Magnetic Field-Cancer Link: Will It Rest in Peace?

It could be the obituary. For 18 years, researchers have explored the question of whether low-frequency electromagnetic fields (EMFs) can cause cancer. But they have neither come up with solid support for the hypothesis, nor managed to put it to rest. This week, a team led by epidemiologists Martha Linet of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and Leslie Robison of the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, reported the results of the most carefully controlled study yet: a $5 million, 5-year investigation into the possible link between magnetic-field exposure and childhood leukemia. “The results are very clear,” says Robison. “They're negative.”