..................................................................................................................................................................................................................
..................................................................................................................................................................................................................

   FRONT PAGE       ABOUT US       EVIDENCE BASED SCIENCE       NEWS & COMMENTARY       ACCUEIL
Entrevues: Michel Plante
Compteurs d'électricité
fonctionnant aux radiofréquences
Radio: CHEQ Beace
Télévision: TVA
Alarmists have raised concerns about the supposed health effects of power lines also known as transmission lines. The biggest "concern" is about a supposed link between living near power lines and an increased risk for children of developing childhood leukemia. The "evidence" for this is weak and unconvincing. Most studies have found no link. Furthermore, studies done on cell cultures (in vitro) and in animal models (in vivo) have found no evidence for leukemia, or any other type of cancer, or for any other illness due to exposure to power line EMF. On this page we provide links to some articles written by our collaborators on the topic of power lines and health. In addition to these articles by our collaborators, the following is a sampling of some of the scientific papers on the topic.
Residential exposure to magnetic fields and acute lymphoblastic leukemia in children Linet et al. N England Journal of Medecine July 1997.
Power-frequency electric and magnetic fields and risk of childhood leukemia in Canada  McBride et al. Am J Epidemiology May 1999.
The following review article Power Lines and Cancer: Nothing to Fear by Dr. John Farley on the web site Quackwatch is also excellent.
Two Major Studies Find No Evidence of Childhood Leukemia from Power Lines

An important British study on childhood leukemia has found no connection between this disease and proximity to power lines. The study involved 16,500 children who developed leukemia between 1962 and 2008. This probably the largest study of its kind to date. This was a continuation of an earlier study that had found an increased risk for this disease. This larger extended study found no increased risk of leukemia from living near power lines over the study period.

See the following BBC press report: Child leukaemian "not linked to power lines".
Abstract of the original paper:
Residential distance at birth from overhead high-voltage powerlines: childhood cancer risk in Britain 1962-2008

A similar study conducted in Denmark that involved 1698 children diagnosed with leukemia between 1968 - 2006 came to essentially the same conclusion: "We found no higher risk of leukemia for children living 0-199 m or for children living 200-599 m of a 132-400 kV overhead power line".
 

Abstract of the original paper:
Distance from residence to power line and risk of childhood leukemia: a population-based case-control study in Denmark

The following article "Are 50/60 Hz magnetic fields carcinogenic to humans" was written by our collaborator Dr. Michel Plante, who is presently Chief Medical Advisor on public health to the Health & Security Directorate of Hydro Quebec. In this excellent article, Dr. Plante provides a comprehensive overview of the persuasive evidence against the hypothesis that magnetic fields from power lines might cause childhood leukemia.
The following article entitled "Childhood Leukemia and 60 Hz Power" was written by our collaborator Harvey Kofsky. This article is the first of a series by Harvey.
The following article entitled "Little evidence linking cancer with Power Lines" was written by our collaborator Dr. Joe Schwacz, and was published in his weekly column "The Right Chemistry" in the Montreal Gazette on Sept. 20, 2009.
    Except where noted all images on this web site are taken from the Wikipedia commons
    All trademarks are the property of their respective owners                                                                    Copyright 2009 EMF & Health