# ELF-002 — Childhood leukaemia and distance from power lines

Why this matters
This retrieval lead concerns childhood leukaemia and the distance between a birth address and high-voltage lines. Location is easy to describe, but it does not tell us the magnetic field a child experienced. The original analyses need checking before this observation can inform a protection assessment.

Id: ELF-002

Author: Draper et al.

Full Authors: Gerald Draper; Tim Vincent; Mary E Kroll; John Swanson

Year: 2005

Title: Childhood cancer in relation to distance from high voltage power lines in England and Wales: a case-control study

Journal: bmj

Citation: Draper G, Vincent T, Kroll ME, Swanson J. Childhood cancer in relation to distance from high voltage power lines in England and Wales: a case-control study. BMJ. 2005;330(7503):1290. doi:10.1136/bmj.330.7503.1290.

Doi: 10.1136/bmj.330.7503.1290

Pmid: 15933351

Topic: Power frequency fields

Verification Group: Retrieval lead

Record Role: Retrieval lead

Featured: False

Exposure: Distance from high-voltage lines rather than measured fields.

Design: England and Wales case-control study.

Finding: Discovery dossier reports increased leukaemia risk in birth-address distance categories near power lines.

Boundary: Distance association is not an absorbed-dose measurement; not evidence about mobile-phone RF.

Protection Question: What does distance from a power line tell us about the reported leukaemia association? Original analyses remain unreviewed, and location alone does not establish a child's magnetic-field exposure.

Access: Record verified; full text still required

Notice: Primary PubMed linked-notice record checked 20 Oct 2026; no correction, concern or retraction linked at check. This is not an exhaustive publisher-history certification.

Funding: Not established from retrieved material.

Conflicts: Not established from retrieved material.

Source Url: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.330.7503.1290

Retrieval Links: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.330.7503.1290 | https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15933351/

Verification Date: 2026-10-20