NEWS
Jun 1, 2005

Childhood Cancer in Relation to Distance From High Voltage Power Lines in England and Wales: a Case-control Study

Gerald Draper, Tim Vincent, Mary E Kroll, and John Swanson, in BMJ, Volume 330, p.1290, 4 June 2005


Case-Control Study of Childhood Cancer and Proximity to Power Lines Published
The study, conducted in England and Wales, had the objective to determine whether there is an association between incidences of leukaemia and other cancers and the distance of high voltage power lines to a child's home address at birth. Children who lived within 200m had a relative risk of leukaemia of 1.69 (95% confidence interval 1.13 to 2.53); those born between 200m and 600m had a relative risk of 1.23 (1.02 to 1.49). There was a significant (P < 0.01) trend in risk in relation to the reciprocal of distance from the line. No excess risk in relation to proximity to lines was found for other childhood cancers.