Are Power Lines Dangerous to Live Near?

This is one of those questions that drive scientists crazy -- not because it's a bad question, but because it's been answered again and again, and still refuses to go away. Like cell phones and the "link" to brain cancer, the lack of evidence is interpreted as creating more questions, instead of settling the question. But there is good reason to believe electrical power lines pose no danger to health.

The Question is Raised

• In June of 1989, Paul Brodeur wrote an article in the New Yorker entitled "The Hazards of Electromagnetic Fields I---Power Lines." The article outlined the concerns that had been raised by Nancy Wertheimer, a then-unemployed epidemiologist who proposed a link between proximity to power lines and rates of childhood leukemia. Congressional hearings were held, scientific studies done, and experts weighed in.

Cancer and its Causes

• No one knows all the causes of cancer. Every day, more is learned about the disease (or, more accurately, the diseases), but there are still as many questions as answers. One thing is known. Cancer occurs when genes are damaged. Genes are carried on DNA, which is a long organic molecule contained within nearly every human cell. When genes are damaged, mechanisms within the cell break down and cancers grow.

Damaging DNA

• Many environmental factors---some known, some unknown---can damage DNA. One environmental factor that can damage DNA is exposure to electromagnetic radiation---but only high-energy electromagnetic radiation. Ultraviolet light, x-rays, gamma rays---they all have enough energy to do the job. But radio waves have thousands of times less energy. And 60 Hz waves have even less energy. Put simply, power line radiation isn't strong enough to damage any molecules.

The Physicists Weigh In

• In 1995 (and again in 2005), the American Physical Society weighed in. They said there is no consistent or compelling evidence to believe power lines pose any health risk. This is just the beginning of the problem. According to the APS, too many resources are being spent on studying a problem that isn't there. "The diversion of these resources to eliminate a threat which has no persuasive scientific basis is disturbing to us. More serious environmental problems are neglected for lack of funding and public attention, and the burden of cost placed on the American public is incommensurate with the risk, if any."

The "Controversy"

• Given that there is no scientifically supported evidence for dangers due to power lines, why does the question keep coming up? Two reasons: One, without searching for the causes of disease, they can never be prevented. Two, no one can deny that people living next to power lines have gotten sick. The problem is that people not living next to power lines have gotten just as sick, and the majority of people living next to power lines have suffered no ill effects. When the data is evaluated, it's impossible to say conclusively that there is no link between exposure to low frequency electromagnetic frequency radiation and health, but it is possible to say that if there is an effect, it is smaller than the effects of heredity, chemical exposure, diet, exercise, exposure to ionizing radiation, and other known negative influences on human health.

Regulatory Bodies and Legal Issues

• As the FCC says in their "RF Safety FAQs", "...reports have appeared in the scientific literature describing...biological effects resulting from exposure to low-levels of RF energy.... [F]urther experimental research has been unable to reproduce these effects... Furthermore...there has been no determination that such effects constitute a human health hazard." NOLO Press, in their article on RF Exposure, concludes that the courts have not awarded damages for exposure to RF because "[S]cientific evidence has failed to establish a definite link between exposure to electromagnetic fields and health problems like cancer."

What to Do?

• If you want to avoid every possible health risk, then you might want to limit your exposure to radio frequency radiation, just be aware that there is no evidence that there is a problem. On the other hand, there is clear evidence that exposure or overexposure to specific chemical agents, poor dietary habits, and even levels of psychological stress can negatively affect human health. If there is a risk due to RF exposure, it is far smaller than these other effects, and you would be well-served to address clear risks before worrying about those that are not supported by evidence.