EMF - A clipping from a NAS study

[MARK WINSLOW <WINSLOW.MARK@EPAMAIL.EPA.GOV>]

EMF - A clipping from a NAS study

Electromagnetic Fields:
Exposures to electric and magnetic fields emitted
by household appliances and wiring do not
appear to be a threat to human health. After 17
years of research encompassing more than 500
studies, there is no conclusive evidence that
electromagnetic fields (EMFs) play a role in the
development of cancer, reproductive and
developmental abnormalities, or learning and
behavioral problems, says a recent report by a
Research Council committee.

Concern about health effects from EMFs arose
in 1979, when research showed that children
living close to high concentrations of certain
types of electrical wires were 1.5 times more
likely to develop the rare blood disease,
leukemia. That association between certain
outside wire configurations and leukemia has
persisted in follow-up studies. However, there is
no evidence that shows a link between
measured electromagnetic fields and childhood
leukemia, and it never has been demonstrated
that this association was caused by exposure to
electromagnetic fields. Further, the strength of
fields inside a home does not correlate with the
size and types of wires outside, the report says.

In addition, laboratory tests on cells, tissues, and
animals revealed no convincing evidence that
electromagnetic fields are harmful.

Questions remain, however, about the weak link
shown between proximity to some power-line
configurations and the incidence of childhood
leukemia, which may be the result of other
factors that are common to homes with this
wiring configuration. Possibilities include local
air quality, proximity to high traffic density, and
construction features of older homes. The
committee recommended further research to
clear up these and other uncertainties.

Possible Health Effects of Exposure to Residential Electric and
Magnetic Fields. Committee on the Possible Effects of
Electromagnetic Fields on Biologic Systems, Board on Radiation
Effects Research, Commission on Life Sciences (1997, 384 pp.;
ISBN 0-309-05447-8; available from National Academy Press, tel.
1-800-624-6242; $39.95 plus $4.00 shipping for single copies).

The committee was chaired by Charles F. Stevens, professor and
investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Salk Institute, La
Jolla, Calif. The study was funded by the U.S. Department of
Energy.


Mark Winslow
US. EPA - Region II