Though I suspect many of these guys driving hybrids aren't necessarily contemplating reproduction, if you know what I mean, say no more, nudge, nudge...
Posted on 05/10/2008 3:52:26 PM PDT by billorites
ALMOST without exception, scientists and policy makers agree that hybrid vehicles are good for the planet. To a small but insistent group of skeptics, however, there is another, more immediate question: Are hybrids healthy for drivers?
There is a legitimate scientific reason for raising the issue. 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.
Their concern is not without merit; agencies including the National Institutes of Health and the National Cancer Institute acknowledge the potential hazards of long-term exposure to a strong electromagnetic field, or E.M.F., and have done studies on the association of cancer risks with living near high-voltage utility lines.
“The results that we saw were quite concerning,” he said. “We saw high levels in the vehicle for both the driver and left rear passenger, which has prompted us to explore shielding options and to consider advocating testing of different makes and models of hybrid vehicles.”
In a statement, Toyota said: “The measured electromagnetic fields inside and outside of Toyota hybrid vehicles in the 50 to 60 hertz range are at the same low levels as conventional gasoline vehicles. Therefore there are no additional health risks to drivers, passengers or bystanders.”
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
There is a well documented history of higher incidences of certain kinds of cancers around neighborhoods, schools, etc, in close proximity to high tension wires. Now whether the electromagnetic currents in a little Prius are as strong as a high tension wires, who knows.
Same current levels that help your bones heal after a bad break.
The real risk is if you get into a wreck and the car catches on fire. Some of the chemicals in all those batteries are very bad news when burnt. I know firefighters who won’t get near a burning hybrid without a full hazmat suit. Needless to say, if you are trapped in a burning hybrid, your life expectancy isn’t real good...
Though I suspect many of these guys driving hybrids aren't necessarily contemplating reproduction, if you know what I mean, say no more, nudge, nudge...
Point to some of those studies.
“I suspect many of these guys driving hybrids aren’t necessarily contemplating reproduction, if you know what I mean, say no more, nudge, nudge...”
http://on9now.com/toons/simpsonecar.html
Aw Gee. This is the “powerlines of death” all over again. About as sound as global warming.
Mechanics don`t like them, possibility of electrocution.
Why not shield the cables?
“Many of these guys driving hybrids aren’t necessarily contemplating reproduction, if you know what I mean”. I do know what you mean, but It doesn’t hurt to practice at a little reproduction every now and then, if you know what I mean !
I was on an Aegis cruiser for 2 years. The talk was that Aegis sailors had a higher percentage of girls. I must have been standing in the right place, cause I have 4 boys.
“In a statement, Toyota said: “The measured electromagnetic fields inside and outside of Toyota hybrid vehicles in the 50 to 60 hertz range are at the same low levels as conventional gasoline vehicles. Therefore there are no additional health risks to drivers, passengers or bystanders.””
This is a curiously worded statement.....as if there are no electromagnetic fields of concern but in the 50-60Hz range.
Not really, electric currents have a magnetic influence on radon.
However, I do admit that a moving vehicles is likely less likely to foster the same exposure potentials.
I'm glad that you brought this up. While I look forward to the emergence of ethanol, butanol technologies, I have heard that it is harder to put out an ethanol fire than a gasoline fire. If I remember correctly, some kind of foam that is not now readily available is needed to put out an ethanol fire, corrections welcome.
In my opinion, the above paragraph is wrongly implying that gasoline engine powered vehicles, with their spark plugs connected to a distributor system, do not produce magnetic fields. So I agree with the title of this thread that the referenced article, perhaps written by a journalist who flunked basic physics, is FUD against hybrid vehicles.
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-23393290-
details/Power+lines+link+to+cancer+in+new+alert/article.do
How many do you want?
One. From peer-reviewed sources, not from places with questionable credibility like NoScientist or a London Sensation Sheet. Something like Medline, etc.
However, the results are controversial, coming just one month after the major UK Childhood Cancer Study report, which declared that there was no risk to children living these distances away from power lines.
You asked how many studies I wanted. I'm sure there are hundreds. I should have added, confine it to studies from reliable sources.
Horse pucky.
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