Electromagnetic fields are no hazard to workers

Electromagnetic fields are no hazard to workers

Electromagnetic fields do not pose a health hazard to workers in the electrical energy supply industry, suggests a study of 28,000 people.

Exposure to low frequency electromagnetic fields of 50 to 60 Hz has been implicated in an increased risk of leukemia, brain, and breast cancers. Danish researchers examined the health and employment records of more than 22,000 utility workers at 99 electrical energy supply companies in Denmark. They found that even after two decades, the incidence of leukemia and brain and breast cancers was not increased.

There were no excess cases of leukemia among men or breast cancer among female employees who had been exposed to medium to high-frequency magnetic fields.

Women exposed to medium frequency electromagnetic fields were more likely to develop brain cancer than women with background frequency levels. But this was not true of men who had been exposed to high-frequency magnetic fields; they were less likely to develop the disease.

(Editor's note: "Risk For Leukaemia and Brain and Breast Cancer Among Danish Utility Workers — A Second Follow-Up" was published in the online version of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. To access it, go to oem.bmj.com. Click on "Online First" in the upper right corner of the page. Scroll down to "May 1, 2007.")