Currents of Fear

Adrian Dedinger, who grew up across the street from an electric tower, became convinced of the dangers of electromagnetic fields after she and her family were diagnosed with multiple cancers and health disorders. She and other residents in Omaha, Nebraska, joined together when they discovered a high incidence of cancer in their neighborhood–all clustered close to power lines and an electric substation. Do the magnetic fields associated with electric power lines cause cancer? Are the cancers in Omaha due to the substation or simply to chance? FRONTLINE talks to people on both sides of the power line debate–concerned citizens and parents, journalists, physicists, biologists, and epidemiologists–examines the scientific data and explores the role politics plays in what information gains public attention and in funding studies on this issue.