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This paper discusses the Origins of the worry that electromagnetic fields - EMF - might cause cancer in humans.

As people become acclimated to the particular topic it loses its initial shock value. Links to other resources include EMF Procedures & Causes of EMF Measurement Error & Variation . © Copyright 2009 Daniel Friedman, All Rights Reserved. Information Accuracy & Bias Pledge is at below-left. Use links at the left of each page to navigate this document or to view other topics at this website. Green links show where you are in our document or website.

Origins of Cancer Scare and Electromagnetic Fields

Realtors listing or owners selling a property which adjoins an overhead power transmission line know that there are sometimes very significant marketing issues because of consumer concern for potential health issues where electric power lines expose people to strong and continuous electromagnetic fields (EMF).

A lengthy US government review of studies of the health effects of exposure to EMF concluded both that the actual level of risk was uncertain and that prudent avoidance of significant EMF exposure was warranted.

A later Swedish study of the health effects of electromagnetic fields was able to overcome important difficulties in calculating actual EMF exposure levels, and suggested that there was indeed some carcinogenic risk from EMF exposure.

The Swedish EMF study is important: it established a "dose-relationship" between the amount of exposure and the frequency of leukemia. The failure of other studies to demonstrate a specific dose-disease relationship has been used by utilities and government to assert that there is no proven relationship and no proven risk associated with EMR.

If the public exposure to EMF has been present for a long time, what causes surges in public anxiety about this topic? At times the release of cancer-risk studies regarding EMF and media focus on this topic have generated a cycle of public fear about electromagnetic fields.

The enviro-scare cycle, in my opinion, derives from periodic surges of journalist and media attention to studies of the carcinogenic effect of exposure to electromagnetic fields.

For example, there was considerable media attention to Werth's observation that living along the Denver Colorado power line right-of-way caused an EMF exposure which appeared to cause (or correlate with) a "doubling of the probability of childhood leukemia" for children living along the right-of-way of this overhead power transmission facility.

The concern for possible carcinogenic or "cancer-causing" effects of exposure to electromagnetic fields at the frequency and strength generated by power transmission lines has been studied for some time. Some contemporary research (by epidemiologist Nancy Werth, the "Denver Study") suggested a possible (but in fact small) correlation between exposure to 60 cycle electromagnetic fields (EMF) and the occurrence of leukemia in children. Her study found that the occurrence of childhood leukemia in the Denver Colorado area tended to cluster along and follow the path of a power distribution line which passed through a portion of the city. (I've already mentioned the "study of studies" and the important Swedish study above.)

Stating risk this way ("doubling the risk of childhood leukemia from power transmission line EMF exposure") is understandably frightening to parents, particularly those unfamiliar with statistics and the mathematics of risk assessment. As I will amplify below, if an exposure doubles a number which is at the start infinitesimally small, say 1 chance in 10,000, then the doubled number is still infinitesimally small, say 2 in 10,000. A careful reading of the Werth study or an interview with Werth herself would almost certainly yield a more cautious opinion about the level of risk than that generated by a public reading of news reports.

But this analysis is not comforting to everyone. The more broad topic of public fear and assessment of the level tolerable health risk has been widely discussed, and has as a component, the individual's assessment of the level of control that s/he has over the risk. So people who smoke, an act which creates a far greater health risk than power transmission lines, assess that risk as more moderate because they have a sensation of being able to "choose their poison."

Our own field measurements of EMF levels at residential properties or at specific locations within buildings have found a wide range of levels of exposure to building occupants. Remarkably, I've found that local ambient EMF levels in built-up residential areas are often quite close to the (rather low) reaction threshold discussed in the Werth and other studies, even where no obvious overhead electric power transmission facility is involved.

However when no large transmission facility is present, the strength of the EMF drops much more rapidly with distance from the (smaller) sources of such fields.

The implications of this observation and its accuracy merit further discussion and research since there could be small local sources in buildings which also affect occupants. Some examples are listed later in this paper.

Both the difficulties of measuring actual EMF exposure and the current level of knowledge about the health effects of EMF bear thoughtful discussion, some of which I address in this paper.

Electric utility workers who spend time repairing or installing power transmission lines and transformers probably have the highest exposure to electromagnetic fields. Consumers researching the possible health effects of EMF exposure should look closely at these studies for both the study conclusions and the care (and lack of bias) with which such studies may have been performed.

Because various parties have conflicting interests, research and advice on this topic have been confusing. The interested parties include building owners and sellers, realtors, home buyers, power transmission companies, journalists, and scientists or researchers who themselves are supported by various funding sources. A new study of studies which tests for correlation between the interests of each funding source and the results of studies performed would be a helpful test of conflicting opinions on this topic.

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Use links just below or at the left of each page to navigate this document or to view other topics at this website. Green links show where you are in our document or website.

ENVIRO-SCARE, EMF & Property Values
WHAT IS EMF?
EMF Cancer Scare
EMF Levels of Cancer Risk
Prioritizing Risks
EMF MEASUREMENT PROCEDURES
EMF SURVEY PROCEDURE - Details
ENVIRO-SCARE Defined, Effects
  UFFI Enviro-Scare
  Asbestos Enviro-Scare
  RADON HAZARD TESTS & MITIGATION
  Radon Enviro-Scare
  Lead Enviro-Scare
  EMF Enviro-Scare
  Mold Enviro-Scare
  Fiberglass Enviro-Scare
ENVIRO-SCARE Effects on Property Values
WORKSHEET for EMF MEASUREMENTS
WORKSHEET for EMF MEASUREMENTS - Example
Electromagnetic Radiation Field EMF SURVEY Procedure
Basketball Mold Syndrome - BBMS
Mold Enviro-Scare

More Information on Building Diagnostic Inspections and Repairs

• Electric Power Lines, Electromagnetic Fields, Cancer Risk, & "Enviro-Scare" - The Normal Curve Cycle of Public Fear About Environmental Issues - online document by DF
• A Procedure for Measuring EMF electromagnetic fields online document by DF
• Electromagnetic Fields in the Workplace good NIOSH document, links to other NIOSH docs.
• Basketball Mold Syndrome - BBMS- sudden attention to old clues in buildings makes them seem brand new to some observers
• Consumer Product Safety Commission, 800-638-CPSC.
• US Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Pesticides and Toxic Substances, TSCA Assistance Office (TS-799), 800-424-9065 or 202-554-1404.
• "Evaluation of Potential Carcinogenicity of Electromagnetic Fields," EPA Report #EPA/600/6-90/005B October 1990. EPA: 513/569-7562.
• "Biological Effects of Power Frequency Electric and Magnetic Fields" background paper, prepared as part of OTA's assessment of "Electric Power Wheeling and Dealing: Technological Considerations for Increasing Competition," prepared for OTA by Indira Nair, M. Granger Morgan, H. Keith Florig, Department of Engineering and Public Policy, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA 15213
• "Biological Effects of Power Line Fields," New York State Powerline Project. Scientific Advisory Board Final Report, July 1, 1987.
• "Extremely Low Frequency (ELF) Fields," Environmental Health Criteria 35. World Health Organization, Geneva, 1984.
• "Electric and Magnetic Fields at Extremely Low Frequencies: Interactions with Biological Systems. In: Non ionizing Radiation Protection, World Health Organization, Regional Office for Europe, Copenhagen, 1987.
• "Electric and Magnetic Fields from 60 Hertz Electric Power: What do we know about possible health risks?," Department of Engineering and Public Policy, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA 15213 1989.
• "Electromagnetic Fields Are Being Scrutinized for Linkage to Cancer," Sandra Blakeslee, New York Times, Medical Science section, April 2, 1991.
• Environmental Concerns in Buildings, hazards: allergens, asbestos, brownfields
  - above ground or buried oil storage tanks,
  - A Procedure for Measuring EMF electromagnetic fields,
  - Electric Power Lines, Electromagnetic Fields, Cancer Risk, & "Enviro-Scare" - The Normal Curve Cycle of Public Fear of Environmental Issues
  - toxic gases & odors, IAQ, lead paint,
  - toxic mold inspections,
  - mold test kits - how to send a mold sample to our lab using an inexpensive and superior method - radon, sick buildings, UFFI (urea formaldehyde foam insulation),
  - sewage septic backup contamination testing & cleanup
  - water testing for bacteria, lead, etc.

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