Canada has its share of powerlines, but few realise the dangers of electromagneitc radiation that is emitted.

Key sites have been in the news where Cancer Clusters or potential clusters were relocated as the lines were installed.

 

BRITISH COLUMBIA :

Burnaby, BC – Boundary Road

 


 

Coquiltam, BC – Eagle Ridge to Barnet Highway  to Mariner Way


Tsawwassen BC angry as high-voltage lines approved 2006

Tsawwassen residents try to fight the power
Regulator OKs utility’s bid to build high-voltage transmission lines
Brian Lewis, The Province  Vancouver
Published: Sunday, June 03, 2007

————————————————————————-

ONTARIO :

Bridlewood – Eagleson Road, Kanata, Ontario

1993 – 1998

BRHLC begins series of EMF measurements at Bridlewood school site to determine if a continuous monitoring program is warranted. BRHLC continues preparations for Ontario Hydro environmental assessment panel. Environmental Assessment Board has been replaced with an advisory panel due to Ontario Hydro’s withdrawal of its Demand/Supply Plan. In March 1993 the BRHLC also joined the National EMR Alliance composed of public interest groups from across North America concerned about the health effects of electromagnetic fields.

http://www.feb.se/Bridlewood/

http://www.feb.se/Bridlewood/HISTORY.HTM


Now if the powerline wasnt enough –  Years later  a cell phone tower was installed beside the school and beside the power lines

http://www.wikimapia.org/12191679/cell-tower

 

  

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Mothers unite to oppose project

A new group has emerged in the fight to stop the installation of overhead power lines in Tsawwassen.

BY THE DELTA OPTIMIST    JULY 5, 2008

A new group has emerged in the fight to stop the installation of overhead power lines in Tsawwassen.

Mothers Against Power Poles (MAPP) organized a rally of about 50 people at 16th Avenue and 53A Street yesterday morning to protest the B.C. Transmission Corporation project.

“If you are a mother, have a mother or know a mother, you are all a part of MAPP,” said Heather Colls Wahlberg, who spoke on behalf of the group. “The mothers in Tsawwassen are standing united against power poles.”

Wahlberg, a mother of three, said if the project continues as planned she will not allow her children to attend South Delta Secondary in the fall.

BCTC plans to put erect of the 100-foot steel towers that will carry the 230 kiloVolt overhead lines through Tsawwassen and over to Vancouver Island next to the parking lot at the high school.

The group is asking the provincial government to step in and have the power lines buried — at a minimum depth of three metres — and shielded.

Wahlberg said the government and BCTC are both profiting from the project and should use some of the money to benefit the community.

“They must spend some of this profit to do the right thing and properly bury these power lines.”

The newly formed group has some plans of its own for the $100 climate change dividend cheques that have been arriving in British Columbians’ mail boxes over the past few weeks.

“We are using this money to stop the destruction in our town and stop the killing of our children,” Wahlberg said, holding a number of cheques.

She said in one night she collected $1,000 worth of cheques and has had commitments from many other residents who want to donate their $100 to the group.

“This will affect every single person in Tsawwassen,” she said.

MAPP has several concerns around the project, including the health effects of electromagnetic fields (EMF) and what would happen to the poles in the event of a major earthquake.

Another rally is scheduled for tomorrow at 1 p.m. at 1404-53A St.

A smaller group of residents was successful in stopping the installation of the lines – at least for one day.

A group of about 10 residents parked their cars along 13A Avenue Thursday, blocking construction crews from accessing the right-of-way through private properties. A few other cars were also blocking an access point on 16th Avenue.

Tina Ryan, whose property is along the right-of-way, said residents refused to move their cars when asked by the construction workers, who subsequently called police.

Ryan said the police told residents they are not breaking any laws – there are no “No Parking” signs along the street and as long the cars are parked legally they can stay.

“So that’s what we’ve been doing,” Ryan said. “All they need to do is get a permit from the Corporation (of Delta) to put up ‘No Parking’ signs.”

Last month, the B.C. Transmission Corporation obtained a B.C. Supreme Court injunction to stop owners of four properties, including Ryan, from interfering with construction of the power lines.

Ryan said she feels she is not contravening the injunction because the cars are legally parked on a roadway.

The B.C. Transmission Corporation (BCTC) is the subject of an investigation by B.C.’s privacy commissioner after a complaint lodged by a Tsawwassen resident.

Tina Ryan, who lives along the right-of-way, launched an official complaint with the B.C. privacy commissioner late last month after discovering BCTC had been monitoring her and other Tsawwassen residents who have been protesting the power lines project.

In June, BCTC took Ryan and three other homeowners to court, obtaining an injunction to stop them from blocking work crews from accessing their properties to construct the power lines.

An affidavit filed by BCTC had monitoring information, including videos of the homeowners.

“As part of the injunction process, the court requires BCTC to present evidence that access has been denied,” said BCTC spokesperson Chris Rathbone. “Common types of evidence used include video footage, sworn recollections of conversations with residents and other background materials.

“In accordance with this court requirement, BCTC gathered the supporting evidence and provided it with our injunction request,” he said. “The court requires that a copy of the evidence be delivered, by hand, to the defendant, in this case, the four residents who had denied access. After filing our request for an injunction, we met this requirement and ensured that the evidence was delivered. ”

Ryan said BCTC went too far in its surveillance.

“I felt it was a significant invasion of privacy,” she said, adding several people she spoke to urged her to take action.

The B.C. Civil Liberties Association is throwing its support behind Ryan.

“We are concerned about the actions of the transmission corporation,” said Micheal Vonn, policy director with the association. “We are very pleased that this has caught the attention of the privacy commissioner.”

Vonn said at this point, the association has yet to determine what type of action it will take in the matter.

“Surveillance is an issue that we’re deeply concerned about,” she said. “Very similar kinds of tactics were exposed through the EUB (Energy and Utilities Board) in Alberta over, again, a controversial power line.”

Vonn added the association is concerned surveillance by governments in this type of situation is becoming “a bit of a trend.”

Ryan said she may pursue the issue even further.

“I am definitely considering a civil suit,” she said,

Rathbone said the Crown corporation is co-operating with the privacy commissioner and the investigation process.

“We are committed to working with the privacy commissioner to expedite this process, and look forward to hearing his findings in the next few weeks.”

© (c) CanWest MediaWorks Publications Inc.

 

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Cellphone towers and Power lines demand research

BY HEATHER COLLS, VANCOUVER SUN NOVEMBER 26, 2010

Re: Research risks of cellphone towers before it’s too late, Column, Nov. 19

Mothers against Power Poles (MAPP) is a grassroots organization that was established in the summer of 2008 to try to stop the construction of a massive 230,000-volt power line that was to run through the parking lot of the only high school in Tsawwassen.

Our fight was to protect all of the children and the staff who attend and work at this high school from the dangerously high levels of electromagnetic radiation that would be emitted from this extra-high-voltage power line.

Canadians must realize that there are no Canadian standards, at the moment, in regards to locating high voltage power lines in proximity to schools and residential areas, such as homes, care facilities and churches.

The World Health Organization guidelines, quoted by BCTC in relation to “safe emissions from high voltage power lines,” are from standards set in 1978. MAPP is still active in trying to have these power lines buried and shielded to protect the children that are being exposed to the EMF from these lines. We concur that updated research must be done to demonstrate the relationship between serious health risks that are associated with chronic exposure to power lines and cellphone towers.

Heather Colls Wahlberg

Mothers Against Power Poles

Tsawwassen

Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/Cellphone+towers+power+lines+demand+research/3887032/story.html#ixzz18OY9GKsL

 

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South Delta parents oppose power lines

http://www.straight.com/article-156587/parents-oppose-power-lines

Heather Colls Wahlberg
Spokesperson, Mothers Against Power Poles

“Absolutely not, and I never will, until these power lines or the pole is gone from the high school. The danger is the EMF, the electromagnetic fields that will be present when they turn on the power. The danger is the exposure to radiation, which is known to be associated with childhood leukemia, lung cancer, skin cancer, and many other health issues.”

 

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Sydney Australia residents show effects of Powerlines  –  11 Dogs died from Cancer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DumgUdJhzpo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DumgUdJhzpo







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the French sanitary agency for health AFSSET press release Posted on 06/04/2010 at 17:52 The Point.fr

No high-voltage lines near kindergartens, schools and hospitals

By Anne Jeanblanc

The risks associated with electromagnetic fields of transmission lines and high voltage can not be ruled © Atlantis Phototravel / Corbis

The French Agency for Environmental Health and Labour (Afsset) recommended on Tuesday, do not install or build new facilities close to susceptible persons (schools, kindergartens, hospitals …) immediate high-voltage lines, any more than to establish new lines over such institutions. This is a precautionary measure pending the results of scientific study. For reference, lines and high voltage generate electromagnetic fields of extremely low frequency that were classified as “possibly carcinogenic to humans” in 2002 by the International Agency for Research on Cancer of the World Health in Lyon.

Expertise published by Afsset just update a 2005 opinion issued by the Higher Council of Public Health of France, various studies have already established an association between exposure to electromagnetic fields of extremely low frequency and childhood leukemia . This is statistically significant for a residential exposure averaged over 24 hours to magnetic fields whose levels are above 0.2 μT or 0.4, depending on the work, said Afsset. However, no biological study has demonstrated, to date, a mechanism that could explain the occurrence of leukemia.

For Afsset, “the priority is to resolve this paradox scientific”. She recommends “to resume or continue epidemiological studies based on a description of exposure to strong electromagnetic fields of extremely low frequency, including the use of new techniques for measuring individual exposures. Afsset also advocates the strengthening of research on the possible causes of childhood leukemia and other potential effects of these fields. “No relationship with diseases other than cancerhas been established. However, the hypothesis of the involvement of these fields in neurodegenerative diseases (Alzheimer’s disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) has been reported, including a meta -analysis dealing with occupational exposures and can not be ruled out, “she says.

A votre santé

Anne Jeanblanc

French sanitary agency for health

AFSSET press release

Posted on 06/04/2010 at 17:52 The Point.frBy Anne Jeanblanc

The French Agency for Environmental Health and Labour (Afsset) recommended on Tuesday, do not install or build new facilities close to susceptible persons (schools, kindergartens, hospitals …) immediate high-voltage lines, any more than to establish new lines over such institutions. This is a precautionary measure pending the results of scientific study. For reference, lines and high voltage generate electromagnetic fields of extremely low frequency that were classified as “possibly carcinogenic to humans” in 2002 by the International Agency for Research on Cancer of the World Health in Lyon.Expertise published by Afsset just update a 2005 opinion issued by the Higher Council of Public Health of France, various studies have already established an association between exposure to electromagnetic fields of extremely low frequency and childhood leukemia . This is statistically significant for a residential exposure averaged over 24 hours to magnetic fields whose levels are above 0.2 μT or 0.4, depending on the work, said Afsset. However, no biological study has demonstrated, to date, a mechanism that could explain the occurrence of leukemia.childhood leukemiaA votre santéAnne Jeanblanc

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NORRIS ARM, Newfoundland

2005 – Newfoundlanders are finding EMF levels from Transformers are seriously harming Residents.


Almost  4000 Residents getting Cancer treatment lived within 100 Feet of a Transformer.

http://www.oag-bvg.gc.ca/internet/English/pet_211_e_28947.html

Office of the Auditor General of Canada

Petition: No. 211

Issue(s): Human health/environmental health and science and technology

Petitioner(s): Gerry Higgins

Date Received: 18 June 2007

Status: Completed

Summary: The petitioner is concerned about the effects of hydro power lines in many Newfoundland communities. He alleges there have been higher than usual rates of various diseases and conditions, including cancer, which are tied to the proximity of these towns to the hydro lines. The petitioner would like to know which government departments have a responsibility to safeguard the public from dangers caused by power lines and transformers and whether research or investigations have been conducted by these departments to establish whether transformers and power lines are causing ill health.

Federal Departments Responsible for Reply: Environment CanadaHealth Canada

Petition

P.O. Box 157
Norris Arm, Newfoundland
A0G 3M0
Tel 709 653 2152

18 June 2007

The Auditor General of Canada
Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development
Attention: Petitions
240 Sparks Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0G6

Dear Auditor General,

This is my petition under the Auditor General Act.

My wife, Margaret, developed breast cancer at the young age of 39 years. We were living in the rural community of Norris Arm, Newfoundland where the air is clean and the environment is healthy. I became very concerned because of the large amount of cancer in the community and wanted to know what was causing it. I started to investigate why there was excessive cancer in the town and I found that out of sixty-two electrical transformers in Norris Arm, there were incidents of cancer located close to sixty of them.

I found that the closer people lived to the transformers, the more likely they were to develop cancer. I told the Mayor of Norris Arm about my findings and he sent letters to one hundred and fifty other towns located in the Province. Ninety towns responded and they all found similar results with more cancer cases the closer people lived to transformers. I found scientific research that indicates that electrical fields and electro magnetic fields cause cancer and these fields are generated from electrical transformers and power lines. Our home had power lines running very close to the house until Newfoundland Power moved them away to a safer distance.

During the last several years, I have spent a great amount of my time alerting the public and local, provincial and federal officials about the danger. I have asked government officials to research the problems and start an inquiry into the situation, but they have failed to act. After watching her suffer for many years, my wife died from cancer just before Christmas of 2005. The citizens of Newfoundland, my children and I deserve and request answers to several questions:

  1. Which government departments have a responsibility to ensure the safety of the public from dangers caused by powerlines and transformers? Are they aware of the links to cancer and other adverse health effects such as depression and suicide? Why are they not warning the public about these dangers?
  2. What did the Federal Department of Health and other responsible authorities do with the information, after they were notified about my discoveries and the findings of many other Municipalities in Newfoundland, about the links between cancer, powerlines and transformers in Newfoundland?
  3. Did the responsible authorities conduct any research or investigations to discover if my observations were correct and whether transformers and powerlines were causing cancer and other ill health? If not, why not?
  4. If no research has been conducted into the probable relationship between transformers and cancer in Newfoundland, would the responsible authorities immediately cause an investigation by credible, independent scientific and epidemiology specialists to determine if there is an increased risk of cancer from electrical transformers and powerlines?
  5. I request that the Federal Department of Health provide me with the ten most important documents that the Department possesses, which indicate that electrical fields and electromagnetic fields cause cancer and ill health.
  6. Has the Department of Health conducted studies that show the health effects of electro magnetic radiation on Canadians? If so, When? Please provide copies of any study reports.
  7. Has the Department of Health examined the mortality rate caused by transformers and powerlines being located too close to Canadian homes? How does this mortality rate vary across Canada? What has the Department done to mitigate the issue?
  8. Has the Department of Health conducted extensive review of all studies and evidence about electro magnetic radiation exposure, that either refute of support the fact that EMR causes harm to human health? What is their final analysis on this topic
  9. Because of the importance of how our environment is also being harmed and the obvious ties to human health, has the Department of Health and the Department of the Environment also examined reports that birds, bees and animals have been severely harmed by electro magnetic radiation? What steps are being taken to ensure safety of birds bees and animals from EMR exposure?
  10. Is the Department of the Environment aware of the harm to health that is caused by electrical fields and electromagnetic radiation? What has the Department done to warn Canadians about the danger and what protective measures has the Department put in place to ensure the future environmental safety of Canadians?
  11. Is the Prime Minister aware of the harm to health that is being caused by electro magnetic radiation? Has he been fully briefed about the serious dangers posed by EMR? If he has been briefed, who conducted the briefing and when? If not, which responsible authorities have failed to provide this important information, or has he chosen not to be made aware of the serious dangers to Canadian citizens? Has his Government any plans to protect Canadians from the terrible effects of electro magnetic radiation?
  12. Modern electrical appliances, electrical devices and house wiring systems cause varying amounts of electrical fields and electro magnetic radiation inside people’s homes. Why have the responsible authorities not conducted educational programs to warn all Canadian citizens about the health dangers posed and provided mitigation information to ensure better public safety?
  13. Would the responsible authorities tell me what is the safe distance between a typical house electrical power transformer and living accommodation, to ensure safety from electrical fields and electro magnetic fields? How has that distance been decided and does it comply with the scientific precautionary principle? What are the established normal safe distances in other developed countries? Would you provide me with reports that substantiate the regulations that the Government of Canada has put in place to ensure the safety of Canadians from transformer and power-line EMR exposure?
  14. I have been advised that ground current electricity (also known as stray voltage) may be part of the electrical pollution problem that is affecting homes in Newfoundland. Would the responsible authorities explain to me what this is and what causes it? What percentage of electricity in Newfoundland flows back to sub-stations via the ground instead of the distribution system? What can be done to stop ground current from happening?
  15. What research has been conducted by the responsible authorities to discover and analyze the health damaging effects of ground current electricity? What were the results of any testing and what recommendations were made to control the problem and make citizens safer?

I have tried my best to inform the people of Newfoundland about the dangers of transformers, powerlines and electro magnetic radiation. I have often spoken on radio programs and have been reported in several newspaper stories in order to disclose the dangers. It is now time for the responsible authorities to answer questions on the health harm that EMR is causing in our communities. It seems that various government departments are failing to protect the public.

I have attached* several documents to help you to understand my situation better and to show you some of the dangers from electro magnetic radiation. If you would like to learn more about these dangers I recommend visiting the Internet web site www.powerwatch.org.uk . Please ensure that those government officials who are responsible for the safety and education issues of electro magnetic radiation properly address my concerns.

Yours sincerely,

[Original signed by Gerry Higgins]

Gerry Higgins

Read more

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http://www.ena.asn.au/udocs/5EMF_Lowenthal.pdf

Residential exposure to Electric power transmission lines and Risk of lymphoproliferative and myeloproliferative disorders :

a case-control study

R.M. Lowenthat, D.M. Tuck and I.C. Bray

School of Medicine, University of Tasmania.   Hobart, Australia and Department of Social Medicine, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK

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Former R.I. Atty. Gen. Patrick Lynch says power lines have been linked to leukemia, other diseases

By C. Eugene Emery Jr. on Friday, January 2nd, 2015 at 12:01 a.m.

Former Rhode Island Attorney General Patrick Lynch wants the power lines stretching along the waterfront from East Providence to Providence to be relocated underground, a plan that has been shelved because the projected costs have skyrocketed from $19 million in 2007 to at least $34 million now.

In a Nov. 24 commentary in The Providence Journal, Lynch said there were several reasons for burying the lines and predicted that it would boost economic development and encourage tourism.

But he also said burial would, “improve public health and safety by eliminating exposure of nearby residential development projects to electro-magnetic fields, which has been associated with childhood leukemia and other diseases.”

We were interested in whether there are any links between exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMF) and disease, particularly childhood leukemia?

We contacted Lynch’s office to ask for his evidence. Meanwhile, we started looking for some ourselves.

But first, a point of information. Electromagnetic fields are everywhere. Turn on a toaster and you’ll be exposed to EMFs. And burying the lines will only partially shield residents from this particular source.

“The fields are always there. If you send current over a wire it generates electromagnetic fields,” said Tao Wei, a professor of electrical engineering at the University of Rhode Island. Burying power lines might reduce the field somewhat but “there’s no way to eliminate it all.”

Whether such fields cause disease, particularly childhood leukemia — is more complicated.

In our emails and in cell phone conversations with Lynch, he repeatedly argued that he never claimed that there was a link between EMFs and childhood leukemia (or other diseases). He only said that the two are “associated.”

What’s the difference?

Just because two things are “associated” — occurring at the same time — doesn’t mean that one thing causes another. For example, wearing lipstick is associatedwith breast cancer because women wear lipstick and have much higher rates of breast cancer than men, who don’t. But lipstick doesn’t cause breast cancer.

Lynch didn’t make that distinction between association and causation.

So we believe the average reader would come away thinking that he was suggesting that EMFs cause disease. Otherwise, why raise the issue? Thus, we will judge his statement on that basis.

It turns out that even the reported association between power lines and health problems is debatable, according to the reports we examined.

While some studies have suggested that leukemia might lurk as a risk, other evidence argues against such a link, which is why a few groups have made statements hedging their bets, keeping the door open just in case new evidence comes along.

And when it comes to the “other diseases” that Lynch refers to, the consensus is that there is no convincing evidence that EMFs pose such a danger.

Some history

Many people came to believe such fields are hazardous thanks to a 1979 study in Denver, which never actually measured electromagnetic fields, and a three-part series in The New Yorker by journalist Paul Brodeur that sparked a wave of fear about electric blankets, video display terminals and power lines.

That prompted decades of research that has failed to prove anything conclusive.

There has been reason to doubt the risk for a long time.

One of the larger studies was done by the National Cancer Institute and published in 1997 in the New England Journal of Medicine. It found no evidence of a higher risk of leukemia among the children who had received the highest exposure of EMF. Researchers tend to focus on leukemia because it is a type of cancer that is particularly sensitive to radiation.

Dr. Edward Campion, a Journal editor, noted that, “In recent years, several commissions and expert panels have concluded that there is no convincing evidence that high-voltage power lines are a health hazard or a cause of cancer. And the weight of the better epidemiologic studies . . . now supports the same conclusion.”

Ultimately, the reaction to the concerns developed into a strategy known as “prudent avoidance,” where efforts are made to avoid strong electromagnetic fields just in case they might pose a health hazard.

With our use of electronic devices mushrooming, one might have expected a sharp increase in health problems if the fields were dangerous. That hasn’t been seen. (Meanwhile, fears have shifted to the higher-frequency electromagnetic fields emitted by wireless Internet and cell phones and, once again, despite all the studies, there’s been no definitive evidence of danger.)

Newer research

The closest any health authority has come to saying the fields are dangerous came in 2002 when the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer characterized them as “possibly” causing cancer.

But the agency said the evidence that extremely low frequency magnetic fields of the power line variety cause childhood leukemia was limited, and evidence linking the fields to any other type of cancer was inadequate. The group declined to classify EMFs as a “probable” carcinogen.

In the intervening years, the link — if there is one — has remained tenuous.

A large 2005 study uncovered a slightly higher risk of leukemia for children living near overhead power lines, but the researchers said the findings appeared to be a fluke because the risk was seen in places where the magnetic field produced by the power line was lower than background levels. One theory is that the risk is linked to a family’s income and poorer people tend to live near large power lines.

A Danish study published in 2014 came up with similar conclusions. It logged leukemia cases, but none within 200 meters — about 656 feet — from power lines. If the power lines were causing cancer, you would expect the cases to be closest to the lines.

In 2013, a study of 2,779 cases of childhood leukemia diagnosed in France from 2002 to 2007 found that a child had to live within 55 yards of power lines to have a risk, but only if those lines were classified as very high voltage power lines. Beyond 55 yards posed no risk. Neither did living near other types of power lines.

A study published in 2014 also failed to show a consistent link to childhood leukemia. In places where researchers think they have seen cancer, it may be due to chance. In some instances, the risk was seen in areas adjacent to power lines where EMF levels were no higher than what you would get from Earth’s magnetic field.

Animal studies have shown no consistent risk, which is another reason scientists are skeptical of a link.

Lynch’s evidence

Lynch, who has been interested in the EMF issue for years, sent us several documents, some from more than a decade ago, including a National Grid brochureand a New York Times story from July in which one expert, who has long been concerned about EMFs and wants to keep WiFi out of schools because he fears it might be risky, thinks the evidence supporting a hazard has only grown stronger.

And he pointed us to a September 2012 report by Michael Kundi, who heads the Institute of Environmental Health at the Medical University of Vienna, in Austria, and argues that, based on the research, power lines pose a much greater risk of leukemia than previously assumed and the evidence is so strong that it doesn’t matter that animal studies have shown no problem.

He is part of a group of researchers who believe cellphones, wireless laptops, WiFi transmitters, cell towers, power lines and electronic baby monitors probably pose a long list of health hazards that include various cancers, sperm damage, autism and Alzheimer’s disease. They also want WiFi removed from schools. That would support Lynch’s contention that “other diseases” might be involved.

Broader consensus

Yet what do major science and medical organizations say?

The American Cancer Society lists “Exposure to electromagnetic fields (such as living near power lines)” as an “uncertain, unproven, or controversial” risk factor for childhood leukemia. Studies of electric fields have not shown any risk. The only hintof a leukemia problem has been for magnetic fields and only in children exposed to the highest fields.

The National Cancer Institute’s website concludes, “there is little evidence that exposure to ELF-EMF from power lines causes leukemia, brain tumors, or any other cancers in children.”  Among adults, the evidence continues to show no danger, or has produced inconsistent results.

Cancer Research UK, a United Kingdom group similar to the Cancer Society, reportsthat even if a link were confirmed, “the impact would be small — only around one percent of childhood leukemias.”

And WHO, which cautiously classified the fields as “possibly” carcinogenic a dozen years ago, currently says “the evidence for any effect remains highly controversial. However, it is clear that if electromagnetic fields do have an effect on cancer, then any increase in risk will be extremely small. The results to date contain many inconsistencies, but no large increases in risk have been found for any cancer in children or adults.”

Lynch also referred us to a very recent analysis from the nonprofit Institution of Engineering and Technology. He focused on the wording suggesting that there might be a leukemia risk above a certain exposure level. But we noted that the report concludes that despite decades of research, “the existence of harmful health effects” from such power lines “remains unsubstantiated.”

Lynch said that the institution’s analysis was a case where you “hide the conclusion in the middle and turn back ‘unswervingly’ to [power] industry messaging at the end.”

Our ruling

Lynch said exposure to the electromagnetic fields from power lines “has been associated with childhood leukemia and other diseases.”

Lynch, when questioned, says he’s saying there is just an association, and he’s not asserting that EMFs cause cancer and other diseases.

We believe the average reader would come away believing that Lynch was saying there is a direct link and a real danger, which would be a striking assertion.

When it comes to health effects, the grain of truth in Lynch’s statement is that there have been some studies suggesting a link. But he’s ignoring the fact that other studies and experts have concluded that there is little or no effect, and major health organizations have not found the evidence to be convincing despite decades of efforts to demonstrate a danger.

Because his claim ignores critical facts that would give a different impression, we rate it Mostly False.

(If you have a claim you’d like PolitiFact Rhode Island to check, email us at [email protected]. And follow us on Twitter: @politifactri.)

http://www.politifact.com/rhode-island/statements/2015/jan/02/patrick-lynch/former-ri-atty-gen-patrick-lynch-says-power-lines-/