Letters Letters (January 19, 2001)

Studies link EMFs to cancer

Editor,

In a letter to the editor (Jan. 12), Mr. George Grenley takes issue with ideas expressed in my Guest Opinion column (Jan. 5), and specifically questions whether there have been any studies linking EMF (electromagnetic field) exposure to cancer.

Since 1979, when a study by N. Wertheimer and E. Leeper reported an enhanced rate of leukemia for children living near 60-Hz electrical power lines in Denver, Colo., approximately 50 studies have found statistically significant increased risks for cancer in occupational groups presumed to have elevated exposure to EMFs. And at least 14 studies have demonstrated a possible association between proximity to power lines and various types of childhood cancer. (See, for example, http://www.lessemf.com/pamphlet.html; http://www.fiu.edu/~mizrachs/EMF-Hazards.html; http://www.calpoly.edu/~dhafemei/background2.html.)

Furthermore, in June 1998 an expert panel convened by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), at the request of Congress, concluded that low frequency EMFs, like those surrounding transmission lines, should be classified as a Group 2B human carcinogen under the International Agency for Research on Cancer classification scheme. A Group 2B classification means that "the agent (mixture) is possibly carcinogenic to humans. The exposure circumstances entail exposures that are possibly carcinogenic to humans." (See http://www.boltonandbaer.com/goodbadugly.htm.)

Mr. Grenley also states that one of the studies suggesting that EMFs pose serious health risks was fraudulent. In fact, the principal investigator in the contested study, Dr. Robert Liburdy, has never retracted any of his scientific conclusions. And in any case, that study was never more than a footnote to on-going debates about health hazards associated with EMFs. (See http://www.junkscience.com/july99/slesin.htm.)

Finally, I would like to remind Mr. Grenley that the right of free expression in any democratic society rests securely on the ability of the citizenry to inform itself. Whenever individuals or special interest groups are allowed to dissemble false information without challenge, the underpinnings of that society begin to crumble. Randall FrostPleasanton Spur for arts efforts

Editor,

Thanks so much for your article about me (Around Pleasanton, Jan. 5). I thank you not for myself but for the arts community, since this makes clear your strong support for what we're trying to do. After that kind of buildup, now we've got to see that things happen! So you're a spur to our efforts! Many thanks.

And - congratulations on the anniversary of the beginning of the Weekly. We are all grateful for this paper and sincerely hope it prospers mightily for years to come. Rudy JohnsonBlack Avenue