_location` and `access_method` to the field log template and checklist for utility-adjacent stops.
- Keep access geometry separate from exposure values so route friction does not masquerade as EMF signal.
- Treat the current EPA contacts page as the default coordination anchor for corridor routes, but keep it out of the exposure columns.

## Sources used
- https://www.nipsco.com/services/work-in-your-neighborhood/advanced-metering-ami/electric-ami
- https://www.nipsco.com/services/work-in-your-neighborhood/system-upgrades
- https://www.epa.gov/urbanwaterspartners/program-contacts-northwest-indiana-indiana

## Update — 2026-05-27 20:15 CT

## Confirmed facts
- NIPSCO’s electric and gas projects page says its crews may do preliminary work before main construction, including locating and marking underground utilities such as water and cable.
- The same page says NIPSCO documents the property’s current state at the start of a project and may capture photos or video footage.
- NIPSCO’s construction FAQ also says most digging is in the grassy part of the public right-of-way and yards, with equipment often in the street while work is underway.

## Working hypotheses
- Preliminary utility marking and property-state documentation should be logged separately from `construction_context` because they describe pre-construction prep, not the main work state.
- A dedicated `preliminary_work` field will make it easier to exclude locate/mark activity when comparing active utility work against quieter utility-adjacent stops.
- Route friction and pre-construction prep can create noise that looks like exposure, so the log needs to keep those pieces apart.

## Practical pilot implications
- Add `preliminary_work` to the field log and checklist for utility-adjacent stops.
- Note locate/mark activity, property-state documentation, and any photo/video documentation explicitly on site.
- Keep preliminary work out of the exposure columns and out of the source-state bucket.

## Material update made
- Added a preliminary-work field to the log template and checklist.
- Separated preliminary utility work from construction context in the protocol, analysis plan, and session summary template.
- Added a decision check to test whether apparent differences remain after removing locate/mark and property-documentation stops.

## Sources used
- https://www.nipsco.com/services/work-in-your-neighborhood/system-upgrades
- https://www.nipsco.com/services/work-in-your-neighborhood/system-upgrades
- https://www.nipsco.com/services/work-in-your-neighborhood/system-upgrades