Radiation Protection Dosimetry 83:71-78 (1999)
© 1999 Oxford University Press
Developments in the Generation and Interpretation of Wire Codes
Three new developments in the generation and interpretation of wire codes are discussed. First, a method was developed to computer generate wire codes using data gathered from a utility database of the local distribution system and from tax assessor records. This method was used to wire code more than 250,000 residences in the greater Denver metropolitan area. There was an approximate 75% agreement with field wire coding. Other research in Denver suggests that wire codes predict some characteristics of a residence and its neighbourhood, including age, assessed value, street layout and traffic density. A third new development is the case-specular method to study the association between wire codes and childhood cancers. Recent results from applying the method to the Savitz et al and London et al studies suggest that the associations between childhood cancer and VHCC residences were strongest for residences with a backyard rather than street service drop, and for VHCC residences with LCC speculars.