THE GREAT POWER-LINE COVER-UP: How the Utilities...

THE GREAT POWER-LINE COVER-UP: How the Utilities and the Government Are Trying to Hide the Cancer Hazards Posed by Electromagnetic Fields by Paul Brodeur (Back Bay Books: $12.95; 351 pp.). Brodeur, who helped to uncover the hazards of asbestos, zeros in on a new target: the risks of prolonged exposure to the electromagnetic fields produced by high-voltage power lines. Studies done in the U.S. and Scandinavia link exposure to increased rates of cancer and leukemia, especially in children. Even more alarming are the sections documenting how the major utilities and government agencies charged with protecting public health under the Bush Administration engaged in disinformation campaigns to keep voters, parents and potential victims from learning about the problem and seeking redress. Their tactics ranged from juggling statistics to buying off potential scientific witnesses with research money to simple lies. Where electromagnetic radiation is concerned, industry is clearly not regulating itself to protect the consumer.