Counterpoint: There is no conclusive evidence that power-line EMF harms health

The Feb. 3 Counterpoint "Evidence suggests transmission lines indeed dangerous" misled readers by suggesting electric and magnetic fields (EMF), specifically those from transmission lines, pose a health risk.

EMF exists wherever electricity is present, whether near appliances or other household equipment, or near transmission and distribution lines that transport electricity from power plants to homes and businesses. It is impossible to generate and use electrical energy without creating such fields; they are an inevitable consequence of our reliance on electricity.

After more than 30 years of extensive research on power lines and EMF, and a recent examination of that body of research by our country's most prestigious government research organizations, there is no conclusive evidence that EMF exposure from power lines, even at high levels, causes adverse health effects. During the past five years, more than 30 major epidemiological studies of power-frequency fields and cancer support this conclusion.

In June 1999, the National Research Council established a committee of scientists and engineers to review the activities conducted under the EMF-Research and Public Information Program. In its report, the council concluded that "the results of the EMF-RAPID program do not support the contention that the use of electricity poses a major unrecognized public-health danger."

The National Institutes of Environmental Health Sciences in its June 1999 report states, "The scientific evidence suggesting that EMF exposures pose any health risk is weak." It further states, "Virtually all of the laboratory evidence in animals and humans, and most of the mechanistic work done in cells, fails to support a causal relationship between exposure to EMF at environmental levels and changes in biological function or disease status."

In January 2000, the Minnesota Department of Health completed an assessment of EMF health effects research. The department conducted this assessment because of public concerns regarding the potential of EMF to cause cancer and other adverse health effects. The assessment included an evaluation of the peer-reviewed literature and the conclusions of the scientific committees convened by federal agencies and the U.S. Congress. The Health Department's assessment concluded that the current body of evidence does not show that exposure to these fields is a health hazard. "Specifically, no conclusive and consistent evidence shows that exposures to residential electric and magnetic fields produce cancer or any other adverse health effects," the report says.

Xcel Energy continues to monitor EMF research information to better understand all questions about EMF related to our health and environment. We continue to evaluate potential environmental and health impacts from the generation and distribution of electricity, and every year we implement changes that reduce potential impacts.

Some of those changes include installing air pollution control equipment at our power plants, which reduces air emissions; using less hazardous substances in our processes; and, where possible, reducing EMF levels on transmission line projects. Good scientific research helps us meet the growth in electricity demand from our customers, minimize outages and avoid any undesirable impacts from the transmission system improvement proj ects our residential and business customers urgently need.

-- Heidi Benedict, Minneapolis. Environmental analyst at Xcel Energy.