199 lines
7.1 KiB
Plaintext
199 lines
7.1 KiB
Plaintext
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This article was taken from the DALLAS TIMES HERALD
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On Thursday, November 30, 1989.
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Which originated from the Associated Press.
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WASHINGTON - A study by a leading U.S. health scientist has
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found a statistically significant link between cancer and human
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exposure to electromagnetic fields from the electrical wires that
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crisscross the nation.
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The unpublished findings by Dr. Genevieve Matanoski of Johns
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Hopkins University add to concern in the American scientific
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community that health risks from power distribution lines no
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longer can be ruled out.
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Matanoski, a professor of epidemiology, said Wednesday that
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her findings are preliminary and require further testing but that
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the results had changed her view of the theory about a cancer link
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to power lines.
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"I thought before that the theory was wrong," she said. "I'm
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not so sure any more."
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The major conclusions from her study of 50,000 New York state
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telephone workers are that there may be an increased risk of
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leukemia among active workers and that incidence rates for almost
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all types of cancer are highest among linemen, whose exposure to
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electromagnetic fields is the highest in the telephone worker
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group.
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Her study found three cases of leukemia among 4,500 linemen,
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an incidence rate seven times higher than among other telephone
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workers.
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Matanoski also found exceptionally high rates of breast
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cancer among male technicians who work on central office telephone
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switching equipment. Her study found two cases of breast cancer
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among 9,000 central office technicians; ordinarily the incidence
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rate for males would be about one in one million, she said.
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(The study apparently did not address the effects, if any, on
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people who live near power lines or towers.)
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Matanoski reported on her study at a technical meeting
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sponsored jointly by the Energy Department and the Electric Power
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Research Institute in Portland, Ore., two weeks ago. She said she
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expects to publish the findings early next year.
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A few days before the meeting, officials of EPRI,
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representing most electric utilities, sent letter to utility
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executives noting that Matanoski's results "may attract national
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attention because they suggest an increased risk of cancer."
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*** Additional article ***
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This article was taken from the Dallas Times Herald
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On Sunday, December 3, 1989.
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Which originated from the Associated Press.
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NEW YORK - Two events last week called attention to a new
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headache of the technological era: the cost of reducing human
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exposure to electromagnetic radiation.
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On Monday, International Business Machines Corp. confirmed
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that it cut radiation from its new large-computer terminals to
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comply with requests from European customers.
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On Wednesday, a researcher from Johns Hopkins University said
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she had found a link between cancer and human exposure to
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electromagnetic fields from power lines.
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The twin developments highlighted public concerns about
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whether electricity - the lifeblood of modern society - could be
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harming the people it intended to serve.
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Most of the discussion so far has focused on whether
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electromagnetic radiation really is harmful and in what amounts.
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But even if the early warnings turn out to be overstated, a
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movement to reduce human exposure to it seems to be well under
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way.
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The questions are what steps can be taken to cut exposure and
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how much will they cost? The reassuring answer is that many steps
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can be taken easily and cheaply. Even daunting problems may prove
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easier to solve than many think.
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Louis Slesin, who began putting out Microwave News in New
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York City a decade ago, said the latest developments carry
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conflicting messages.
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On the bad side, he said, the Johns Hopkins study indicated
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biological effects from alarmingly low levels of electromagnetic
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radiation.
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But on the good side, the new IBM displays show that cutting
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radiation - at least in the case show that cutting radiation - at
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least in the case of video display terminals does not always have
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to be expensive. An IBM official said last week that the new
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displays were built about as inexpensively as the old ones.
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IBM, incidentally, says it produced the new displays only to
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satisfy customer demands, not because of any health concerns. So
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far no other companies have followed suit.
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IBM's new terminals don't reduce radiation at a frequency of
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60 hertz (cycles per second), the frequency that has been
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implicated in several medical studies, including the one at Johns
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Hopkins.
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Sixty hertz radiation is emitted by all kinds of electrical
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devices, from hair dryers to coffee makers to larger electricity-
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powered machines.
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Fortunately, early studies indicate that any danger is mainly
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from long-term exposure at sufficiently close ranges. The fields
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of most devices drop off sharply a few inches away, and people
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don't spend all day with them.
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Likewise, the hazard of video display terminals, if any, can
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be minimized by keeping an arm's length from the screen and a
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greater distance from neighboring terminals.
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There may even be relatively inexpensive ways to deal with
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power lines, both the long-distance transmission lines and the
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high-current distribution lines that go straight into populated
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areas.
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According to Slesin, one way to cut power lines' fields is
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disarmingly simple: Anchor two wires side by side, as in the
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average extension cord. Their alternating current fields should
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substantially cancel each other out.
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Utilities have gotten interested because the public's fear of
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electromagnetic fields has contributed to long delays in building
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transmission lines - even longer than the notorious delays in
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building new generating plants.
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SPECIAL NOTE
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Last month in `Consumer Report' they issue a warning, that
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children and pregnant women should not use electric blankets do to
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electromagnetic fields.
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Vangard Sciences
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P.O. Box 1031
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Mesquite, Texas 75150
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(214) 324-8741
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Keelynet*BBS
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(214) 324-3501
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Submitted by : Ron Barker
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