ID Number		1222
Study Type		Epidemiology
Model		50 Hz (ELF) exposure from power lines and analysis of childhood cancer.
Details		Residential proximity to high voltage transmission lines in England and Wales (mainly 400kV and 275kV) was correlated with the incidence of childhood leukemia using the National Registry of Childhood Tumors at the Childhood Cancer Research Group databases. Addresses and postcodes were recorded for nearly all births as well as leukemia diagnosis between 1962 and 1995 providing a case pool for statistical analysis of ~35,000. Controls were matched for sex, year of birth, and birth registration district. Addresses and postcodes were correlated with grid references providing approximate distance to nearest high-voltage power-line. The authors report an association between childhood leukemia and proximity of home address at birth to high voltage power lines (residence within 200 meters, OR = 1.69; 95% CI 1.13-2.53 and residence 200-600 meters, OR = 1.23; 95% CI 1.02-1.49. The authors further state that ~ 4% of children in England and Wales live within 600 meters of high voltage lines at birth, and that if the association is real, about 1% of childhood leukemia in England and Wales would be attributable to power lines. The authors also offer that there is no accepted biological mechanism to explain the epidemiological results, and that the apparent association may be due to chance or confounding. This study differs in major respects from the UK Childhood Cancer Study (UKCCS) on powerline exposure in that it has a larger number of cases and controls, and fields were calculated instead of measured and thus did not include contribution from unrelated EMF sources.
Findings		Effects
Status		Completed With Publication
Principal Investigator		University of Oxford, UK
Funding Agency		DOH, UK
Country		UNITED KINGDOM
References		Draper, G et al. Brit Med J (2005) 330:1290-1295, (2005) 330:1290-1295 Draper, G BMJ., (1993) 307:884-885
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