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Ecological study on residences in the vicinity of AM radio broadcasting towers and cancer death: preliminary observations in Korea.

No Effects Found

Park SK,Ha M, Im H-J · 2004

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Living near high-power AM radio towers was linked to 29% higher cancer mortality and doubled leukemia rates in young people.

Plain English Summary

Summary written for general audiences

Korean researchers compared cancer death rates between communities near high-power AM radio towers (100-500 kilowatts) and control areas without towers. They found 29% higher overall cancer mortality and more than double the leukemia rates in young people under 30 living near the towers. While the study design can't prove the radio waves caused the cancers, the pattern suggests a connection worth investigating further.

Study Details

Public health concern about the health effects of radio-frequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMFs) has increased with the increase in public exposure. This study was to evaluate some health effect of RF exposure by the AM radio broadcasting towers in Korea.

We calculated cancer mortality rates using Korean death certificates over the period of 1994-1995 an...

All cancers-mortality was significantly higher in the exposed areas [direct standardized mortality r...

We observed higher mortality rates for all cancers and leukemia in some age groups in the area near the AM radio broadcasting towers. Although these findings do not prove a causal link between cancer and RF exposure from AM radio broadcasting towers, it does suggest that further analytical studies on this topic are needed in Korea.

Cite This Study
Park SK,Ha M, Im H-J (2004). Ecological study on residences in the vicinity of AM radio broadcasting towers and cancer death: preliminary observations in Korea. Int Arch Occup Environ Health 77(6):387-394, 2004.
Show BibTeX
@article{sk_2004_ecological_study_on_residences_3296,
  author = {Park SK andHa M and Im H-J},
  title = {Ecological study on residences in the vicinity of AM radio broadcasting towers and cancer death: preliminary observations in Korea.},
  year = {2004},
  
  url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15338224/},
}

Quick Questions About This Study

Korean researchers compared cancer death rates between communities near high-power AM radio towers (100-500 kilowatts) and control areas without towers. They found 29% higher overall cancer mortality and more than double the leukemia rates in young people under 30 living near the towers. While the study design can't prove the radio waves caused the cancers, the pattern suggests a connection worth investigating further.