Power Lines May Cause Cancer, Probably Not -Report

["Sandy Perle" <sandyfl@earthlink.net>]

Tuesday June 15 12:02 PM ET 

Power Lines May Cause Cancer, Probably Not -Report

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Electrical power lines could possibly cause 
cancer, but that is highly unlikely, a U.S. government report 
published Tuesday concludes.  

However, there is just enough evidence of risk to suggest that people 
might want to measure how much electromagnetic radiation from power 
lines they are exposed to in their homes, said the expert at the 
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) who 
compiled the report.  

Electromagnetic fields (EMF) are generated by the electricity running 
through power lines. They are found around power lines ranging from 
those strung out from giant power plants, to the lines feeding 
household power outlets.  

Several studies published over the past two decades raised concerns 
that the fields might cause cancer. The most dramatic found that 
children in families living near big transformers or near major 
distribution lines seemed to have a higher incidence of leukemia.  

In 1992 Congress commissioned the National Institutes of Health, the 
NIEHS and the Department of Energy to study this.

``The NIEHS believes that the probability that EMF exposure is truly 
a health hazard is currently small,'' the report concludes.

It says epidemiological studies -- those that look at the incidence 
of disease in a population -- show only a weak association with some 
forms of leukemia. Studies that have attempted to show a mechanism 
for how an electromagnetic field might cause cancer have failed.  

Yet there are lingering concerns, said Christopher Portier, a risk 
assessment expert who heads the Environmental Toxicology Program at 
NIEHS and who compiled the report.  

Portier noted that the studies trying to show a mechanism used 
animals -- which do not always react to toxins in the same way
that humans do.

He says some of the studies his team looked at, especially those 
involving childhood leukemia and chronic lymphocytic leukemia, do 
indicate an association of some sort.  

``It's the right species -- it's humans,'' he said in a telephone 
interview. ``The consistency in the patterns is disturbing.''

He said most studies show that people who develop leukemia are more 
likely to have had a high exposure to electromagnetic fields -- but 
they do not show that people who have an exposure to the fields are 
more likely to get leukemia.  

The difference is subtle, but important, and leaves open the 
possibility that something other than the electromagnetic fields are 
causing the cancer.  

But no one has been able to find any other cause.

``Everything that our working group looked at and that we have looked 
at as explanations have not panned out,'' Portier said.

``They looked at the presence of pesticides and herbicides under 
power lines, they have looked at traffic patterns in streets outside 
homes, mobility of populations, socioeconomic status, they have 
looked at age of the home -- there's dozens of things,'' he said. 
``None of these explains the result.''  

Although the report does not give advice, it has been issued to other 
government agencies that will consider whether to offer advice to the 
public.  

``If you are asking me personally what should people do if they are 
concerned, they should get the fields in their homes measured,'' 
Portier said, noting most power companies would do this free of 
charge.  

Figures are available from the Department of Energy on what the 
average exposure to the fields are in people's homes.

``Many homes are grounded (earthed) improperly and if you ground 
improperly it creates an impedance that puts an electromagnetic field 
into the home,'' he said. This is easy to fix, he added.  

``A more complex problem would be if you have the wrong sort of power 
line in your back yard. You can't know that until an engineer comes 
and measures and looks at their power lines,'' he added. Some of the 
newer lines are designed to reduce fields, he said. 

Sandy Perle
E-Mail: sandyfl@earthlink.net 
Personal Website: http://www.geocities.com/capecanaveral/1205

"The object of opening the mind, as of opening 
the mouth, is to close it again on something solid"
              - G. K. Chesterton -
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