Radar and Mortality

[epirad@mchsi.com]

Interesting study regarding mortality and radar exposure.





American Journal of Epidemiology Vol. 155, No. 9 : 810-

818 Copyright © 2002 by The Johns Hopkins University 

School of Hygiene and Public Health 



---------------------------------------------------------

-----------------------



ORIGINAL CONTRIBUTIONS 



Cancer in Korean War Navy Technicians: Mortality Survey 

after 40 Years 



Frank D. Groves1, William F. Page2, Gloria Gridley1, 

Laure Lisimaque1, Patricia A. Stewart1, Robert E. 

Tarone1, Mitchell H. Gail1, John D. Boice, Jr3 and 

Gilbert W. Beebe1 

1 Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National 

Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD.

2 Medical Follow-up Agency, National Academy of 

Sciences, National Research Council, Washington, DC.

3 International Epidemiology Institute, Rockville, MD, 

and Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, Vanderbilt 

University, Nashville, TN. 



This study reports on over 40 years of mortality follow-

up of 40,581 Navy veterans of the Korean War with 

potential exposure to high-intensity radar. The cohort 

death rates were compared with mortality rates for White 

US men using standardized mortality ratios, and the 

death rates for men in occupations considered a priori 

to have high radar exposure were compared with the rates 

for men in low-exposure occupations using Poisson 

regression. Deaths from all diseases and all cancers 

were significantly below expectation overall and for the 

20,021 sailors with high radar exposure potential. There 

was no evidence of increased brain cancer in the entire 

cohort (standardized mortality ratio (SMR) = 0.9, 95% 

confidence interval (CI): 0.7, 1.1) or in high-exposure 

occupations (SMR = 0.7, 95% CI: 0.5, 1.0). Testicular 

cancer deaths also occurred less frequently than 

expected in the entire cohort and high-exposure 

occupations. Death rates for several smoking-related 

diseases were significantly lower in the high-exposure 

occupations. Nonlymphocytic leukemia was significantly 

elevated among men in high-exposure occupations but in 

only one of the three high-exposure occupations, namely, 

electronics technicians in aviation squadrons (SMR = 

2.2, 95% CI: 1.3, 3.7). Radar exposure had little effect 

on mortality in this cohort of US Navy veterans. 





Key Words: leukemia • nonlymphocytic • acute • 

microwaves • mortality • neoplasms • veterans



************************************************************************

You are currently subscribed to the Radsafe mailing list. To unsubscribe,

send an e-mail to Majordomo@list.vanderbilt.edu  Put the text "unsubscribe

radsafe" (no quote marks) in the body of the e-mail, with no subject line.

You can view the Radsafe archives at http://www.vanderbilt.edu/radsafe/