
                         THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
                 Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, June 15, 1994                    TAG: 9406150686 
SECTION: FRONT                     PAGE: A7    EDITION: FINAL  
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS 
DATELINE: 940615                                 LENGTH: WASHINGTON

RESEARCH FINDS BREAST CANCER, ELECTRICAL LINK

{LEAD} Women exposed to electrical or magnetic fields on the job had a higher incidence of breast cancer than other women, according to North Carolina researchers.

The study being published today in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute analyzed more than 140,000 death certificates from 24 states and found that women in electrical occupations had a 38 percent higher rate of breast cancer mortality.

{REST} The lead author, Dana P. Loomis of the University of North Carolina School of Public Health, acknowledged that the study had ``important limitations'' but adds new information on the suggestion from other studies that low level electromagnetic energy can cause cancer.

``I don't think we've proven it,'' Loomis said. ``But we have taken it one step closer.''

Loomis said his study did not take into account other exposures, such as diet or smoking, that could contribute to the cancer risk of the women.

{KEYWORDS} STUDY BREAST CANCER by CNB