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."