Can Hybrids Pose Health Risk?

As hybrids become increasingly popular in a world on the brink of finding out the true limits of petroleum, there has yet to be any significant calculation of a health risk posed by hybrids. As with any electronic device — from cell phones to microwaves — the electric motor and other components of a hybrid car produce electromagnetic fields. Exposure to large doses of such fields for long durations has been linked to severe health concerns, like leukemia in children.

The problem is there hasn’t been a true attempt to quantify the kind of exposure a driver or passenger has when sitting in a hybrid. Electromagnetic fields exist everywhere, but concerned scientists are wondering if prolonged exposure to those generated by hybrid motors can have an especially detrimental effect. Agencies like the National Institutes of Health and the National Cancer Institute have linked EMFs to health problems based on studies done on cancer patients living next to high-voltage utility lines. There is no federal standard for acceptable exposure levels.

Furthermore, there is no scientific consensus on what constitutes an acceptable level of exposure. The two largest hybrid-car makers, Toyota and Honda, say their internal checks of EMFs don’t suggest they pose any risk whatsoever.

There isn’t enough known about either hybrids or EMFs to jump to conclusions about EMF danger, which wouldn’t help anything anyway. It’s simply an issue that deserves further study by disinterested parties.

Fear, but Few Facts, on Hybrid Risk (The New York Times)

Comments

[LM]

And breathing in new car fumes and gas pump fumes are risky...based on actual studies. At least this is an internalized risk as opposed to driving gas guzzlers which poses risks to everyone. :)

The solution? walk.

[Bloke]

I am not a utility rep or anything, but all I have ever heard is that the NIH did studies whether or not there were links. I have not heard anything about the reports actually showing a link between living near a power line and health problems. I would be interested in reading that report, can you post a link? Thank you.

[Bob Wilson]

About every nine months, someone comes to a hybrid forum concerned about 'electro magnetic fields.' We tell them to buy and EMF tester and report the results. In the few cases where they have come back, they found no detectable EM fields. Still, we strongly encourage the author of this FUD (Fear Uncertainty Doubt) report to buy one and come tell us what they find. (Keep your receipt.)

Bob Wilson

[Sam]

Bob,

I'm so glad you actually read the article. Sarcasm aside, if you had read the article, you would know that your post is meaningless. The article discusses people who had done what you suggest and also discusses the problems associated with such tests.

On the other side, I would like to quote the article, "“It would be a mistake to jump to conclusions about hybrid E.M.F. dangers, as well as a mistake to outright dismiss the concern,” said Jim Kliesch, a senior engineer for the clean vehicles program at the Union of Concerned Scientists. “Additional research would improve our understanding of the issue.”"

This looks like an agency fishing for grant money from the government.

[Bob Wilson]

Hi Sam,

Greenhybrid and PriusChat dot com have search functions and it is easy enough to read the threads. At one time, Radio Shack sold an EMF detector that folks with pacemakers or other medical devices could use to check for risky fields. But we kept finding nothing in the posted reports.

If someone wants to self-select from a hybrid, that is fine by me. I don't make my living selling hybrids and consider such behavior its own punishment. The gas pump carries my argument in ways that far exceed anything I might post. Just think of the volume of printed receipts alone followed by the monthly gas card statements.

Bob Wilson