The kind of electric and magnetic fields (EMFs) that typically surround electric power lines should be regarded as a "possible human carcinogen," a federally sponsored advisory panel concluded yesterday.
The 28-member international committee, convened by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and meeting outside Minneapolis, voted 19 to 9 to consider power-line EMFs as a possible cause of cancer. Eight members found that the fields could not be classified as causing cancer, and one decided that EMFs are probably not carcinogenic in humans.
In a statement, NIEHS said that the majority was most influenced by epidemiological studies that "showed a slight increase in childhood leukemia risk from power-line/residential exposures, and an increase in chronic leukemia risk in adults in electricity-intensive industries."
The possible link between EMFs and cancer is highly controversial. Some other advisory groups, including panels of the National Cancer Institute and National Academy of Sciences, have noted the same association but found it inconclusive.
The panel's recommendation will be included in a report that NIEHS, which is part of the National Institutes of Health, is scheduled to present to Congress and regulatory agencies in coming months.
"This report does not suggest that the risk is high," said committee chairman Michael Gallo of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-Robert Wood Medical School. "It is probably quite small, compared to many other public health risks. However, I strongly believe that additional . . . research should be pursued to reduce uncertainties in this arena."
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