parnass@ihu1h.UUCP (Bob Parnass, AJ9S) (05/12/85)
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!ihu1h!parnass - (312)979-5414alb@alice.UUCP (Adam L. Buchsbaum) (05/12/85)
I would be interested in knowing what kind of shielding was in the radios of those amateurs studied, what kind of antennae they used, and how far away from them they were. That is, if the report took those things into account.
stekas@hou2g.UUCP (J.STEKAS) (05/13/85)
> I would be interested in knowing what kind of shielding > was in the radios of those amateurs studied, what kind > of antennae they used, and how far away from them they > were. Also: - what frequencies they used, - what power they ran, - and for how long. The E&M field is not the only thing that might account for a higher rate of Leukemia in hams and electrical workers. There are many toxic substances associated with electrical and electronic equipment. In particular, PCBs were used as "transformer oil" in power distribution transformers for many years. Fifteen years ago, every other QST had a story from a ham who was given a free gallon of oil (i.e. PCBs) for his Cantenna by a local supplier who did not deal with orders smaller than a 55 gallon drum. Jim - NJ2F
ptb@Mitre-Bedford (05/14/85)
I have another question on that study.... (FLAME ON) Is 1600 some odd hams, and only 24 people who were affected REALLY statistically significant? I guess in order to really believe the results, it would have been nice to have been done on a much wider range of people. (I am not one of those who believes everything that they read, even if it IS in a medical journal.) As far as I know, RF has also been linked to other things, including cataracts in the eyes (if the exposure is excessive), headaches, and skin burning effects. But with only 24 people (as opposed to 12.6 for a control group) I am skeptical. It is possible that the other 11.4 people were careless, affected by the water in that area, etc. We are all aware that there is some hazards in this hobby, with cautions about high voltages, possible problems with lightening, etc., in the study material when we go for our licenses. I guess I'm not too worried at this time that my hobby poses a significant risk to my health. If we are really going to paranoid, how about cleaning up the water supplies, the air we breathe, and the food we eat (not to mention damage done by cigarettes, PCBs in DUMMY LOADS, etc.). I'm sure we could go on and on, but that's not the point. (FLAME OFF) Peter Baldwin, Wa1snh (ptb@mitre-bedford)
stephany.WBST@Xerox.ARPA (05/14/85)
Re: Lukemia among radio Amateurs. It is also possible and more likely that electrical workers and Hams or more subject to the fumes from transformers which use carcinogenic substances. joe N2XS
Taylor.Wbst@Xerox.ARPA (05/15/85)
I COULDN'T AGREE MORE! WITH SUCH SMALL NUMBERS THE SIGNIFICANT LEVEL OF CORRELATION SHOULD PROBABLY BE MORE LIKE A FACTOR OF TEN-- NOT TWO! CHEERS-- JIM (W2OZH)
dgary@ecsvax.UUCP (D Gary Grady) (05/16/85)
An acquaintance of mine suggests another reason for higher leukemia
rates among hams: Many hams get into the hobby late in life or after
disability of some kind. It could well be that the overall health of
hams is poorer than the general population.
--
D Gary Grady
Duke U Comp Center, Durham, NC 27706
(919) 684-3695
USENET: {seismo,decvax,ihnp4,akgua,etc.}!mcnc!ecsvax!dgary