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Dept of Health

Answer

Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of (a) Professor Henshaw's report and (b) that of the Electricity Association about the health aspects of overhead line transmissions; and if he will make a statement. [102134] Yvette Cooper: Two reports from Professor Henshaw were published in December in the International Journal of Radiation Biology. These studies reported observations of increased deposition of natural radionuclides near power lines. From these measurements it is inferred that other pollutants in the environment, such as car exhaust fumes, will behave similarly and this may be a cause of childhood leukaemia. Also published in December were the results of the first part of the United Kingdom Childhood Cancer Study in The Lancet. The costs of this study were met by leukaemia charities, Government and the electricity supply industry. It is the largest UK study on childhood cancer to date. The study provides no evidence that exposure to magnetic fields associated with the electricity supply in the UK increases risks for childhood leukaemia, cancers of the central nervous system, or any other childhood cancer. The National Radiological Protection Board Advisory Group on Non Ionising Radiation have been reviewing the research in this area and will be reporting soon.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

342 c583-4W;342 c581-2W; 102134

Session

1999-00

Subjects

Health hazards Electric cables Electromagnetic fields Electricity Association