Large study links power lines to childhood cancer

No Shit.

Children living near overhead power lines may have an increased risk of leukemia but the association may not be causal, UK researchers say. The confusing message, which comes from the largest study to date - of over 29,000 children with cancer - is that since “there is no biological mechanism to explain the higher risk”, the results, “although statistically significant, may be due to chance”. The study – a collaboration between the Childhood Cancer Research Group at the University of Oxford and National Grid owners, Transco – looked at cancer data in England and Wales between 1962 and 1995, for children aged up to 15 years old. They were able to map how far each child lived from a high voltage overhead power line. Comparing the children who had cancer with a control group of 29,000 children without cancer but who lived in comparable districts, found that children whose birth address was within 200 metres of an overhead power line had a 70% increased risk of leukemia. Children living 200 to 600 m away from power lines had a 20% increased risk.

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