An alternative possibility is that real estate that close to a power line is undesireable, and therefore tends to host high-density, low-income housing. There are two problems with that: Low-income housing may tend to host populations that have habbits or backgrounds that tend to encourage cancer, and high density will of course produce a larger number of cases if the density is not accounted for.
Good point. I often feel that many studies on various subjects are quick to zoom in on the one particular aspect being discussed, but fail to account for other variables which may have an equal or greater effect.
If you are truly concerned about the effects of magnetic fields, start cleaning up your home first.
Indeed. I recall a TV program here in Britain a couple of years ago discussing the powerline "problem" and visiting a house which had HV lines running right across the back. Gaussmeter readings around the head-end of the boy's bed went off the scale, and it was soon realized that the electric meter was right on the other side of the wall. He'd been getting a far hugher field strength from that than from the HV lines the family had been worrying about.
