ABSTRACT

Over the past four decades, the possible relationship between exposure to power frequency (50 and 60 Hz) electromagnetic fields (EMFs) and adverse human health outcomes has received significant attention in both the scientific community and the general population. Based on widely circulated accounts in the popular press [1], and on mass media reports of the results of selected epidemiologic investigations [2,3], a public perception developed in the 1980s and 1990s that human exposure to EMF may be associated with a range of adverse health effects, including reproductive dysfunction, developmental abnormalities, and cancer. The results of a number of epidemiologic studies published at that time provided limited support for the hypothesis that EMF exposure may be associated with an increased risk of neoplasia in several organ sites in humans. Among these sites, the hematopoietic system, breast, and brain were identified most commonly as possibly sensitive targets for EMF action (reviewed in [4]).