ABSTRACT
The first study linking extremely low-frequency magnetic fields (ELF-MFs) to childhood cancer was published in 1979 and has been followed by many other studies. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have classified MFs as “possibly carcinogenic to humans,” or as a Group 2B carcinogen; this classification was mostly based on consistent epidemiological evidence of an association between exposure to these fields and childhood leukemia (CL), and on laboratory studies in animals and cells, that were not supportive of exposure to ELF-MF causing cancer. Because CL is the outcome for which the scientific evidence is strongest, it can be regarded as the critical effect in risk assessment and risk evaluation and therefore attracts particular attention.
