Authors:
Armstrong B, Thériault
G, Guénelt P, Deadman J, et al.
The authors carried out a case-control
study of electric utility workers in Quebec, Canada, and France.
They identified 2,679 cases of cancers. Exposures
were assessed using a job exposure matrix based on about 1,000
person-weeks of measurements from exposure meters worn by workers.
The meters mainly measured fields in the 5-20 MHz range but also
responded to RF fields in the 150-300 MHz range. No association
was seen with cancers previously linked to EMFs (leukaemia,
lymphomas, brain
cancers, and melanoma). There was an increased association between
EMFs and lung cancer (odds
ratio 3.11 in the highest exposure group, confidence
intervals 1.60-6.04). This was due mainly to increased risks
in the Quebec cohort, and was not explained by cigarette smoking
or other factors. The authors noted: "However, several factors
limit the strength of the evidence for a causal
relation: lack of precision in what the meters measured; little
previous evidence for this association; and no elevated risk for
lung cancer in the utility workers overall in comparison with
the general population."