NY times article on "health risks" from driving hybrids

[Ichiro]

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/27/au...=1&oref=slogin

"The flow of electrical current to the motor that moves a hybrid vehicle at low speeds (and assists the gasoline engine on the highway) produces magnetic fields, which some studies have associated with serious health matters, including a possible risk of leukemia among children.
With the batteries and power cables in hybrids often placed close to the driver and passengers, some exposure to electromagnetic fields is unavoidable. Moreover, the exposure will be prolonged — unlike, say, using a hair dryer or electric shaver — for drivers who spend hours each day at the wheel."

[Vincent]

What's Next??

[donee]

Hi All,

Did they fail to mention that the measured fields in the passenger compartment of the Prius are less than the magnetic field of the Earth ? So, just spinning around in an open field will induce more current in your body than the being inside a Prius.

[patsparks]

I have lost my sense of direction in my Prius more than once.
Must be the magnetic fields interfering with the compass in my head.












Come to think of it I did that in all my cars.

[Neicy]

I am so sick of hearing this BS out of the media. Let's scare the sh__ out of people and then check our facts. Anything for sensationalism.

[efusco]

Come on people...look at the facts. That woman in the picture said driving a hybrid "made her drowsy"...now if that isn't F'n proof I don't know what is.
I'm wearing my tin hat for now on dang it...! Then who'll have the last laugh?!

[grinthock]

And he measured this with?

Sorry, but that's BS.

[zenMachine]

Wait til Bob Lutz hears about this...

[donee]

Originally Posted by grinthock

And he measured this with?

Sorry, but that's BS.

Hi Grinthock,

It is aways wise to do a paper / internet search before proceeding with a project. Please review this, and all the links: http://priuschat.com/forums/prius-ma...reduction.html

[chogan2]

Originally Posted by donee

Hi Grinthock,

It is aways wise to do a paper / internet search before proceeding with a project. Please review this, and all the links: http://priuschat.com/forums/prius-ma...reduction.html

Thanks, that and the links within were informative. If the quoted source had it right, the 14 milligauss in the back seat is pretty high -- high enough to fall within the range of concern at NIOSH (below), for persons exposed all day at work:

EMFs In The Workplace

Even then, the epidemiological data provide only ambiguous evidence of systematic risk despite long exposure times at those levels. Some say risk, some say no, no agreement on dose-response relationship. In my experience, that means that the risk, if any, is small enough to be largely indistinguishable from background noise (ie., the rate at which leukemia appears anyway). But that's a study waiting to happen -- cancer rates f Prius-owning families. Anyway, little or no systematic risk seems to be the conclusion of many studies over time, summarized here:

SCE - EMF Questions and Answers

That reference one also gives data on the strength of various magnetic fields. The earth's magnetic field is given as an average of 500 milligauss, but presumably that's pretty much constant and so not an issue (though I guess if you're traveling through it, that's not necessarily true.) The only health advisory listed in that cite above was for exposures over 800 milligauss. The average home exposure is 1 milligauss, but exposure near appliances can be much higher.

I'll put this on my list of things to worry about some other time.