3 ms·

I've been fascinated by the fact that electricians have a 2x greater risk of brain cancer than the general public. There are probably tons of environmental effe

I've been fascinated by the fact that electricians have a 2x greater risk of brain cancer than the general public. There are probably tons of environmental effects we're discounting / not modelling.

newZWhoDis 3y ago
I would suspect something like “the adhesive in electrical tape is carcinogenic” over “magnetic field cause cancer”. But who knows. If they do we are deeply, truly fucked.
- eternityforest 3y ago
  I mean until recently electrical tape did in fact use lead stabilizers. Pretty sure a lot still does.
- jjoonathan 3y ago
  Electrification happened 100 years ago in the US.
- regularfry 3y ago
  One story we were told in high school physics was that at one point there was a worry about power lines being linked with leukaemia cases. And yes, there was a statistical correlation. Turned out to be the weedkiller they were using to keep down the plants at the base of the pylons.
civilitty 3y ago
Lots of professions have significantly greater brain cancer risk than the general public like roofers, sheet metal workers, most people that deal with plastic manufacturing or cleaning solvents, and… waitresses [1]. [1] https://medicine.yale.edu/news-article/certain-occupations-put-people-at-higher-risk-for-developing-brain-cancer/ https://medicine.yale.edu/news-article/certain-occupations-p...
api 3y ago
Lots of chemical exposure in that profession too.
01100011 3y ago
Do they? Do you have a link to a study? I quick google suggests there is no solid correlation.
- jvanderbot 3y ago
  Here's what I see: https://www.google.com/search?q=electricians+have+a+2x+greater+risk+of+brain+cancer&oq=electricians+have+a+2x+greater+risk+of+brain+cancer https://www.google.com/search?q=electricians+have+a+2x+great... And first result is a pubmed survey https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3474455/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3474455/ Anyway the majority of results, aside from a washington post article, confirm it.

I've been fascinated by the fact that electricians have a 2x greater risk of brain cancer than the general public. There are probably tons of environmental effects we're discounting / not modelling.

newZWhoDis 3y ago

I would suspect something like “the adhesive in electrical tape is carcinogenic” over “magnetic field cause cancer”. But who knows. If they do we are deeply, truly fucked.

eternityforest 3y ago
I mean until recently electrical tape did in fact use lead stabilizers. Pretty sure a lot still does.
jjoonathan 3y ago
Electrification happened 100 years ago in the US.
regularfry 3y ago
One story we were told in high school physics was that at one point there was a worry about power lines being linked with leukaemia cases. And yes, there was a statistical correlation. Turned out to be the weedkiller they were using to keep down the plants at the base of the pylons.

civilitty 3y ago

Lots of professions have significantly greater brain cancer risk than the general public like roofers, sheet metal workers, most people that deal with plastic manufacturing or cleaning solvents, and… waitresses [1]. [1] https://medicine.yale.edu/news-article/certain-occupations-put-people-at-higher-risk-for-developing-brain-cancer/ https://medicine.yale.edu/news-article/certain-occupations-p...

api 3y ago

Lots of chemical exposure in that profession too.

01100011 3y ago

Do they? Do you have a link to a study? I quick google suggests there is no solid correlation.

jvanderbot 3y ago
Here's what I see: https://www.google.com/search?q=electricians+have+a+2x+greater+risk+of+brain+cancer&oq=electricians+have+a+2x+greater+risk+of+brain+cancer https://www.google.com/search?q=electricians+have+a+2x+great... And first result is a pubmed survey https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3474455/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3474455/ Anyway the majority of results, aside from a washington post article, confirm it.