{"id":"HHS-OASH-2026-0397-5079","number":"5079","name":"Alex Andreasen","organization":"","posted":"2026-10-26T04:00Z","received":"2026-10-21T04:00Z","body":"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18512243/\n\n\"A new electromagnetic exposure metric: high frequency voltage transients associated with increased cancer incidence in teachers in a California school\" \n\n\"Abstract\nBackground: In 2003 the teachers at La Quinta, California middle school complained that they had more cancers than would be expected. A consultant for the school district denied that there was a problem.\n\nObjectives: To investigate the cancer incidence in the teachers, and its cause.\n\nMethod: We conducted a retrospective study of cancer incidence in the teachers' cohort in relationship to the school's electrical environment.\n\nResults: Sixteen school teachers in a cohort of 137 teachers hired in 1988 through 2005 were diagnosed with 18 cancers. The observed to expected (O/E) risk ratio for all cancers was 2.78 (P = 0.000098), while the O/E risk ratio for malignant melanoma was 9.8 (P = 0.0008). Thyroid cancer had a risk ratio of 13.3 (P = 0.0098), and uterine cancer had a risk ratio of 9.2 (P = 0.019). Sixty Hertz magnetic fields showed no association with cancer incidence. A new exposure metric, high frequency voltage transients, did show a positive correlation to cancer incidence. A cohort cancer incidence analysis of the teacher population showed a positive trend (P = 7.1 x 10(-10)) of increasing cancer risk with increasing cumulative exposure to high frequency voltage transients on the classroom's electrical wiring measured with a Graham/Stetzer (G/S) meter. The attributable risk of cancer associated with this exposure was 64%. A single year of employment at this school increased a teacher's cancer risk by 21%.\n\nConclusion: The cancer incidence in the teachers at this school is unusually high and is strongly associated with high frequency voltage transients, which may be a universal carcinogen, similar to ionizing radiation.\"","attachments":[],"attachment_inventory":true,"withheld":false,"source":"https://www.regulations.gov/comment/HHS-OASH-2026-0397-5079","tags":["cancer-tumors","exposure-places","research-evidence"],"source_hash":"1cd6762368ecd66319b27e85f650af5a514c2abcdd8bdd549564fc26efd2ac3c","slug":"cancer-tumors-comment-5079","classification":{"id":"HHS-OASH-2026-0397-5079","body_sha256":"425dadb5db6f9fcbfb790dcfbdd0a2c2f1dcfa45beea9a9fc9eb56dfa2bba414","status":"ai_reviewed","primary_topic":"cancer","topics":[{"id":"cancer","evidence":"voltage transients associated with increased cancer incidence in teachers in a California school\" \n\n\"Abstract\nBackground: In 2"},{"id":"electricity","evidence":"quency voltage transients on the classroom's electrical wiring measured with a Graham/Stetzer (G/S) meter. The attributable ris"},{"id":"occupational","evidence":"ssociated with increased cancer incidence in teachers in a California school\" \n\n\"Abstract\nBackground: In 2003 the teac"},{"id":"research","evidence":"hers, and its cause.\n\nMethod: We conducted a retrospective study of cancer incidence in the teachers' cohort in relationship to t"}],"summary":"Quotes a retrospective study associating cancer incidence among teachers with high-frequency voltage transients in school wiring.","reviewed_at":"2026-10-26T22:22:05Z","review_method":"Full comment-text review with exact source evidence; attachments not reviewed","review_source_sha256":"7e1160db8b30b2e7df7e9e6946b06ce304ba46611c7253e34789583249bda54a","source_url":"https://rfsafe.net/hhs-comments/data/catalog.json","scope":"Original comment body; attachments excluded"},"forum_topics":["cancer","electricity","occupational","research"],"primary_topic":"cancer","forum_title":"Quotes a retrospective study associating cancer incidence among teachers with high-frequency voltage tran…"}