Ham Radio Community Chapter Found This Research Information For You To Read.
Written Evidence to the Independent Expert Group on Mobile Phones
An Assessment of the Evidence Relating to Radio-frequency Radiation and Cancer
Report by Dr. John E. Moulder
on behalf of the
Federation of the Electronics Industry
October 1999
1) Introduction and Purpose of Report
This report was prepared by Dr. John E. Moulder, Professor of Radiation Oncology, for the Independent Expert Group on Mobile Phones. The report was prepared at the request of the Federation of the Electronics Industry.
1.1) What does this report cover?
This report reviews the evidence relevant to the question of whether exposure to radio-frequency radiation causes or contributes to the development of cancer.
Specifically, the report reviews:
The types of evidence that are relevant to determining whether radio-frequency radiation could cause or contribute to cancer.
The biophysics of radio-frequency radiation with emphasis on why biological effects of other types of electromagnetic radiations or fields (such as ionizing radiation and power-frequency fields) are of little relevance to evaluating biological effects of radio-frequency radiation.
Epidemiological studies of people exposed to radio-frequency radiation.
Studies of whether exposure to radio-frequency radiation alone causes cancer in animals.
Studies of whether exposure to radio-frequency radiation, along with exposure to other known carcinogens, increases the ability of these other carcinogens to cause cancer in animals.
Studies of whether exposure to radio-frequency radiation directly damages the genetic material of cells, animals or humans.
Studies of whether exposure to radio-frequency radiation, along with exposure to other known carcinogens, increases the damage that these other carcinogens cause to the genetic material of cells, animals or humans.
A weight-of-evidence summary of how the epidemiological and experimental evidence bears on the question of whether exposure to radio-frequency radiation causes, or contributes to the development of, cancer.
1.2) What does this report conclude about radio-frequency fields and cancer?
The report concludes that the existing body of epidemiological and experimental data does not suggest that radio-frequency radiation either causes cancer or contributes to the development of cancer.
Specifically, the report concludes that:
There is an extensive body of published peer-reviewed studies that are relevant to assessing the carcinogenic potential of radio-frequency radiation.
The relevant peer-reviewed literature includes epidemiology, long-term animal exposure studies, cellular studies of genotoxic potential, and cellular studies of epigenetic activity.
The epidemiological studies of radio-frequency radiation and cancer do not suggest a causal association.
The long-term animal exposure studies present no compelling evidence that long-term exposure to radio-frequency radiation is genotoxic.
Some of the long-term animal exposure studies suggest the possibility that radio-frequency radiation might have epigenetic activity at high (possibly thermal) exposure levels.
Cellular studies of genotoxicity have been extensive, and the weight of evidence is that radio-frequency radiation is not genotoxic.
Assessment of the epigenetic potential of radio-frequency radiation in cell culture has been limited, and the results are equivocal.
An overall weight-of-evidence evaluation indicates that the current evidence for a causal association between exposure to radio-frequency radiation and cancer is weak to non-existent.
2) Qualifications and Experience
My name is John E. Moulder. I am a research scientist specializing in cancer biology and radiation biology. I am Professor in the Departments of Radiation Oncology, Radiology, and Pharmacology/Toxicology at the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW) in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S.A. I have conducted research on the effects of ionizing radiation since 1973, including studies of tissue injury after irradiation, and of causes of radiation sensitivity and radiation resistance. Much of my academic work has been directed towards assessing whether various types of ionizing and non-ionizing radiations and fields can be, or have been, the cause of injuries.
I received an undergraduate degree, Magna Cum Laude, in chemistry and biology from Carleton College, Northfield, Minnesota, U.S.A. I then earned a Masters and Ph.D. from the Department of Biology at Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, U.S.A. My graduate research was on cellular regulation of protein synthesis.
After completing my academic training in 1972, I conducted research and taught courses in radiation biology and cancer biology in the Departments of Radiology and Therapeutic Radiology at Yale Medical School. In 1975 I served as a Visiting Scientist at the Gray Laboratory of the Cancer Research Campaign, Mount Vernon Hospital, Northwood, Middlesex, U.K. In 1978, I joined the Radiation Biology and Biophysics Section of the Radiology Department at the Medical College of Wisconsin as a teacher and researcher. In a 1980 reorganization, this became the Radiation Biology Section of the Department of Radiation Oncology; and in 1988 I was promoted to Full Professor with tenure. Also in 1988, I spent a sabbatical as a Visiting Professor in the Department of Radiation Oncology at the University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, U.S.A.
As a Professor at the Medical College of Wisconsin, I conduct laboratory research on the biological effects of radiation and on the biology of cancer, participate in the development and analyses of clinical cancer trials, and teach courses in radiation biology and cancer biology. I have taught courses for medical students, graduate students, allied health students, residents, and physicians. The topics include cancer biology, radiation biology, carcinogenesis, mutagenesis, risk assessment and tumor biology; and include electromagnetic sources that range from static fields to power-frequency fields to radio-frequency radiation to x-rays.
Over the past decade I have been an invited lecturer at institutions that include Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, University of Wisconsin, University of Washington, Yale University, Tufts University, Colorado State University, Northwestern University, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Queensland Radium Institute (Australia), University of Minnesota, and Universidad de Valladolid (Spain). I have also been an invited lecturer at annual meetings of societies that include: the American Society of Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology, the Australian Radiation Protection Association, the Health Physics Society, the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group, the American Association of Physicists in Medicine, the Radiation Research Society (U.S.), the European Radiation Research Society, the Wisconsin Safety and Health Association, the International Congress of Radiation Research, and the Wisconsin State Medical Society. Topics of these lectures have included: health effects of non-ionizing radiations and fields in the workplace, the health consequences of radiation accidents, biological effects of power-frequency magnetic fields, biological effects of exposure to radio-frequency radiation, the biological basis of cancer therapy, the radiobiology of bone marrow transplantation, and the treatment of radiation injuries.
As part of my research, I have published more than 85 peer-reviewed papers on the therapeutic use of ionizing radiation and on the effects of ionizing and non-ionizing radiation on humans, animals, tissues and cells. This research has been supported by grants from the U.S. National Cancer Institute, other branches of the U.S. National Institutes of Health, and the American Cancer Society. My research has been published in scientific journals that include: American Journal of Physiology, Archives of Physiology and Biochemistry, Biochimica et Biophysica Acta, Bone Marrow Transplantation, British Journal of Cancer, Cancer, Cancer and Metastasis Reviews, Cancer Research, Cancer Treatment and Research, Critical Reviews in Biomedical Engineering, Engineering in Medicine and Biology, International Journal of Radiation Biology, International Journal of Radiation Oncology Biology and Physics, Journal of Cell Biology, Journal of Laboratory and Clinical Medicine, Journal of Neurosurgery, Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, National Cancer Institutes (U.S.) Monographs, Nephron, Proceedings of the IEEE, Radiation Research, Radiology, Radiotherapy and Oncology, Radiation Oncology Investigations, and Transplantation. In addition, I have contributed to a number of medical and scientific texts on radiation biology and on the use of radiation in medicine.
Among the articles I have published are a number that are of direct relevance to the issue of whether non-ionizing radiations and fields cause or contribute to cancer:
JE Moulder, KR Foster: Biological effects of power-frequency fields as they relate to carcinogenesis. Proceedings of the Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine 209:309-324, 1995.
JE Moulder: Biological studies of power-frequency fields and carcinogenesis. Engineering in Medicine and Biology 15:31-40, 1996.
KR Foster, LS Erdreich, JE Moulder: Weak electromagnetic fields and cancer in the context of risk assessment. Proceedings of the IEEE 85:733-746, 1997.
JE Moulder: The power line — cancer debate: Is it a conflict between physics and biology? Radiation Research 148:1, 1997.
JE Moulder: Book review: Possible Health Effects of Exposure to Residential Electric and Magnetic Fields, by the National Research Council (U.S.). Radiation Research 148:101-103, 1997.
JE Moulder: Book review: Non-Ionizing Radiation, edited by Rüdiger Matthes. Radiation Research 148:104-105, 1997.
JE Moulder: Power-frequency fields and cancer. Critical Reviews in Biomedical Engineering 26:1-116, 1998.
SC Miller, JE Moulder: Publication of negative results is an essential part of the scientific process. Radiation Research 150:1-2, 1998.
JE Moulder: Une approache biomédicale: le point de vue d’un chercheur en cancérologie. In: J Lambrozo, I Le Bis (Eds.), Champs Électriques et Magnétique de Très Basse Fréquency: Electricité de France, 1998, pp. 73-78.
JE Moulder, KR Foster: Is there a link between exposure to power-frequency electric fields and cancer. Engineering in Medicine and Biology 18(2):109-116, 1999.
JE Moulder, LS Erdreich, RS Malyapa, J Merritt, WF Pickard, Vijayalaxmi: Cell phones and cancer: What is the evidence for a connection? Radiation Research 151:513-531, 1999.
JE Moulder: La controversia sobre líneas eléctricas y cáncer: Perspectiva histórica. In: J Represa, C Llanos (Eds.), Campos Electromagnéticos y Salud Humana. Universidad de Valladolid, In press.
JE Moulder: Epidemiología sobre cáncer y exposición residencial a los campos generados por las líneas eléctricas. In: J Represa, C Llanos (Eds.), Campos Electromagnéticos y Salud Humana. Universidad de Valladolid, In press.
In addition to publishing in conventional peer-reviewed journals, I maintain an Internet site at the Medical College of Wisconsin that provides Question-and-Answer documents [Note 1] on the biological effects of static magnetic fields, power-frequency fields and cellular telephone base station antennas. The FAQs are referenced by Internet sites including: the Australian Radiation Protection Agency, the Bioelectromagnetics Society (U.S.), the Canadian Center for Occupational Health and Safety, the Federation of the Electronics Industry (U.K.), Harvard University, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (U.S.), the Leukemia Research Fund (U.K.), the New Scientist (U.K.), the New Zealand National Radiation Laboratory, Princeton University, the Radiation Research Society (U.S.), Stanford University, the Swedish Association for the Electrosensitive, the U.S. Federal Communication Commission, the U.S. National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, the U.S. Health Physics Society, the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the University of Pennsylvania Cancer Center, and the World Health Organization. Currently the Web site is accessed by over 15,000 people per month.
I have served on the Editorial Board of Radiation Research, Proceedings of the Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine, and the International Journal of Radiation Oncology Biology and Physics. I also serve as a peer-reviewer for a number of journals, including: Acta Oncologica, Cancer Research, Free Radical Medicine and Biology, International Journal of Radiation Biology, Journal of the American Medical Association, and Radiotherapy and Oncology. As a peer reviewer and editor, I review manuscripts that cover both ionizing and non-ionizing radiation biology.
The reviewing of requests for funding ("grant proposals") plays a role in science that is perhaps as important as the review of manuscripts. I have served as a reviewer of such grant proposals for the U.S. National Institutes of Health, the U.S. National Electric and Magnetic Field Health Effects Research Program, the Medical Research Council of Canada, the Netherlands Cancer Research Foundation, and the National Cancer Institute of Canada. As part of work done for the U.S. National Institutes of Health and the U.S. National Electric and Magnetic Field Health Effects Research Program, I participated in the review of most of the grant proposals that were submitted for funding under the EMF-RAPID program [Note 2].
I have served as a consultant for a number of companies, public utilities, and governmental bodies, including the Wisconsin Department of Justice, the U.S. National Research Council, the Wisconsin Radiation Protection Service, the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurement, Alpha Therapeutic Corporation, the Wisconsin Utilities Association, the Wauwatosa (Wisconsin) School District, Wisconsin Electric Power Corporation, Journal Communications, the Seattle City Attorney’s Office, Kaiser Aluminum and Chemical Corporation, the Milwaukee County Parks Department, the Milwaukee Police Department, Florida Power & Light, the City of Brookfield (Wisconsin), Vodacom (South Africa), Northern States Power, British Nuclear Fuels, PrimeCo Personal Communications, Cellular One, and The National Grid Company (U.K.). The topics of these consultations include: design of clinical trials, the alleged hazards of power lines, the alleged hazards of computer terminals, the alleged hazards of cellular telephone towers, the hazards of radio and TV broadcast antennas, and the biological effects of low doses of ionizing radiation.
I am a Full Member of the Radiation Research Society, in which I was elected to the governing Council, and served as the Chair of the Constitution and Bylaws Committee, and then of the Membership Committee. I am an Active (full) Member of the American Society of Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology, where I served for 11 years on the Radiation Biology Committee. I am also a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Bioelectromagnetics Society, the Environmental Mutagen Society, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), and the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group. In 1995 I was elected to membership in the IEEE Committee on Man and Radiation (COMAR); and in 1997 I was appointed to the IEEE Medical Technology Policy Committee, where I serve as the chair of the Technology Impact Assessment Committee.
I have served on a number of state and local government advisory committees, including the Wisconsin Legislative Council Committee on Environmental Health, the Wisconsin Pesticide Advisory Council, the Committee on Non-Ionizing Radiation of the Wisconsin Radiation Protection Council, and the Wisconsin Radiation Protection Council (where I was Vice-Chairman for 4 years). At the Medical College I have served on the Radiation Safety Committee, the Safety Committee, the Carcinogen Committee (which I chaired for 8 years), and the Animal Care and Use Committee.
3) Identifying Carcinogens
Epidemiology provides the most direct evidence for carcinogenic potential in humans, but the mechanisms of carcinogenesis are sufficiently well established that laboratory studies can also provide information relevant to assessing whether radio-frequency radiation has the potential to cause or contribute to cancer (Table I ).
When the epidemiological evidence for an association between a physical agent and cancer is weak and/or the link is biophysically implausible, laboratory studies are critical for risk evaluation [1-3]. If there is strong cellular (in vitro) and/or animal (in vivo) evidence that an agent is carcinogenic, it can make even weak epidemiology evidence for an association credible. Conversely, if appropriate laboratory studies are done and these studies fail to show any consistent evidence for carcinogenic activity, then we tend to dismiss weak epidemiological evidence, particularly if the association is biophysically implausible.
Our current understanding of cancer is that it is initiated by damage to the genetic information of a cell (the DNA), and agents which cause such injury are called genotoxins. It is extremely unlikely that a single genetic injury to a cell will result in cancer, as it appears that a series of very specific genetic injuries are required [3-5]. In fact, genotoxic injury to cells occurs all the time because of random errors during cell replication, and because of daily exposure to natural and artificial genotoxins. Most of this genetic injury has no deleterious effect on the cell it occurs in; and many other genetic injuries result in death of the cell. Only a very small fraction of the genetic injuries that occur push cells along the path towards cancer.
It is also clear that non-genotoxic agents can contribute to the development of cancer, even though these agents may not cause cancer by themselves. Epigenetic (non-genotoxic) carcinogens affect carcinogenesis by increasing the probability that other agents will cause genotoxic injury, or that genotoxic injury caused by other agents will lead to cancer [3-8]. The actions of epigenetic agents can be tissue- and species-specific, and evidence exists that epigenetic agents have thresholds for their effects [3-7]. Thus evidence that an agent has epigenetic activity must be evaluated carefully for its relevance to human carcinogenicity under real-world exposure conditions.
Current research indicates that carcinogenesis is a multi-step process driven by a series of injuries to the genetic material of cells [3-9]. This multi-step model replaces an earlier model, called the "initiation-promotion" model. The initiation-promotion model proposed that carcinogenesis was a two-step process, with the first step being a genotoxic injury (called "initiation") and the second step being non-genotoxic (called "promotion"). There are important differences between these models:
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