Children who live near busy streets or highways are up to six times more likely than other children to contract cancer or leukemia, according to a new study in the Journal of the Air and Waste Management Association. The study authors, from the University of Colorado at Boulder, speculate that the cause is carcinogens in auto exhaust, but caution that they have not established a cause-and-effect relationship. The researchers also found that kids living near both heavily traveled streets and high-tension power lines had the greatest cancer risk of all. Some scientists believe that the electromagnetic fields around power lines may cause cancer, but many others disagree.
