Q. What have governmental reviews concluded about EMFs and cancer?
A. Most recent reviews have concluded that the existing evidence, although suggestive, is not sufficient to show that EMFs cause cancer. These include national reviews by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Committee on Interagency Radiation Research and Policy Coordination, the Australian Minister of Health, the National Radiological Protection Board of the United Kingdom, the Danish Ministry of Health, the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research, and reviews sponsored by the states of California, Texas, Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, and Colorado.
The Swedish government issued a public information document in May 1994 that states, “We suspect that magnetic fields may pose certain risks to health, but we cannot be certain.” While research is under way to pin this down, the report continues, “there is good reason to exercise a certain amount of caution.” The Swedish government recommends against locating new homes and schools near existing electricity generating plants and proposes that high magnetic fields in homes, schools, and workplaces be limited. It specifically states, however, that “current knowledge is not sufficient for us to tell how magnetic fields affect us. So we do not have a basis on which to set [exposure] limits.”
In nearby Denmark, a government agency concluded there was no scientific reason to establish magnetic field standards for high-current lines
