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From: parnass@ihuxz.ATT.COM (Bob Parnass, AJ9S)
Newsgroups: rec.ham-radio,sci.med,sci.electronics,sci.misc,sci.physics
Subject: Re: Cancer and Electromagnetic Radiation  [deja vu]
Message-ID: <2519@ihuxz.ATT.COM>
Date: 6 Jan 88 01:30:56 GMT
References: <1077@kodak.UUCP>
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories - Naperville, Illinois
Lines: 64
Keywords: Cancer, Radio, Electromagnetic Radiation, ANSI, Chemical Hazards
Summary: this story is 3 years old

In article <1077@kodak.UUCP>, ornitz@kodak.UUCP (barry ornitz) writes:
> 
> In yesterday's newspaper, I noticed with great interest an article entitled
 
>           "Link suggested between cancer,  electromagnetic fields."
> 
> The article had the byline of the Associated Press,  Tacoma,  WA.   It  was
> stated in the article that "amateur radio operators in two states appear to
> die  at  abnormally high rates from several forms of cancer...


 Ham radio operators getting cancer -  sound  familiar?   In
 1988,  the  press  is  repeating the same story published 3
 years ago.

 Here is the New York Times article as posted in 1985:


  | From postnews Sat May 11 17:47:17 1985
  | Subject: Radio Hams Prone to Leukemia? - new study cited
  | Newsgroups: net.ham-radio
  | Distribution: net
  |
  | x
  |                      HAM RADIOS AND LEUKEMIA
  |
  |                 reprinted from the New York Times
  |
  |      "Statistics turned up by Dr. Samuel Milham Jr., an epi-
  |      demiologist  for  Washington  State,  suggest  that ham
  |      radio  operators  may  be  nearly  twice  as  prone  to
  |      leukemia as the rest of the population."
  |
  |      "Reporting in a recent issue of The Lancet, Dr.  Milham
  |      presented  the  results  of a survey of more than 1,900
  |      amateur radio operators in the states of Washington and
  |      California who died from 1971 to 1983.  After obtaining
  |      death certificate information for  1,691  of  the  sub-
  |      jects,  he  discovered  that  24  had died from various
  |      types of leukemia.  The  expected  number  of  leukemia
  |      victims  in a suitable matched control group would have
  |      been 12.6.  The incidence of  lymphatic  and  monocytic
  |      leukemias was not higher among the radio hobbyists than
  |      normal, but myeloid and  unspecified  leukemias  showed
  |      sharp increases."
  |
  |      "Dr. Milham noted that in 1982 he  had  presented  evi-
  |      dence  of  a  link  between  leukemia  and  exposure to
  |      electrical and/or magnetic fields.  His  latest  study,
  |      he   said,   offers   'some  further  support  for  the
  |      hypothesis that  electromagnetic  fields  are  carcino-
  |      genic.'"
  |
  |      "In a separate study reported in The Lancet, government
  |      researchers  in  New  Zealand  found  the leukemia rate
  |      unduly high for occupations involving exposure  to  the
  |      electrical  and  magnetic fields associated with alter-
  |      nating current.  Comparing 546  male  leukemia  victims
  |      with  2,184  men  selected as controls, the group found
  |      the statistics 'generally support the  suggestion  that
  |      electrical workers are at increased risk of leukemia.'"
-- 
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Bob Parnass,  Bell Telephone Laboratories - ihnp4!ihuxz!parnass - (312)979-5414