Residence near high voltage facilities and risk of cancer in children

Abstract

Objective - To investigate whether residence before and after birth near 50 Hz high voltage installations increases a child's risk of cancer and whether risk correlates with the strength of the magnetic field. Design - A population based case-control study. Setting - Denmark. Subjects - 1707 children under the age of 15 with leukaemia, tumour of the central nervous system, or malignant lymphoma diagnosed in 1968-86 and 4788 children taken from the central population register. Main outcome measures - Proximity before and after birth to existing or former 50-400 kV electrical transmission connections and substations and associated historical electromagnetic fields calculated on the basis of current load on line, phase ordering of line, and distance from the dwelling. Results - A significant association was seen between all major types of childhood cancer combined and exposure to magnetic fields from high voltage installations of ≧0·4 μT (odds ratio 5·6). At ≧0·25 μT no significant association was seen (odds ratio 1·5). A possible association was also seen with cases of Hodgkin's disease separately at ≧0·1 μT. Conclusions - On the basis these results and additional descriptive data on electricity consumption and incidence of childhood cancer in Denmark since the 1940s it was concluded that the proportion of childhood cancer possibly caused by 50 Hz electromagnetic fields must be small.