EMF and Cancer

Recent research has uncovered an alarming increase in cancer rates amongst groups of people who are exposed to high frequency voltage transients and EMF pollution. Types of cancers observed have included, but are not limited to, melanoma, breast, uterus, and thyroid cancer, as well as childhood and adult leukemia. The relatively short latency time of melanoma and thyroid cancers suggest that these cancers might be more sensitive to the effects of high voltage transients than other manifestations of this disease.

Published scientific studies have linked EMF pollution exposure to brain and eye cancer, as well as tumours of the auditory nerves and salivary glands.

Cancer and Dirty Electricity

Evidence is mounting that electromagnetic fields (EMFs) associated with electricity are contributing to an increase in cancer rates and cancer clusters. A majority of the research in this area has focused, until recently, on the health impacts of the 60Hz magnetic fields associated with the normal current flowing through electrical wires. These magnetic fields have been linked to a variety of cancers, including childhood leukemia, brain tumors, and breast cancer, among others.

Now there is evidence that dirty electricity (high frequencies on your electrical wires) may also cause cancer. While research on dirty electricity and cancer is still relatively young, the results are startling. Of particular interest is a study by Dr. Samuel Milham, a noted physician-epidemiologist and author of Dirty Electricity: Electrification and the Diseases of Civilization, and Lloyd Morgan, a retired electronic engineer who has dedicated his life to researching health effects of exposure to EMFs and raising public awareness about this serious health issue.

In their study, using a Microsurge Meter and other tools Milham and Morgan researched a cancer cluster at La Quinta Middle School in California. The school first opened in 1988 and was incorporated into a new building in 1990. By 2005, 16 staff among the 137 who had ever worked at the school had been diagnosed with 18 cancers, a rate nearly 3 times higher than expected. The cancers included melanoma, thyroid, uterine, breast, colon, pancreatic, ovarian, larynx, lymphoma, and multiple myloma. In addition, about a dozen cancers have been detected among former students of the school.

In analyzing the environment of the school, Milham and Morgan discovered that dirty electricity levels in the building were very high. Through careful analysis of teacher data, as well as data on levels of dirty electricity in the classrooms and on general population cancer rates, they determined there was a positive correlation between dirty electricity and the incidence of cancer at La Quinta Middle School. More specifically, they determined that 64% of the cancers at the school could be attributed to dirty electricity, a very high proportion for any occupational study. Interestingly, they discovered that the 60Hz magnetic fields present at the school showed no association with cancer incidence. It was the dirty electricity (high frequency voltage transients) present in the building that seemed to present a problem.

"A new exposure metric, high frequency voltage transients, did show a positive correlation to cancer incidence. A cohort cancer incidence analysis of the teacher population showed a positive trend of increasing cancer risk with increasing cumulative exposure to high frequency voltage transients on the classroom's electrical wiring measured with a Graham/Stetzer (G/S) Meter. The attributable risk of cancer associated with this exposure was 64%."

Dr. Sam Milham, Epidemiologist, Washington State Department of Health. Lloyd Morgan, Electronic Engineer (retired)

While research in this area continues, findings like these suggest that reducing dirty electricity by installing Graham-Stetzer filters in places where one spends significant time may be one important strategy for lowering the risk of developing cancer.