NCCHPS

[JMUCKERHEIDE@delphi.com]

Jack,

>      NCCHPS  September 12th Dinner Meeting
>      
>      Our dinner meeting on Tuesday, September 12th will be a joint meeting 
>      with the American Industrial Hygiene Association, Northern California 
>      Section.  It will feature a presentation entitled  "Current 
>      developments in Power-Line Fields"  by Gordon C. Miller, CIH, MSPH of 
>      Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.  Mr. Miller will bring us up 
>      to date on electric and magnetic fields and concerns over power line 
>      emissions in particular.  He will describe the disappointing 
>      epidemiologic studies that have been conducted, the RAPID project, and 

What's "disappointing" about the epidemiologic studies?

>      in vitro genetic studies.  He will conclude with a discussion of the  
>      prudent avoidance concept and the American Physical Society position 
>      paper.

What is their conclusion?

[ Do I recall that APS predicted something like 8000 deaths in the general
population in its review of the Rasmussen Report (Nuclear Safety Study-WASH
1400) based on the linear dose-reponse model hypothesis? 

Chernobyl is a larger accident (1000 MWe reactor with a long operating
history, lifted about 45 feet in the air before a nuclear excursion blew it
apart along with its non-containment building, NOT a meltdown from loss of
cooling that would have retained more fission products, and then a graphite
fire that lasted for days) though perhaps not with "worst-case" meteorology. 

To date in the scientific studies are there more than about 300 thyroid
nodules/cancers in children (most of which should not lead to death), and no
leukemia (except some in the highly-exposed "liquidators"). This should have
peaked by now (though there may still be some increased leukemia in the
population - although the Japanese data that shows LOWER than normal leukemia
in the survivor population below about 10-20 cGy, along with similar results
in other populations including medically-exposed to about 30 cGy to the
whole-body/bone, imply that many in this population may avoid leukemia as a
result of the moderate exposure). 

Is there any consideration that such information or results are not valid (is
there good reason to question the efficacy and quality of the work)? 

Has the APS reconsidered their views on the validity of the linear model? 

Does this relate to concerns about EMF? (especially any consideration of
differences in exposure levels compared to naturally-occuring exposure levels
re effects on human biology ?) ] 

Regards, Jim