Hypotheses generating and case control studies have revealed the existence of an excess risk of leukemia among electrical workers. Pooled results have estimated the risk for all leukemia to be 1.
An increased risk of leukemia among electrical workers does not necessarily mean that EMF is a causal agent, other chemicals such as benzene, creosote, solvent, could possibly account for it but this has yet to be confirmed. Abstract Cancer was first associated with exposure to electromagnetic fields EMF in when Wertheimer and Leeper reported that children dying from cancer resided more often in homes believed to be exposed to higher EMF than did healthy control children.
Pooled analysis of recent studies on magnetic fields and childhood leukaemia. Br J Cancer. Erratum in: Br J Cancer. National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. Residential exposure to extremely low-frequency magnetic fields and risk of childhood leukaemia, CNS tumour and lymphoma in Denmark. Exposure to extremely low-frequency magnetic fields and the risk of childhood cancer: Update of the epidemiological evidence. Prog Biophys Mol Biol. American Cancer Society medical information is copyrighted material.
For reprint requests, please see our Content Usage Policy. Download this topic [PDF]. Sun and Other Types of Radiation.
Electric and magnetic fields All radiation on the electromagnetic spectrum is produced by the interactions of 2 forces, referred to as fields. How are people exposed to ELF radiation? Does ELF radiation cause cancer? Researchers use 2 main types of studies to try to figure out if something causes cancer. Lab studies: In lab studies, animals are exposed to different levels of the substance sometimes at extremely high levels to see if this exposure causes tumors or other health problems.
Researchers might also expose normal human cells in a lab dish to see if this causes the types of changes that are seen in cancer cells. Studies in people: Other types of studies look at cancer rates in different groups of people.
Such a study might compare the cancer rate in an exposed group to the rate in a group with lower exposures, or to a group not exposed at all. But it can be hard to know what the results of these studies mean, because many other factors might affect the results. For example, people are typically exposed to many substances other than the one being studied, and these other exposures could affect the results.
Studies in the lab Several large studies have looked at the possible effects of ELF magnetic fields on cancer in rats and mice. In children A number of studies have looked at a possible link between ELF radiation from magnetic fields in the home and childhood leukemia , with mixed results. Still, when the findings from these studies are combined, a small increase in risk is seen for children at the highest exposure levels compared to those with the lowest exposure levels.
Studies looking at the effect of ELF electric fields on childhood leukemia have not found a link. In adults Although several studies have looked at possible links between ELF exposures in adults and cancer, most have not found a link.
What expert agencies say Several national and international agencies study different exposures in the environment to determine if they can cause cancer. How can I avoid exposure to ELF radiation? Power lines People who are concerned about ELF radiation exposure from high-power electrical lines should keep in mind that the intensity of any exposure goes down significantly as you get farther away from the source. Written by Additional resources References. The American Cancer Society medical and editorial content team Our team is made up of doctors and oncology certified nurses with deep knowledge of cancer care as well as journalists, editors, and translators with extensive experience in medical writing.
Last Revised: April 18, One EMF source to have received significant media attention is the high-voltage power line. Various studies have comprehensively investigated power lines and cancers such as leukaemia to see if there is a causal link.
Some researchers maintain that EMF generated by power lines have frequencies which are too low to influence living cells or harm DNA. Other researchers disagree. They suggest that EMF from power lines can cause significant changes in a biological system via electric fields induced in the body.
Scientific standards have been developed to limit public exposure to power-frequency EMF, so that induced currents are below those that occur naturally in the body. Two decades of debate In , researchers investigating childhood leukaemia in Denver, Colorado USA found an association between high-current configuration electrical wiring near the home and an increased risk of childhood cancer Wertheimer and Leeper.
This initial work, however, did not measure electromagnetic fields, relying instead on distances from power lines and the type of wiring. Since then, researchers across the world have investigated power lines.
To date, serious limitations have been identified in nearly all studies on power lines and cancer. It has not been possible to confirm whether or not there is a real association between EMF and cancer. The review found no evidence of any increased risk of cancer in adults. However, the NRPB was careful to explain that no causal link was found, and recommended that further studies are needed.
The evidence for the effect was inconclusive because the key studies in the review might have suffered from selection bias or random variation. No proof of harm Despite the evidence for an increased risk of leukaemia in children exposed to higher than 0. No convincing evidence from animal studies to support the claim that EMF increases the risk of cancer.
0コメント