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Directories Int'l Realty US Realty
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Electro-Magnetic Fields: Now the Good News [Sort of] Stuart Lieberman, Esq., A study released last year concluded that no relationship could be shown between breast cancer and electromagnetic fields. This was a comprehensive study from Long Island, New York. It is good news. 576 woman who discovered they had breast cancer between August 1996 and June 1997 were compared with roughly the same number of women who did not have cancer. All of the woman lived in Long Island for at least 15 years and their exposure to electro magnetic fields was evaluated. No relationship between EMF exposure and breast cancer could be established by the resarchers. In other words, they could not conclude that increased EMF exposure increased the likelihood that women would get breast cancer. Now, what do we do with this information? Do we ignore a new home that we happen to like, if it is near a high tension power line? Perhaps. The question is how much of a risk do you want to take. Remember how red meat was bad for you, and now its good for you? You need to trust that scientists will not change their minds about EMFs tomorrow. Or that better research techniques will not yield different results. Also, if you are concerned about maintaining the value of your home you need to believe that these recent studies will alter purchasing habits relating to homes near power lines. Many realtors tell me that prices go down when the homes are near these lines. Breast cancer isn't the only concern . Earlier last year, the California Department of Health issued results from another long term study that were not good. The highly publicized report concluded that there was likely an enhanced risk of contracting childhood leukemia, brain cancer, Lou Gehrig's disease and miscarriage if you have long term exposure to electric and magnetic fields. While we do not get a yes or a no, what we do get is a probability above 50% that substantial exposure to electric and magnetic fields can cause childhood leukemia, adult brain cancer, Lou Gehrig's disease and miscarriage. That means that these experts are asserting that the relationship is more likely present than not present. It is the kind of evidence that trial lawyers provide to juries every day of the year. On a personal level, if I could, I still would not want to live near high tension wires. Why take these kinds of chances?
The information provided in this column is written by Stuart Lieberman,a practicing environmental attorney, and is for general information purposes only. It is not legal advice and should not be used in place of legal advice.
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