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Sing the Body Electric

OUR BODIES ARE GOVERNED BY NATURAL ELECTRICAL SIGNALS SUCH AS NERVE IMPULSES, SO IT’S NATURAL TO ASK WHETHER ENVIRONMENTAL ONES AFFECT US, TOO.  WE’LL INVESTIGATE ON TODAY’S ENVIRONMINUTE.

PEOPLE LIVING NEAR HIGH-VOLTAGE POWER LINES ARE EXPOSED TO EXTREMELY LOW FREQUENCY ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELDS – IS THAT A PROBLEM?  ROBERT KAVET OF THE ELECTRIC POWER RESEARCH INSTITUTE SAYS RESEARCHERS HAVE OBSERVED AN ASSOCIATION BETWEEN PROXIMITY TO POWER LINES AND A SLIGHT INCREASED RISK OF CHILDHOOD LEUKEMIA. 

KAVET: HOWEVER, ASSOCIATION DOES NOT EQUAL CAUSE AND SO THE QUESTION IS, WHAT IS HAPPENING HERE? 

KAVET SAYS RESEARCHERS HAVE NOT IDENTIFIED A MECHANISM BY WHICH LOW-LEVEL FIELDS COULD INTERACT WITH HUMAN TISSUE TO CAUSE CANCER.  SO THEY'RE ALSO ASSESSING WHETHER EXPOSURES ASSOCIATED WITH THE WAY RESIDENCES ARE GROUNDED COULD PLAY A ROLE, OR IF FACTORS RELATED TO STUDY DESIGN AFFECTED PREVIOUS STUDY RESULTS.

THE ENVIRONMINUTE IS MADE POSSIBLE BY THE HEINZ FAMILY PHILANTHROPIES AND THE HEINZ ENDOWMENTS.  LEARN MORE BY VISITING ENVIRONMINUTE-DOT-COM. 

Read more from the Electric Power Research Institute.

Read more in Environmental Health Perspectives.