FW: NIEHS Ignores 'possible carcinogen' decision
Wenzl, Thurman
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From: m...@pobox.com <mailto:m...@pobox.com> [SMTP:m...@pobox.com]
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Sent: Friday, December 18, 1998 11:10 AM
To: NIEHS Ignores EMF Cancer Risk
December 18, 1998
Dear Colleague:
Everybody has been wondering how the National Institute of Environmental
Health Sciences (NIEHS) would handle the designation, last summer, of EMFs
as "possible human carcinogens" by one of its own working groups.
NIEHS' strategy became crystal clear on December 14: the NIEHS plans to
ignore it.
At the last meeting of the National EMF Advisory Committee (NEMFAC), held
jointly with the EMF Interagency Advisory Committee in Washington on
December 14th, the NIEHS staff distributed a 352-page document, titled:
"EMF RAPID: Program Report." This report, which details research results
from studies sponsored by the NIEHS, neglects to even mention the
conclusions of the NIEHS Working Group. It only states that the Working
Group had issued its own report. Nor is there a single word about the three
science review symposia that the NIEHS organized to prepare for the Working
Group meeting held last June in Minneapolis.
The report does specify that the NIEHS spent $2,569,064 to run the science
symposia and the Working Group meeting-which is close to 10% of **all** the
moneys spent on research by the NIEHS under the EMF RAPID program.
Nevertheless, none of this work was seen as important enough of being
included in NIEHS' own "Program Report."
This is how the four authors of the NIEHS report-Drs. Gary Boorman, Michael
Galvin, Christopher Portier and Mary Wolfe-began their overall conclusion:
"The results of the research supported by this program provide substantial
evidence that there is not a robust biological effect of EMF exposure at
environmentally relevant levels. These data when taken together with the
National Academy of Sciences [NAS] report provide a basis for concluding
that environmental EMF exposures at the levels to which human exposure
occurs in the environment do not demonstrate an effect on critical
biological processes and functions that could be expected to adversely
affect human health...."
Note that the NIEHS cites the NAS EMF report but not its own Working Group
report-even though the latter is more recent, and Portier himself has said
that the two reports are **not** inconsistent.
The members of NEMFAC could not believe what the NIEHS was doing-and said so
openly. It's "shocking" said NEMFAC Chair Shirley Linde. "Stunning," said
Margaret Seminario of the AFL-CIO. And Dr. Peter Bingham, who recently
retired from Philips Electronics, commented that, "You would think we were
in a different universe."
The December 14 meeting was surreal even by Washington standards. NIEHS'
Portier, who had organized the Working Group meeting as well as the science
review symposia, refused to say whether he stood behind the conclusions of
the report, which bore his and Boorman's names. When asked directly whether
he agreed with what was written, he replied "I have no comment." He then
left the meeting.
When Congress established the EMF RAPID research program in 1992, it
required that the Director of the NIEHS, Dr. Kenneth Olden, report back at
the end of the program on "the extent to which exposure to EMFs produced by
the generation, transmission or use of electric energy affects human
health."
Many of those at the meeting observed that Boorman's report could easily
have been mistaken for Olden's report. After all, it was titled, "Program
Report" and it included a cover letter from Olden, which began: "I am
pleased to provide this report on the Electric and Magnetic Fields (EMF)
research and communication activities that have been conducted over the past
six years..."
But, in fact, Olden's official report to Congress is separate and will be
issued later. Portier stressed that the Boorman Program Report "does not
reflect the overall conclusions of Dr. Olden's report." But he and others
from NIEHS declined to be specific as to what Olden will tell Congress.
Boorman's report, with its bright yellow cover, was given out with a rubber
stamped "DRAFT," in small type on the front cover. But that draft stamp
seemed almost an afterthought. Most government reports that are still in
draft form have the words "draft: do not cite or quote" printed on the top
of every page.
In response to NEMFAC criticism, Boorman said he would make some changes
before issuing his report.
Last summer in its press release announcing the Working Group's decision to
classify EMFs as possible carcinogens, the NIEHS included a quotation that
if EMFs did in fact present a health risk, it would be a small one-even
though the subject of risk assessment was never discussed by the Working
Group. At the time, some observers suspected that the press release was an
early indication of how NIEHS would try to bury the EMF question. The new
Boorman report appears to confirm these suspicions.
Portier said that NIEHS Director Olden will send **his** report to Congress
sometime in February. At that time, it will also be released to the public.
Louis Slesin
Editor
P.S. I should note that I am a member of NEMFAC and I too was amazed by
Boorman's brazen report.
P.P.S. The full text of the Working Group report is available on the Web at
<www.niehs.nih.gov/emfrapid <http://www.niehs.nih.gov/emfrapid> >.
__________________________________________________________
Louis Slesin, PhD
Editor, Microwave News
A Report on Non-Ionizing Radiation
Phone: 212-517-2800; Fax: 212-734-0316
E-mail: <m...@pobox.com <mailto:m...@pobox.com> >, Internet:
<www.microwavenews.com <http://www.microwavenews.com> > Mail: PO Box 1799,
Grand Central Station New York, NY 10163, U.S.A.
Holson1000
>classify EMFs as possible carcinogens, the NIEHS included a quotation that
>if EMFs did in fact present a health risk, it would be a small one-even
> At the time, some observers suspected that the press release was an
>early indication of how NIEHS would try to bury the EMF question.
>The new
>Boorman report appears to confirm these suspicions.
>Portier said that NIEHS Director Olden will send **his** report to Congress
>sometime in February.
>At that time, it will also be released to the public.
>
>Louis Slesin
>Editor
>P.S. I should note that I am a member of NEMFAC and I too was amazed by
>Boorman's brazen report.
>P.P.S. The full text of the Working Group report is available on the Web at
><www.niehs.nih.gov/emfrapid <http://www.niehs.nih.gov/emfrapid> >
Thanks for the information. I have heard about pineal effects of EMF at 1
Gauss levels.
Does it also affect other parts of the brain?
Howard