HomeMy WebLinkAbout2000 12 04 Regular G Youth Sports Practice Areas Land Lease Agreement
COMMISSION AGENDA
CONSENT
INFORMATIONAL
ITEM G
PUBLIC HEARING
11/27/2000
Meeting
MGR./
Authorization
X
/DEPT C \?
REQUEST: The Parks and Recreation Department is requesting that The City Commission
approve proceeding with land lease agreements with the Seminole County School
Board and the American Annuity Group to possibly provide property for youth sports
practice areas.
PURPOSE: The purpose of this item is inform the City Commission of the possibility of land
lease agreements and obtain direction on these three sites.
ISSUE ANALYSIS:
. On March 20, 2000, the City Commission discussed many sites for use as recreational practice
fields.
. On August 14, 2000 the City Commission asked that the future elementary school site, the
American Annuity Group property (Shepard Road), and Moss Park power easements be
considered.
. Staff has discussed the possibility of a land lease agreement with the School Board staff on
several occasions and has also walked the site twice. Dillard Smith Construction is presently
leasing a portion of this parcel and the previous owner has his cattle on the remaining property.
Dillard Smith should leave in June or July, 2000. Staff recommends pursuing a lease on a
portion of the property for practice field usage. The School Board is receptive to considering an
agreement.
1
. Staffhas discussed several times the possibility of a land lease agreement with the American
Annuity Group (Shepard Road property) and has also walked the site several times. It is
presently being used by a small soccer organization. The American Annuity Group is
receptive to a two year land lease agreement with the city paying a reasonable fee (estimated
$1,200 yr.) and also grounds maintenance and insurance. Staff recommends pursuing a lease
on this property for practice field usage.
. Staff has researched the risk of playing directly under electric fields. There is conflicting and
inconclusive evidence either way that electric fields may cause cancer or Leukemia. Staff,
however, recommends that the city not improve, designate, and schedule youth sports
practices directly under power easements.
. On November 17th and 18th, flyers were delivered to adjacent neighbors of these three sites.
FUNDING: N/A at this time.
RECOMMENDATION:
The Parks and Recreation Department is recommending that the City Commission approve
proceeding with the Seminole County School Board and the American Annuity Group to
possibly provide property for youth sports practice areas.
IMPLEMENTATION SCHEDULE:
January, 2001
Staff brings land lease agreements with Seminole County School
Board and The American Annuity Group to the City Commission for
consideratrion.
A TT ACHMENTS:
Attachment #1
Attachment #2
Attachment #3
Location maps
Neighborhood flyer
Power linelElectrical fields risks
COMMISSION ACTION:
Agenda7S
2
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Critics Say Major Study Doesn't Put Issue to Rest
No Power line-leukemia link
"There is no convincing evidence that high-voltage power lines are a health hazard or a
cause of cancer."
-Dr. Edward W. Campion, deputy editor, The New England Journal of Medicine
ABCNEWS' George Strait reports on the depth of the new study
951 k (avi)
937k (mov)
RealVideo
(download RealPlaver)
Though a new study claims living near power lines has no
effect on childhood leukemia, people still don't want to live
near them (Publisher's Depot)
By Jeff Rubin
ABCNEWS.com
The invisible magnetic waves thrown offby power lines do not increase the
risk of childhood leukemia, says the most definitive study yet on the subject.
"We found no evidence that magnetic-field levels in the home increased the risk for childhood leukemia,"
said Dr. Martha S. Linet, who directed the study conducted by the National Cancer Institute and published
in today's issue of The New England Journal of Medicine.
Even so, some say the study doesn't put the issue to rest and may have reached flawed conclusions.
"The conclusion does not accurately reflect the data," says Richard Stevens, an epidemiologist at Pacific
Northwest Laboratory in Richland, Wash. "This does not settle the issue or allow us to feel comfy and
cozy. This result is troubling and needs to be followed up in some other study."
Earth's Magnetic Field Much Stronger
"They found a statistically significant increase of leukemia among children exposed to over 3 milIigauss," a
very high level of electromagnetic radiation, says Louis Slesin, editor of Microwave News, which has
reported on the potential health impacts of electromagnetic fields for more than 15 years. "They found
indications ofa trend of increased leukemia with increased exposure to measured electromagnetic fields."
"I'm not saying that we have proof here that we have a link to cancer, but you cannot say the opposite,"
says Slesin. "They have played it very, very conservatively, downplaying any indication of risk."
Yet, say others, the study should allay parents' fears. And its size and scope raise the critical question of
risk assessment: Should scarce research funds be spent further researching a cause and effect that do not
appear linked?
"All in all, this study indicates that if there is an association between magnetic fields and cancer, it is very
weak. It makes one wonder how much more money we want to throw at this subject, because basically we
can't see anything definite," said Dr. Lawrence Fischer, director of the Institute for Environmental
Toxicology at Michigan State University. He headed an advisory committee for the $4.5 million study.
Researchers say the Earth's magnetic field is 5 to 16 times stronger than the electromagnetic field found
directly beneath high-voltage transmission lines.
leukemia's Causes Still Mysterious
About 2,000 children each year in the United States are diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, the
most common form of childhood cancer. Despite advances in treatment, 3 of 10 children diagnosed die of
the disease.
Leukemia's cause remains largely mysterious, though doctors do know that conventional radiation can
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cause it. The disease is more common among whites and those of higher socioeconomic classes, and the
number of cases recorded has increased 20 percent during the past 20 years.
The new study included 638 children younger than 15 with leukemia and 620 healthy children as controls.
It measured the electromagnetic fields in the children's homes and, in 41 percent of the cases, in the homes
where the children's mothers lived while pregnant. The measurements were done by technicians who did
not know whether or not the homes belonged to children with leukemia.
Two More Studies in '97
Two other large studies coming out within the next year: one by the British Columbia Cancer Agency in
Canada, the other at Oxford University in England. Their conclusions may help settle the issue.
In the meantime, the study's lead researcher Linet said, "it's very difficult for any study to absolutely, in
black and white, prove the negative. Our study is no different. We cannot absolutely rule out" the
possibility ofa slight increase in risk, but "we feel that childhood leukemia is unlikely to be caused by
residential magnetic field exposure."
That inability of science to "absolutely rule out" any connection has allowed irrational fears to run free,
some doctors say.
Power Lines and Fear
In an editorial called "Power Lines, Cancer and Fear" that accompanied the New Englandjoumal's study,
Dr. Edward Campion, deputy editor of the Journal, wrote, "When something as ubiquitous and
misunderstood as extremely low-frequency electromagnetic fields is accused of causing cancer in children,
people's reactions may be driven more by passion than by reason."
Several commissions and expert panels in the past few years, he wrote, have concluded that "there is no
convincing evidence that high-voltage power lines are a health hazard or a cause of cancer. It is sad that
hundreds of millions of dollars have gone into studies that never had much promise of finding a way to
prevent the tragedy of cancer in children."
Campion criticized the two Denver researchers who in 1979 were the first to believe that living close to
power lines was a cause of leukemia. Their analysis, he wrote, was "crude" and relied on distances from
homes to power lines rather than direct measures of exposure to electromagnetic fields.
Since their finding was published, Campion wrote, 18 years of research "have produced considerable
paranoia, but little insight and no prevention. It is time to stop wasting our research resources. We should
redirect them to research that will be able to discover the true biologic causes of the leukemic clones that
threaten the lives of children." Scientists believe that many types of cancer are cellular clones derived from
a single abnormal cell.
But critics of the new study say more work is precisely what is needed.
Dr. David Savitz of the University of North Carolina, whose earlier research supported a link between
power lines and cancer, called the latest study "important because of its size." But he added: "This doesn't
put it to rest."
"Clearly this is not the end," says Slesin. "Instead of trying to bring some reason to this debate, it's going to
add controversy."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
I
ABC. . '_ .'.com
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Attachment 112
The City of Winter Springs Parks and
Recreation is studying the possibility of
developing and using the power ease-
ment adjacent to and westward from
Moss Park. Possible usage could be
youth football and soccer practice fields
and parking. Up to an estimated 100
vehicles would come to this area daily
during the respective sports seasons.
If you have any comments and con-
cerns, please contact Chuck Pula, Direc-
tor of Winter Springs Parks and Recrea-
tion at (407) 327-4761; or attend the
City Commission Meeting on Monday,
November 27, 2000, beginning, at 6:30
PM at Winter Springs City Hall.
Attachment 112
The City of Winter Springs Parks and Rec-
reation is studying the possibility of leasing,
maintaining and using School Board prop-
erty on Ginger Lane and The Old Sanford
Oviedo Road off of North Wade Street. Pos-
sible usage could be youth football and soc-
cer practice fields and parking. Up to an es-
timated 100 vehicles would come to this area
daily during this respective sports seasons.
If you have any comments and concerns,
please contact Chuck Pula, Director of Win-
ter Springs Parks and Recreation at (407)
327-4761; or attend the City Commission
Meeting on Monday, November 27, 2000,
beginning, at 6:30 PM at Winter Springs
City Hall.
Attachment 112
_.......:
The City of Winter Springs Parks and Rec-
reation is studying the possibilities of leasing,
maintaining, and using property on Shepard
Road behind Dearbourn Electronic, near
1792. The property presently has soccer
goals on it and a paved parking lot. Possible
usage could be youth football and soccer
practice fields and parking. Up to an esti-
mated 1 00 vehicles would come to this area
daily during the respective sports seasons.
If you have any comments and concerns,
please contact Chuck Pula, Director of Win-
ter Springs Parks and Recreation at (407)
327-4761; or attend the City Commission
Meeting on Monday, November 27, 2000,
beginning, at 6:30 PM at Winter Springs City
Hall.
s
Attachment 113
Slight Risk from Electric Fields
.
The Associated Press
WAS H I N G TON, June 24 - Electric and magnetic fields like those around power lines should be
considered possible causes of cancer, says a divided panel of scientists convened by the National Institutes of
Health.
"This report does not suggest the risk is high," said Michael Gallo, chairman of the group.
Indeed, the risk "is probably quite small compared to many other public health risks," said Gallo, a professor at the
University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-Robert Wood Medical School in Piscataway.
The new report comes from a National Institutes of Health panel convened to review scientific research on the topic.
The group, completing ten days of discussions in Brooklyn Park, Minn., voted 19-9 today to accept the position that
electromagnetic fields should be regarded a "possible human carcinogen."
Eight members of the panel convened by the NIH's National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences said that,
because of conflicting studies, they could not decide whether electrical fields were potential causes of cancer. One
said they probably are not.
Conflicting Reports
Linda Schoumacher of the Edison Electric Institute, which represents the electrical industry, said that it would be
premature to comment on the report but that her organization will be studying it.
The NIH group's finding is at odds with a 1996 report by a National Research Council panel of scientists who
evaluated about 500 studies on the health effects of high voltage power lines and found "no conclusive and
consistent evidence" that electric and magnetic fields cause any human disease.
Studies of the incidence of disease analyzed by NIH group found a slight increase in childhood leukem ia risk for
youngsters whose homes are near power lines and an increase in chronic leukemia in adults working in industries
where they are exposed to intensive electric fields.
The group said there wasn't enough evidence to link household exposure to power lines to cancer in adults or to
associate electromagnetic fields to such problems as Alzheimer's disease, depression and birth defects.
They found no evidence of miscarriage from video display terminals and no evidence of iIlness other than leukemia
in children.
The panel said it looked at hundreds of studies of animals and cells exposed to electric fields that showed little or no
effect, raising some concern about the "weak association" found in the epidemiological studies, which look at the
incidence of iIlness.
The earlier National Research Council report noted that some studies had found a "weak, but statistically
significant" link between high voltage electrical transmission lines and the incidence of a rare childhood leukemia.
But that committee found the research to be flawed.
Inconclusive Overall
Overall, that panel said, there was no conclusive evidence to link electromagnetic fields with cancer, reproductive
and developmental abnormalities, learning or behavior.
A 1979 study in Denver, Colo., that found a group of children who died of leukemia were more likely to live near to
electrical lines than other youngsters fueled public worry about electrical fields.
The increasing concern prompted Congress in 1992 to fund a research program into electromagnetic fields.
The findings completed today wiII be used by the director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Studies,
Kenneth Olden, in preparing a report to Congress later this year.
Though the link between electricity and disease has long been controversial, some consumer groups have sued
power companies or forced utility firms to move power lines or install shielding.
Copyright J 998 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or
redistributed.
Copyright J 999 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten
or redistributed.
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/living/Dai Iy News/cancer _ e lectric980624 .htm I
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Recreation and Parks Law Reporter (RPLR) case report@NRPA
PARK DISTRICT, UTILITY LIABILITY FOR POWER LINES OVER
PLAYGROUND
NELSON BY TATUM v. COMMONWEALTH EDISON
80 III. Dec. 401,465 N.E.2d 513 (1984)
Appellate Court of Illinois, Second District, May 4, 1984
In this case, Linda Tatum brought suit on behalf of her son, Warren Nelson, after the boy
was electrocuted on a public playground. The circumstances surrounding the accident
were as follows:
On October 14, 1981, Warren Nelson, a ten-year-old boy, was playing in
Sabrooke. Playground in Rockford, Illinois. High voltage electrical power lines
run in an east-west direction over the middle of the park and are at least thirty feet
high. The park land is owned by Commonwealth Edison but leased and controlled
by the Rockford Park District. Young Nelson, either by himself or with a
playmate, apparently had discovered a piece or spool of copper wire and one of
the youths tossed it high into the air while Nelson held on to one end of the wire.
An electric current either arced from nearby power lines to the copper wire or the
wire actually contacted the power lines, causing plaintiff [Nelson] to receive
serious electrical bums.
In her complaint, Tatum alleged that defendants Commonwealth Edison and the
Rockford Park District were negligent because "defendants knew that children habitually
frequented the Sabrooke Playground, that the park was directly underneath electrical
power transmission lines, and that said power lines constituted a dangerous condition."
Further, Tatum argued that a young child would not appreciate the danger posed by the
power lines. Consequently, Tatum maintained defendants had a duty to remedy this
dangerous condition or otherwise take necessary steps to protect children using the
playground. According to Tatum, "the cost of providing warning signs was slight when
compared to the risk of injury to young children."
Given the height of the power lines (thirty feet), the trial judge concluded that "it was not
reasonably foreseeable that a child would throw a heavy copper wire spool close enough
to the park's elevated power lines to cause injury."
[T]he trial judge stated in substance that where property was set aside as a public
playground the Park District and the utility company would be held to recognize
that certain rights for children exist in the use of the premises that are far greater
than would be permitted in other areas not so set aside...[I]t would be reasonably
foreseeable that a child might do something that would involve activity off the
ground such as flying a kite or model aircraft tethered with a control wire, without
appreciating the danger of such activity.
The trial court concluded, however, that throwing a wire in the air was not like throwing
a football or baseball, and found that it was not reasonably foreseeable that a child of
relatively tender years would throw a wire 30 feet or more in the air.
Having determined that "the occurrence itself was unforeseeable," the trial judge found
"the defendants had not assumed the type of unforeseeable risk for which liability would
attach." The trial court, therefore, granted defendants motion to dismiss the suit; Tatum
appealed.
On appeal, Tatum claimed "the trial court misunderstood the requirements of
proximate [or legal] cause by finding that it was necessary that the exact method or
precise manner in which the injury occurred be reasonably foreseeable. According
to Tatum, "the 'foreseeability' requirement does not refer to the method of injury."
On the contrary, Tatum argued that "as long as the resulting event was foreseeable
[electrocution], the manner in which it occurred [throwing a wire spool] was
irrelevant. "
According to the appeals court, the issue in this case was "whether Warren Nelson's
electrical injuries were so unforeseeable an occurrence that the trial court could properly
conclude that the defendants owed him no legal duty of protection."
Warren Nelson was injured in a public playground, where defendants should have
reasonably anticipated both the presence of children and their innumerable
playtime activities; no express notice is necessary where these objective facts
suffice to put a defendant on notice of plaintiff's proximity to the electrical wires.
Young Nelson was rightfully in a public area which was designated as a
playground for children of all ages.
If defendant Edison chose to continue its dangerous activities such as the
transmission of high voltage electricity in close proximity to an area which they
have leased to a park district, it must be charged with a duty of protection
commensurate with the risks involved. Because of the nature of the electrical
business and highly charged wires, an electric utility company owes a duty to see
that such wires are properly placed and/or properly insulated where the conditions
and circumstances indicate that persons might come into reasonable proximity to
those wires. Similarly, the defendant Park District owed a duty to the public and
the plaintiff not to operate a public park under these circumstances.
According to the appeals court, "the facts of the instant case require only a limited
holding that the erection, maintenance, and placement of high voltage electrical wires in
public playgrounds, power companies and land occupiers are charged with a duty to
provide safe air space.
Considering the height, location, and voltage of the wires, there was clearly some
chance of contact with them and the resulting injury from any such contact would
inevitably be severe. Second, the magnitude of defendants' burden in reducing the
risk of electrocution or injury is not as onerous as defendants imply...It is not such
a great burden for the defendants to insure that high voltage electrical wires in the
open area of a public playground - an area in which children have been tacitly
invited to use the air space - are either insulated, placed underground, or
redirected around such air spaces. Finally, while preventive measures would
necessarily result in some economic and social impact, the aforementioned
alternatives available to the defendants would not create undue costs or problems.
The appeals court, therefore, reversed the dismissal of Tatum's claim and remanded the
case to the trial court for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
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No Power Line-Leukemia Link
ABC. ,_, ~~, "~').com
Critics Say Major Study Doesn't Put Issue to Rest
No Power line-leukemia link
"There is no
convincing
evidence
that high-
voltage
power lines
are a health
hazard or a
cause of
cancer."
-Dr. Edward
W. Campion,
deputy editor,
The New
England
Journal of
Medicine
ABCNEWS' George
Strait reports on the
depth of the new
study
951 k (avi)
937k (mov)
ReaIVid.~()
(download
RealPlayer)
-
Dr. Lawrence
Fischer, chair of
the study's
advisory group,
said the study
should put
parent.s fears to
resl
Though a new study claims living near power lines has no effect on
childhood leukemia, people stili don't want to live near them (Publisher's
Depot)
By Jeff Rubin
ABCNEWS. com
The invisible magnetic waves thrown off by power
lines do not increase the risk of childhood
leukemia, says the most defmitive study yet on the
subject.
"We found no evidence that magnetic-field levels in
the home increased the risk for childhood leukemia," said
Dr. Martha S. Linet, who directed the study conducted by
the National Cancer Institute and published in today's
issue of The New England Journal of Medicine.
Even so, some say the study doesn't put the issue to
rest and may have reached flawed conclusions.
"The conclusion does not accurately reflect the data,"
says Richard Stevens, an epidemiologist at Pacific
Northwest Laboratory in Richland, Wash. "This does not
settle the issue or allow us to feel comfy and cozy. This
result is troubling and needs to be followed up in some
other study."
http://more.abcnews.go .com/sections/us/powerlines702/index.html
Page 1 of 4
.
E-mail
ABCNEWS.com
10/10/00
<i
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.
No Power Line-Leukemia Link
Page 2 of 4
297 k (wav)
(!3~alf\udio)
Earth's Magnetic Field Much Stronger
"They found a statistically significant increase of
leukemia among children exposed to over 3 milligauss,"
a very high level of electromagnetic radiation, says Louis
Slesin, editor of Microwave News, which has reported on
the potential health impacts of electromagnetic fields for
more than 15 years. "They found indications of a trend of
increased leukemia with increased exposure to measured
electromagnetic fields."
"I'm not saying that we have proof here that we have a
link to cancer, but you cannot say the opposite," says
Slesin. "They have played it very, very conservatively,
downplaying any indication of risk."
Yet, say others, the study should allay parents' fears.
And its size and scope raise the critical question of risk
assessment: Should scarce research funds be spent further
researching a cause and effect that do not appear linked?
"All in all, this study indicates that if there is an
association between magnetic fields and cancer, it is very
weak. It makes one wonder how much more money we
want to throw at this subject, because basically we can't
see anything definite," said Dr. Lawrence Fischer,
director of the Institute for Environmental Toxicology at
Michigan State University. He headed an advisory
committee for the $4.5 million study.
Researchers say the Earth's magnetic field is 5 to 16
times stronger than the electromagnetic field found
directly beneath high-voltage transmission lines.
Leukemia's Causes Still Mysterious
About 2,000 children each year in the United States are
diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, the most
common fonn of childhood cancer. Despite advances in
treatment, 3 of 10 children diagnosed die of the disease.
Leukemia's cause remains largely mysterious, though
doctors do know that conventional radiation can cause it.
The disease is more common among whites and those of
higher socioeconomic classes, and the number of cases
recorded has increased 20 percent during the past 20
years.
The new study included 638 children younger than 15
with leukemia and 620 healthy children as controls. It
measured the electromagnetic fields in the children's
homes and, in 41 percent of the cases, in the homes
where the children's mothers lived while pregnant. The
measurements were done by technicians who did not
know whether or not the homes belonged to children with
leukemia.
http://more.abcnews.go.comlsections/us/powerlines702/index.html
10/1 0/00
'.,.
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No Power Line-Leukemia Link
Page 3 of 4
Two More Studies in '97
Two other large studies coming out within the next year:
one by the British Columbia Cancer Agency in Canada,
the other at Oxford University in England. Their
conclusions may help settle the issue.
In the meantime, the study's lead researcher Linet
said, "it's very difficult for any study to absolutely, in
black and white, prove the negative. Our study is no
different. We cannot absolutely rule out" the possibility
of a slight increase in risk, but "we feel that childhood
leukemia is unlikely to be caused by residential magnetic
field exposure."
That inability of science to "absolutely rule out" any
connection has allowed irrational fears to run free, some
doctors say.
Power Lines and Fear
In an editorial called "Power Lines, Cancer and Fear" that
accompanied the New England journal's study, Dr.
Edward Campion, deputy editor of the Journal, wrote,
"When something as ubiquitous and misunderstood as
extremely low-frequency electromagnetic fields is
accused of causing cancer in children, people's reactions
may be driven more by passion than by reason."
Several commissions and expert panels in the past few
years, he wrote, have concluded that "there is no
convincing evidence that high-voltage power lines are a
health hazard or a cause of cancer. It is sad that hundreds
of millions of dollars have gone into studies that never
had much promise of finding a way to prevent the tragedy
of cancer in children."
Campion criticized the two Denver researchers who in
1979 were the first to believe that living close to power
lines was a cause of leukemia. Their analysis, he wrote,
was "crude" and relied on distances from homes to power
lines rather than direct measures of exposure to
electromagnetic fields.
Since their finding was published, Campion wrote, 18
years of research "have produced considerable paranoia,
but little insight and no prevention. It is time to stop
wasting our research resources. We should redirect them
to research that will be able to discover the true biologic
causes of the leukemic clones that threaten the lives of
children." Scientists believe that many types of cancer are
cellular clones derived from a single abnormal cell.
But critics of the new study say more work is precisely
what is needed.
Dr. David Savitz of the University of North Carolina,
http://more.abcnews.go.com/sections/us/powerlines702/index.html
1011 0100
~
.'
No Power Line-Leukemia Link
whose earlier research supported a link between power
lines and cancer, called the latest study "important
because of its size." But he added: "This doesn't put it to
rest. "
"Clearly this is not the end," says Slesin. "Instead of
trying to bring some reason to this debate, it's going to
add controversy."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
_ 0C
.~
. nAkWAVE
Coprriglrt 19118 ABC Nuwe and StBrwaYe
CorpoI'Btlon. All rtglrta reserved. This
muterIalll1llY not be publJuh9d, broodcast,
rewritten. or redIBtrlbuted In any fDfm.
http://more.abcnews.go.comlsections/us/powerlines702/index.html
,JI
Page 4 of 4
III
10/1 0/00
~. i
EMFs Raising New Cancer Questions
Published on September 4, 1998
EMFs May Cause Leukemia in Children, Utility Workers
New Cancer Concerns
EMF Exposure in
the Home
an appliance. : ~
._._._ .h_____ _ _."H __ ____El
Click on an appliance to see the maximum level of milligauss it produces at various distances, A
milligauss measures the strength of EMFs; the Swedish government recommends that video display
terminals produce no more than 2.5 mG at 50 cm (about 20 inches). A typical neighborhood 115,000-volt
power line produces 6,5 mG at 50 feet. (ABCNEWS,com)
The
panelists
cautioned
that their
findings
should not
be met with
alarm.
~
By Mark Worth
Special to ABCNEWS. com
F or the first time since formal research into
electromagnetic fields began two generations ago,
a government-commissioned panel of experts has
stated that EMFs-the invisible "lines of force"
that surround all electrical devices-may cause
cancer in humans.
At a June EMF conference in Brooklyn Park, Minn.,
30 scientists from the United States and Europe
participating in a five-year study commissioned the
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
voted 20-6 that children who live near high-current
power lines might be more likely to develop childhood
leukemia than those who don't.
The panel also voted 14-11 (with five abstentions)
that utility workers and others who work in or near
electric power facilities may run a higher risk of being
stricken with a certain type of leukemia.
Among its more encouraging findings, the group said
it is unlikely that EMFs cause other health problems,
such as breast cancer, birth defects, miscarriages,
http://more.abcnews.go.com/sections/tech/ dailynews/emf980904 .html
Page 1 of 4
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Second Opinion:
Zapped by Science,
Again
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.. send th~
toalrien~
..-
10/10100
EMFs Raising New Cancer Questions
Do you think
there's a
connection
between
electro-
magnetic
fields and
illness?
Tell us about
it.
Web Link
~eportfrom
WQJ.kil)g. GrQup
meeting
Years of
research
have failed
to
demonstrate
that EMFs
cause
cancer in
laboratory
animals.
Page 2 of4
depression, heart disease, Alzheimer's or amyotrophic
lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig's disease.
No Cause for Alarm
Panelists cautioned that their findings should not be met
with alarm.
"The data are not there to say that people should
change their lives one way or another," says Dr. Antonio
Sastre of the Kansas City, Mo.-based Midwest Research
Institute, which sent two representatives to the confab.
"But I disagree with what some scientists are saying-
that research into EMFs' possible health effects is a
waste of time. The evidence has shown that serious
questions remain."
Among those questions is the very mystery of
precisely how or why electromagnetic fields-
commonplace elements of our post-industrial world-
might cause cancer in the first place.
Stumbling in the Dark
Relatively simple instruments can measure the electrical
current induced within the human body by an external
magnetic field, just as the current a magnet induces in a
piece of iron can be measured. But beyond that, experts
aren't sure why electrical currents may spawn
physiological changes that could lead to cancer or other
disorders.
"We are stumbling in the dark," complains panel
member Michael Yost of the University of Washington
in Seattle's School of Public Health. "Epidemiological
evidence has picked up certain associations between
EMF and cancer, but we are not pinning down the exact
cause. "
Among other techniques, Yost and other researchers
use body-shaped, gelatin-filled molds to replicate how
EMF might "travel" through humans. The results so far
have been mixed.
Nevertheless, several theoretical explanations have
been put forth. One suggests that magnetic fields can
prolong the life of highly reactive chemical structures
called free radicals in the body, thus mutating cells,
damaging DNA and generally wreaking havoc at the
cellular level. Unfortunately, this theory seems to hold
water only with very high-level EMFs-the kind
generated by electric shavers, hair dryers, power drills
and other motorized appliances. EMF levels generated
by devices that many people spend long periods of time
with-such as personal computers, cellular telephones,
cooking appliances and televisions-are typically lower
http://more.abcnews.go.comf sections/tech! dailynews/ emf980904 .html
1011 0/00
EMFs Raising New Cancer Questions
Page 3 of 4
.
than the "internal electrical noise" that occurs naturally
in the body.
Another possibility is that electrical currents induced
by an external magnetic field can actually disrupt the
body's physiological circuitry by causing the "ion
channels" within a cell to open and close when they
shouldn't. An EMF-induced current, for instance, might
be able to "tell" the pancreas to secrete insulin when
none is actually needed. Still, says Sastre, "We have
absolutely no credible theory to rationalize, let alone
explain, why this could happen."
The effort to find clearer answers is complicated by
the likelihood that subtle changes, such as the frequency
with which EMF -generating facilities change their
power output, may affect how a body responds to the
fields.
Good For You, Too
Unfortunately, for scientists and members of the public
who worry about electricity's potential downfalls, these
questions are likely to remain for years to come. The
environmental health institute panel relied on virtually
the same data another government-sponsored panel
studied two years ago before reaching the opposite
conclusion: EMFs most likely don't cause leukemia in
children or adults.
"We have a very annoying set of things that don't
jibe," Sastre acknowledges, "and unfortunately we are
not making much progress toward resolving the
discrepancies. "
As perplexing as those discrepancies are for people
who make their living researching EMFs, Sastre notes
that "It's terribly frustrating for laypeople."
Indeed, people who follow the EMF debate have been
exposed to years' worth of conflicting science. In the
past few months alone, research projects under way in
several countries have suggested that EMFs may cause
fatigue and immunological problems (France), ALS
(Denmark), high blood pressure (Germany) and
testicular and skin cancers (Canada). Sastre and a
Kansas City colleague recently found that EMFs can
disrupt heart rhythms and may lead to elevated cardiac
risks. And researchers in Washington state have
discovered that EMF can block melatonin's ability to
stem the growth of breast cancer cells.
For every study that reaches such a conclusion,
however, there seems to be at least one that says the
opposite. The cancer rate among people living near an
antenna complex outside of Denver, for instance, was
http://more.abcnews.go.com/sections/tech/ dailynews/emf980904 .html
10/1 0/00
EMFs Raising New Cancer Questions
found to be no higher than that of the surrounding area.
Further clouding matters is the evidence that EMF can
sometimes be good for you. University of Washington
scientists believe that a low-frequency magnetic field
can be used to treat malaria-by killing parasites that feed
on human blood.
On to Congress
Even more puzzling, years of research have failed to
demonstrate that EMFs cause cancer or other serious
health problems in laboratory animals, even when
administered at extremely high levels throughout an
animal's entire lifetime. Faced with epidemiological
evidence to the contrary-statistics showing that that
EMF seems to be causing cancer in certain real-world
settings-experts simply don't know what to make of
the mixed messages that science is sending.
While the environmental health panel stopped short
of saying that EMFs cause cancer in laboratory animals,
such creatures do undergo certain neurological shifts
when exposed to EMFs in a controlled environment,
including behavioral and chemical changes.
The Minnesota group's 523-page report now goes on
to Congress. F ederallawmakers ordered the study as part
of the National Energy Policy Act of 1992, which,
ironically, was designed to make electricity even more
available to the public by deregulating the utilities
industry. .
Copyright (c)1998 ABCNEWS and Starwave Corporation. All
rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast,
rewrItten or redistributed In any form.
http://more.abcnews.go.com/sections/tech/ dailynewsl emf980904 .html
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National Cancer Institute
EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE
6:00 p.m. EDT
Monday, April 20, 1998
FOR RESPONSE TO INQURIES
NCI Press Office
(30 I ) 496-6641
Backgrounder
~
Questions and Answers About the National Cancer Institute/ Children's
Cancer Group Study of the Magnetic Fields Associated With Electrical
Appliances and the Risk of Childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.
20892
National Cancer Institute
EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE
6:00 p.m. EDT
Monday, April 20, 1998
FOR RESPONSE TO INQURIES
NCI Press Office
(30 I) 496-6641
Backgrounder
_ n
Questions and Answers About the National Cancer Institutel Children's
Cancer Group Study of the Magnetic Fields Associated With Electrical
Appliances and the Risk of Childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.
1. Why was the study done?
Lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) accounts for 70 percent to 80 percent of all childhood leukemias and one-
third of all childhood cancers in the United States. However, only a small proportion of cases have an
identifiable cause. Beginning in 1979, some studies have suggested that magnetic fields (EMFs) may
increase the risk for ALL while others have found no evidence for risk. EMFs are produced by power lines,
electrical wiring and household electrical appliances.
An earlier report published in July 1997 in the New England Journal of Medicine showed little evidence
that high-current power lines or high levels of magnetic fields measured in the home (produced mainly by
outside power lines) were associated with an increased risk of ALL in children.
The current study, published in the May issue of Epidemiology, investigated whether use of household
electrical appliances by the mother during pregnancy and by the child might be associated with an
increased risk of ALL. Compared to background exposures from power lines, the contribution of
appliances to a person's total exposure to EMF is thought to be small because most appliances are used for
short periods of time and EMF exposures are elevated only when close to the appliance.
Two small studies previously examined the use of electrical appliances in relation to childhood leukemia,
but could not examine details on patterns of use during pregnancy and childhood.
Both the 1997 report and the current study are a collaborative effort between National Cancer Institute
(NCI) scientists and the Children's Cancer Group (CCG) to study residential magnetic field exposures and
childhood ALL. The same cases and controls were used in both studies. CCG, a multi-center network of
pediatric oncologists and other researchers from 38 institutions and affiliated hospitals in the United States,
is conducting an ongoing study to look at a wide range of possible causes (including EMF) of childhood
ALL.
2. How was this study conducted?
The NCI and CCG collaborated on the study. Elizabeth Hatch, Ph.D., and Sholom Wacholder, Ph.D., of
NCI's Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, analyzed the data on the appliances and Martha
Linet, M.D., ofNCI's Radiation Epidemiology Branch in the Division of Cancer Epidemiology and
Genetics directed the study. The researchers compared the reported use of household electrical appliances
of 640 children 14 years or younger diagnosed with ALL between 1989 and 1993 to the appliance use of 640
matched controls. Over half of the cases (59.4 percent) were less than 5 years old when they were
diagnosed with ALL. The study participants lived in 1l1inois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, New
Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. The data are based on the mothers' responses to a detailed
questionnaire administered in their homes. No measurements were taken of magnetic fields associated with
the actual appliances used.
The mothers were asked to describe how often during their pregnancy and in which trimester specific
appliances were used. The interview also included questions about the child's use of the appliances before
the diagnosis of ALL, for cases and during a comparable time period for controls.
3. Which electric appliances were included in the study?
Electric appliances included in the study were electric blankets, mattress pads, heating pads, water beds,
stereo or other sound systems, television and video games connected to a television, video machines
located in arcades, computers, microwave ovens, sewing machines, hair dryers, curling irons, ceiling fans,
humidifiers, night lights and electric clocks.
These appliances were chosen for several reasons. The level of magnetic fields from an appliance to which
a person is actually exposed depends mainly on three factors: I) distance from the appliance, 2) length of
time that an appliance is used, and 3) strength of the magnetic field from the appliance. The level of
magnetic fields from appliances falls off very rapidly with distance, so the likelihood of any exposure from
appliances at a distance of more than three to four feet away is very small. Therefore, appliances that are
generally used for a long time and close to the body, such as electric blankets, may contribute very much to
a person's total magnetic field exposure. Other appliances, such as microwave ovens and hair dryers, may
have high magnetic fields very close to the appliance. However, they are generally used for short periods of
time and are unlikely to contribute to an individual's overall cumulative exposure. Finally, the researchers
selected some appliances that have only a small likelihood of any exposure to magnetic fields (ceiling fans,
night lights, and stereo systems) to assess the possibility that mothers of cases might report their exposure
to appliances more thoroughly and accurately than mothers of controls.
4. What were the results?
Maternal exposure:
Overall, there was little evidence for any association between appliances used during pregnancy and the
risk of childhood ALL. No significant association was found with the mothers time spent watching TV or
distance from TV during pregnancy. Childhood ALL was also not associated with use of water beds, hair
dryers, curling irons, electric clocks, microwave ovens, ceiling fans, sound systems with headsets, electric
stoves, electric heat or air conditioning during pregnancy. Mothers of ALL cases were less likely to report
having used a sewing machine during pregnancy. Sewing machines have been found to have rather high
magnetic field exposures.
Mothers of ALL cases were slightly more likely to report having ever used electric blankets or mattress
pads, heating pads, and humidifiers during pregnancy. However, these associations did not strengthen with
increasing use of any of these appliances. For example, the relationship between childhood ALL and
maternal electric blanket use was the same whether mothers reported that they used electric blankets less
than once a week or more than six hours per day for more than two months during their pregnancy.
Mothers' patterns of use of electrical appliances during their pregnancy were the same in each trimester,
with the exception of electric blankets and heating pads. For heating pads, an association was found for use
by the mother only in the first trimester of pregnancy, whereas for electric blankets, an association was
found only for use by the mother in the second and third trimesters.
Children's exposure:
For each appliance, the researchers examined whether an increased risk of ALL was associated with any
use (versus no use) of the appliance since birth. In addition, researchers examined both the number of years
and the frequency of use of the appliances during the year prior to diagnosis. The number of years that
children had watched TV was not assessed, since virtually all children watched TV from a very early age.
The researchers found no increased use among cases for night lights, stereo systems without headsets,
water beds, humidifiers, electric clocks, personal computers, microwave ovens, electric stoves, air
conditioning, or electric heat.
Four appliances (electric blankets, hair dryers, video machines in arcades, and video games connected to
TVs) were associated with ALL when any reported exposure (regardless of the amount of exposure) during
the child's lifetime was examined. But only two appliances (video machines in arcades and stereo systems
with head sets) showed an increased risk with the number of years of use. There were no trends of
increasing risk with longer reported use for electric blankets; the association among children who were
reported to use the blankets for less than one year was actually stronger than for those who were reported to
use the blankets for three or more years.
When frequency of use during the year prior to diagnosis was exam ined, there was little indication of
increasing risk with increasing reported use of the appliances. The researchers did find that mothers of ALL
cases tended to report that their children watched more television than mothers of control children.
However, the results were the same regardless of the reported distance between the television and the
child's usual position while watching. If the association between television watching and ALL was due to
an effect of magnetic fields, the association would be expected to be stronger for children who sit closer to
the television.
The researchers also estimated the child's total exposure to electric blankets by summing the estimates of
the number of hours that electric blankets were used during the pregnancy and child's life. There was no
trend of increasing risk of ALL with increasing number of hours that an electric blanket was used.
5. What are the limitations of the study?
. No measurement was taken of magnetic fields associated with the actual appliances used.
. No detailed lifetime histories of use were collected because it was very difficult for mothers to
recollect lifetime patterns of use of the appliances by their children.
. Except for television watching, no information was collected on the subject's distance from the
appliance, which is a critical determinant of the strength of magnetic fields.
. With the exception of TV watching and playing video games connected to TV, data for each
appliance were analyzed individually, instead of combining appliances to obtain an overall
estimate of exposure to magnetic fields. The researchers did not analyze appliances jointly because
not enough is known about magnetic fields from appliances to combine them in a meaningful way.
. There were some limitations to the accuracy of the data: I) Children with ALL may change their
behaviors following diagnosis and treatment (for example, they may increase sedentary activities,
such as television watching), and it may be difficult for mothers to remember accurately their
children's habits prior to the diagnosis of leukemia; 2) A mother whose child has suffered a life-
threatening disease like ALL may be searching for a cause that led to the illness, and may
remember more details than a control mother. Since electric blankets have been most frequently
cited by the media as having high magnetic fields, they may be most prone to this kind of
reporting bias; 3) Mothers were asked in two separate interviews about their use of electric
blankets during pregnancy and their answers were often not consistent, suggesting that the data on
electric blankets, as well as other appliances, may not be accurate; 4) Although the controls and
cases were well matched by age, sex, and race, the control mothers were interviewed, on average,
later than case mothers and thus had to remember farther back in time.
6. How was this study different from previous studies?
Two other studies have evaluated appliance use in relation to the risk of childhood leukemia. A 1990 study
of70 childhood leukemia cases in the Denver area suggested a link to prenatal electric blanket use. A
second study in 1991 of232 childhood leukemia cases in Los Angeles found associations with children's
use of hair dryers and black and white televisions, but no information was provided on length of use or
frequency of use of these appliances. Both studies were based on rather small numbers of cases and had
limited ability to estimate exposure to appliances accurately.
The current study is the largest to date, covering a nine-state geographic area. It had the same eligibility
requirements for cases and controls, and the participants were interviewed closer in time to diagnosis than
previous studies.
7. What conclusions can be drawn from the results?
Although the results from this study are preliminary, the authors tentatively conclude that magnetic fields
from electrical appliances are unlikely to increase the risk of childhood ALL. Further detailed studies with
measurements would be needed to determine whether the findings, if replicated, could represent any effects
of magnetic field exposure.
This conclusion is based on several factors: A major factor is the failure to see a consistent pattern of
increasing risk with increasing exposures for most of the appliances. In addition, the results for television
were similar regardless of the child's distance from the TV, suggesting that other factors associated with TV
use (not magnetic fields) may have been responsible for this result. Preliminary findings from a small study
that measured actual magnetic field levels at varying distances from TVs found that magnetic fields are
nearly the same as background levels at distances of more than three or four feet from television sets. As
the proportion of U.S. households with a television increased from 9 percent to 95 percent between 1950
and 1970, whereas there was no corresponding increase in childhood leukemia rates during this time
period, suggesting that television watching is unlikely to be a causal factor. Children's exposure to other
electrical appliances has also increased dramatically over the last 50 years. Finally, the companion study
with the same cases and controls, failed to find consistent evidence based on measurements and wire
coding (an indirect measure of magnetic fields based on the thickness, configuration, and distance from the
home of nearby power lines) that high magnetic fields levels in the home (produced mainly by outside
power lines) increase the risk for ALL.
BACKGROUND ON EMFS AND CHILDHOOD CANCERS:
8. What are EMFs? How could EMFs cause cancer?
Power lines, electrical wiring and appliances all produce electric and magnetic fields (EMFs) which are
fields of electrical and magnetic force. The electric and magnetic fields produced by power lines and
appliances have relatively long wavelengths compared to most other forms of electromagnetic fields. For
example, radiation from power lines has wavelengths of more than 3, I 00 miles compared to microwaves
with wavelengths of several inches, and X-rays and gamma rays which are about 4 billionth of an inch or
smaller.
No form of electromagnetic energy at energy levels below those of X-rays and ultraviolet radiation has
been shown to cause cancer. Only shorter wavelength electromagnetic fields are able to disrupt molecular
bonds, potentially causing mutations and damage to the DNA. Therefore, EMFs from power lines or
appliances are not capable of causing cancer by this means.
There are several theories about the mechanism by which EMFs may act on biological tissue. EMFs can
induce weak electric currents in the bodies of people and animals. But the amount of the current, even
directly beneath a large transmission line, is very small and seems too weak to penetrate cell membranes
and cause damage inside cells. Some scientists argue that it is impossible for EMFs to have any important
biological effects. Others, however, contend that EMFs may amplify normal electric currents in tissues and
cells, or that EMFs may transfer energy to cell membranes and alter their function in some manner.
Presently, there is no consistent experimental data that prove that EMFs have any detrimental effects on
living organisms. In spite of this, because of the heavy use of electrical power and new electric
technologies in the U.S., public interest in EMF is high.
9. What is known about which household electrical appliances produce the highest sources of
magnetic field exposures?
The level of exposure to the magnetic field of an appliance depends on the strength of the field it produces,
how often and for how long the appliance is used, and the distance between the user and the appliance. The
magnetic field strength from an appliance drops off very rapidly with distance. That means that the
magnetic fields a few inches from an appliance are many times greater than at two feet away.
In general, magnetic fields generated by large household appliances tend to be lower than those from
portable devices. This is probably because the motors in these appliances are better shielded. In addition,
most motors on large appliances are placed at the bottom and rear of the cabinets.
In contrast, some smaller appliances have higher magnetic fields than larger ones. For example, the field
for microwave ovens at distance of one foot is ten times higher than refrigerators. Also, can openers,
mixers, blenders, vacuum cleaners, hair dryers, electric shavers, hand-held drills and saws generate higher
than average magnetic fields. In general, the higher levels of magnetic fields from these appliances are due
to the light-weight motors that have little magnetic shielding, or as in the case of microwave ovens, have
large power transformers.
.
Electric blankets and mattress pads, although not commonly used, may contribute to an individual's overall
cumulative exposure to magnetic fields because they are used close to the body for long time periods.
Estimates of the intensity of magnetic field exposure of these products vary, but blankets manufactured
after 1989 were redesigned to have much lower magnetic fields (by a factor of 10) than blankets made
before this date.
10. How common is ALL?
Every year about 30 out of every 1 million children under age 15 in the United States are diagnosed with
ALL and about five die from ALL. About 1600 children are expected to be diagnosed with ALL this year.
The disease is most commonly diagnosed in white children under 5 years old. It is twice as common in
white children as in black children and is slightly more common in boys than in girls.
ALL is much more treatable now than in the past. Most children with ALL can now be cured, and about 80
percent of patients under age 15 survive at least five years after diagnosis, compared with about I percent
in the 1950s.
11. What are the known risk factors for ALL? What others have been proposed?
Only a few risk factors are known, although many have been proposed and studied. Children with Down
syndrome have a greatly increased risk of ALL, reported to be 10 to 40 times the risk of other children.
Other, more rare chromosomal and genetic abnormalities may also increase risk for ALL. Children whose
mothers had diagnostic X-rays during pregnancy are about one-and-a-halftimes more likely to have ALL
compared with children whose mothers had no X-rays. Risk factors that have been proposed, but not
proven, include certain birth characteristics such as high birth weight; medical conditions or drugs affecting
delivery; mothers prior reproductive problems such as repeated miscarriages; pesticides and other
chemicals; certain viruses; and natural background ionizing radiation.
12. Are other studies of magnetic fields and childhood leukemia under way? Are studies underway of
other risk factors for childhood leukemia?
Population-based studies of residential magnetic fields and childhood leukemia are under-way in Canada
and the United Kingdom. The results are expected within one to two years.
The NCVCCG magnetic field study is part of a larger CCG study of more than 1,900 children diagnosed
with ALL between 1989 and 1993, and 1,900 controls. This ongoing study is designed to evaluate the risk
of ALL associated with a wide range of factors, including maternal diseases and medication use during
pregnancy, childhood infectious and other diseases, parental occupational exposures, prenatal and postnatal
environmental exposures, parental smoking and alcohol use, lifestyle, and genetic factors. Results are
expected in about two years.
13. Where can I find more out about EMFs?
The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences maintains an EMF home page at the website
address: http://www.niehs,nih,gov/emfrapid/home.htm Both the booklet "Questions and Answers About
EMF" and their newest publication, "EMF in the Workplace - Q&A." are available on this website.
The two studies conducted by NCf/CCG are:
. The current study is titled "Association Between Childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia and
Use of Electrical Appliances During Pregnancy and Childhood." The authors are Elizabeth E.
Hatch, Martha S. Linet, Ruth A. Kleinerman, Robert E. Tarone, Richard K. Severson, Charleen T.
Hartsock, Carol Haines, William T. Kaune, Dana Friedman, Leslie L. Robison, and Sholom
Wacholder. Epidemiology, May 1998.
. The previous study is titled "Residential Magnetic Field Exposures and Childhood Acute
Lymphoblastic Leukemia." The authors are Martha S. Linet, Elizabeth E. Hatch, Ruth A.
Kleinerman, Leslie L. Robison, Willian T. Kaune, Dana R. Friedman, Richard K. Severson, Carol
M. Haines, Charlene T. Hartsock, Shelly Niwa, Sholom Wacholder, and Robert E. Tarone. New
England Journal of Medicine, July 3, 1997
. >
EMF-Cancer Data Faked
Feds Say Scientist Discarded Some Results
The Associated Press
SAN F RAN CIS C 0, July 23 - Key scientific data laying out a tantalizing link
between electromagnetic radiation and cancer was faked by a researcher who was
forced to resign from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, according to
published reports.
The results of a federal probe into Robert P. Liburdy's research, which found he had committed scientific
misconduct by tossing out data that didn't support his conclusions, were reported by the San Francisco Chronicle
today and appeared June 30 in Science Now, the Internet edition of the journal Science.
More than 20 studies in the years since Liburdy's research appeared in several journals in 1992 have found little
hard evidence that the magnetic fields around electric power lines cause cancer, a National Institutes of Health panel
concluded recently.
Fears Continued Despite Studies
Still, the possibility has raised fears among people living near high-tension power lines and other sources ofthe
radiation, since Liburdy's work tied the invisible emanations to a variety of illnesses, including childhood leukemia.
While the suggestion had been raised previously, Liburdy's studies, reported in scientific journals in 1992, provided
the first plausible biological mechanism linking electromagnetic fields exposure to disease.
Lawrence Berkeley Lab investigated Liburdy after a whistleblower challenged his results. In July 1995, the lab
concluded Liburdy had falsified data, and it alerted the Office of Research Integrity, an arm of the U. S. Department
of Health and Human Services.
'Falsified and Fabricated' Data
A separate probe by that office determined Liburdy, who got $3.3 million in federal research grants, had committed
scientific misconduct by "intentionally falsifying and fabricating" his data to support assertions of cellular effects
from electric and magnetic fields.
Liburdy, 51, who lives in Tiburon, just north of San Francisco, resigned his IS-year position in March after the lab
pulled his funding. In May, the lab agreed with the government to retract three graphs supporting Liburdy's
conclusions. Liburdy also agreed to a three-year ban on receiving federal funds.
But he denied doing anything wrong and said he agreed to the sanctions only because he couldn't afford to fight
them in court.
"The scientific findings are not wrong. They criticized me for how I graphed the data," Liburdy told the Chronicle.
"It is a matter of scientific opinion. They are not talking about the data being invalid. They are talking about the
interpretation of the data."
The June report to Congress by a division ofNIH said the electromagnetic-cancer link could not definitively be
ruled out. While the link is tenuous, it said, exposure to the radiation "cannot be recognized as entirely safe."
Copyright 1999 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten
or redistributed.
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/livinglDaily News/cancer_em f990723 .htm I
,-
~-
Power/Cancer link Unplugged?
Newest Research Shows No Evidence
By Emma Ross
The Associated Press
LON DON, Dec. 3 - New research concludes there is no evidence to support the controversial theory that
children face an increased risk of cancer from power lines or in-home electrical wiring.
The study, led by a Cambridge University scientist, is the largest ever undertaken into childhood cancers and
electromagnetic fields. But World Health Organization scientists say it is not the definitive study they had hoped for.
4,452 Children Studied
The study, published in Friday's edition of the British medical journal The Lancet, concludes that children exposed
to high levels of magnetic energy from nearby power lines or from home appliances were no more likely to get
leukemia or any other childhood cancer than children exposed to low levels,
The study of 4,452 children under 14 compared 2,226 children diagnosed with cancer in the last four years-
including alI the nation's leukemia cases - and matched each of them with a healthy child of the same sex and
birthday.
The researchers, led by Nick Day of Cambridge University, measured the level of magnetic emissions from power
lines within 200 yards of each child's home and school.
In addition, they measured the magnetic emissions from electrical wiring inside the children's homes, testin-g
everywhere from next to the children's beds to the middle of the kitchen.
To verify the doses found inside the home were the same as those absorbed by the children, 100 of the children wore
monitors for one-week periods, three times a year. The levels matched.
WHO Scientists Disappointed
The study found about two percent of the children were exposed to levels higher than 0.2 microtesla, the threshold at
which other studies have suggested a link with cancer.
In a commentary in The Lancet, World Health Organization scientists said the investigation was "very large and
welI conducted, (but) it is not the 'definitive' study that scientists have been hoping for."
They noted that while high levels of exposure are rare in Britain, a U.S. study reported 10 percent of children above
that level and a Canadian study had 15 percent.
Day said the higher levels in North America were because electricity is supplied at 110 volts, compared with 220
volts in Europe. That means that for the same power consumption, North Americans use twice as much current as
Europeans, which produces a stronger magnetic field.
Only 17 children in Day's study had readings of 0.4 or more, but that didn't change the results. Eight had cancer,
while nine did not.
However, Day said the number of children exposed in the study to 0.4 or more was too smalI to draw conclusions
about safety at that level.
"Almost all of the high exposures were not due to proximity to overhead power cables, but to electrical wiring in the
house," Day said.
Only seven children lived near a power cable, but they also had no increased cancer risk.
The issue of whether exposure to electromagnetic fields increases the chances of childhood cancer has been debated
or years.
1992 Study Discredited
A high-profile study by California-based researcher Robert Liburdy in 1992 linked power lines to cancer, fueling
fear among people living near them.
But in 1994, Liburdy's lab reviewed the findings after a student chalIenged his results. The U.S. Office of Research
Integrity, contacted by the lab, later found he intentionalIy falsified and fabricated data. Liburdy was forced to resign
from his job at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory but has stood by his findings.
Scores of subsequent studies have found little evidence to support his findings, while others have found a weak link.
Copyright 1999 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published. broadcast, rewritten
or redistributed.
II
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Power/Cancer link
Unplugged?
Newest Research Shows
No Evidence
Yet another round of research raises
questions about whether magnetic fields
from power lines raise chlldren.s cancer
risk. (PhotoDisc)
By Emma Ross
The Associated Press
LON DON, Dec. 3 - New research concludes
there is no evidence to support the
controversial theory that children face an
increased risk of cancer from power lines or
in-home electrical wiring.
The study, led by a Cambridge University
scientist, is the largest ever undertaken into
childhood cancers and electromagnetic fields. But
World Health Organization scientists say it is not the
definitive study they had hoped for.
Related Stories
PaneLSpllt on
Electricity-Cancer Link
4,452 Children Studied
The study, published in Friday's edition of the
British medical journal The Lancet, concludes that
children exposed to high levels of magnetic energy
from nearby power lines or from home appliances
http://abcnews.go .com/sections/living/Daily N ews/powerlinecancer991203 .html
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were no more likely to get leukemia or any other
childhood cancer than children exposed to low
levels.
The study of 4,452 children under 14 compared
2,226 children diagnosed with cancer in the last four
years - including all the nation's leukemia cases -
and matched each of them with a healthy child of the
same sex and birthday.
The researchers, led by Nick Day of Cambridge
University, measured the level of magnetic emissions
from power lines within 200 yards of each child's
home and school.
In addition, they measured the magnetic emissions
from electrical wiring inside the children's homes,
testing everywhere from next to the children's beds
to the middle of the kitchen.
To verify the doses found inside the home were
the same as those absorbed by the children, 100 of
the children wore monitors for one-week periods,
three times a year. The levels matched.
WHO Scientists Disappointed
The study found about two percent of the children
were exposed to levels higher than 0.2 microtesla,
the threshold at which other studies have suggested a
link with cancer.
In a commentary in The Lancet, W orId Health
Organization scientists said the investigation was
"very large and well conducted, (but) it is not the
'definitive' study that scientists have been hoping
for."
They noted that while high levels of exposure are
rare in Britain, a U.S. study reported 10 percent of
children above that level and a Canadian study had
15 percent.
Day said the higher levels in North America were
because electricity is supplied at 110 volts, compared
with 220 volts in Europe. That means that for the
same power consumption, North Americans use
twice as much current as Europeans, which produces
a stronger magnetic field.
Only 17 children in Day's study had readings of
0.4 or more, but that didn't change the results. Eight
had cancer, while nine did not.
However, Day said the number of children
exposed in the study to 0.4 or more was too small to
draw conclusions about safety at that level.
"Almost all of the high exposures were not due to
http://abcnews.go .com! sections/living/Daily N ews/powerlinecancer991203 .html
10/10/00
. : ~ .ABCNEWS.com : No Power/Cancer Link?
~
proximity to overhead power cables, but to electrical
wiring in the house," Day said.
Only seven children lived near a power cable, but
they also had no increased cancer risk.
The issue of whether exposure to electromagnetic
fields increases the chances of childhood cancer has
been debated for years.
1992 Study Discredited
A high-profile study by California-based researcher
Robert Liburdy in 1992 linked power lines to cancer,
fueling fear among people living near them.
But in 1994, Liburdy's lab reviewed the findings
after a student challenged his results. The U.S. Office
of Research Integrity, contacted by the lab, later
found he intentionally falsified and fabricated data.
Liburdy was forced to resign from his job at the
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory but has
stood by his findings.
Scores of subsequent studies have found little
evidence to support his findings, while others have
found a weak link. .
Copyright 1999 The Associated Press. All rights
reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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