Table of Contents

1. Does anyone think that static electric or magnetic fields cause cancer or any other human health problems?
2. Are all electromagnetic fields the same?
3. Do we have to consider electromagnetic radiation as well as electromagnetic fields?
4. Do we have to consider the electric as well as the magnetic component of the field?
5. What units are used to measure static magnetic fields?
6. What sort of static magnetic fields are common in residences?
7. What sort of static magnetic fields are common in workplaces?
8. What is known about the relationship between occupational exposure to static magnetic fields and cancer?
9. How do scientists determine whether an environmental agent, such as a static electric or magnetic field causes or contributes to the development of cancer?
10. How strong is the epidemiological evidence for a causal association between static fields and cancer?
11. How could laboratory studies be used to help evaluate the possible relationship between static magnetic fields and cancer?
12. Are static magnetic fields genotoxic?
13. Do static magnetic fields enhance the effects of other genotoxic agents?
14. Do laboratory studies indicate that static magnetic fields have any biological effects that might be relevant to cancer or other human health hazards?
15. Do static magnetic fields show any reproducible biological effects in laboratory studies?
16. Do static magnetic fields of the intensity encountered in occupational settings show reproducible biological effects?
17. Are there known mechanisms that would explain how static magnetic fields of the intensity encountered in occupational settings could cause biological effects in humans?
18. How does the sum of the laboratory and epidemiological evidence relevant to a connection between static magnetic fields and cancer stand up to the Hill criteria?
19. Have any independent bodies reviewed the research on static electric and magnetic fields and possible human health effects?
20. Do exposure standards for static electric and magnetic fields exist?
21. What is the basis for the safety standards set by ACGIH, ICNIRP and the European Union?
22. Do static fields affect cardiac pacemakers?
23. Do static fields decrease fertility, cause birth defects or increase miscarriage rates?
24. Could static field sources (like DC powerlines) cause health effects by creating or attracting ionized particles or chemicals?
25. Bibliography

Source: http://www.mcw.edu/gcrc/cop/static-fields-cancer-faq/toc.html
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Acknowledgments:

Initial conversion of the FAQ into html was done by Bob Mueller and Dennis Taylor of the General Clinical Research Center at the Medical College of Wisconsin.
Questions and Answers
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1) Does anyone think that static electric or magnetic fields cause cancer or any other human health problems?

While most public concern about electromagnetic (EM) fields and cancer has concentrated on power-frequency, microwave (MW) and radiofrequency (RF) fields, claims have been made that static magnetic fields cause or contribute to cancer.

There is very little theoretical reason to suspect that static fields might cause or contribute to cancer or any other human health problems (Q17), and there is very little laboratory (Q11-Q16, Q23) or epidemiological evidence (Q8-Q10, Q23) for a connection between static fields and human health hazards.

However, a workshop held by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2004 [131] concluded that:

"...scientific research can provide some measure of confidence that short-term, acute exposures up to about 1-2 T [1000-2000 milliT] should be safe... However, it is not possible to determine whether there are any long-term health consequences even from exposure in the milliT range because, to date, there are no well-conducted epidemiological studies with sufficient power to be able to come to any conclusion on this, and there are no good long-term animal studies."

"While there are huge benefits to be gained from use of static magnetic fields, particularly in medicine, possible adverse health effects from exposure to them must be properly evaluated so that the true risks and benefits can be assessed. This said, WHO does not want to imply that all use of these fields should be unnecessarily restricted until appropriate research has been conducted and safety assured. An analysis of the interaction mechanisms suggests that short-term health effects can be predicted and so avoided. Further, there is no currently understood mechanism that would appear to lead to any long-term adverse health consequence."