POWER LINES CANCER LINK

October 29, 2004

Sky News has learned that the Government has known for three years that high voltage power lines double the risk of childhood cancer.   

Officials were alerted to the findings three years ago - but the public has been kept in the dark, a Sky News exclusive report has found.   

Linda Tatton's son David died of leukaemia. She has always blamed high voltage power lines that passed within a few metres of his bedroom.    

She told of David's suffering and added: "If it's through power cables somebody's got a lot to answer for... a lot."    

And now details of a massive study that have been kept under wraps by the Department of Health confirm that children living near overhead cables are twice as likely to develop the blood cancer. 

National Grid Transco said it is "totally committed to the safety of the public". 

But in a statement, a spokesperson for the company added: "It would be completely inappropriate for us to comment on any study until it is completed, has undergone scientific peer review and is published in the scientific literature." 

Seven years ago, in response to conflicting research on the risks of power lines, the Department of Health ordered the biggest ever study of its kind.   

Oxford scientists checked the records of 35,000 children diagnosed with cancer and studied how close they lived to a cable.   

The research shows there is a 100m danger zone around high voltage lines and that children under 15 had double the normal risk of leukaemia.   

It is estimated that powerlines might account for 20-30 of the 500 cases of childhood leukaemia in Britain each year. They are also suspected of causing other forms of cancer and miscarriages.   

The Department of Health says it is up to the individual researchers to publish their findings. People living near powerlines say ministers have a duty to protect public health - and an official safety warning is long overdue.