PROBE FINDS SCIENTIST FAKED CANCER LINK DATA

[Kevin Goldsmith <kevin.goldsmith@wepco.com>]

*    EMFS:  PROBE FINDS SCIENTIST FAKED CANCER LINK DATA        
     A scientist whose 1992 study linked electromagnetic fields 
(EMFs) to cancer has resigned and withdrawn his findings after a
federal investigation discovered he faked the "crucial evidence"
in his research.                                                
     Richard P. Liburdy of the Energy Dept.'s Lawrence Berkeley 
National Laboratory had discovered that the radiation around    
power lines altered human cell membranes.  But an ethics probe  
found that Liburdy had falsified data and alerted the federal   
Office of Research Integrity in 1995.  Last month, the integrity
office announced its findings, saying that Liburdy had "engaged 
in scientific misconduct in biomedical research by falsifying   
and fabricating data and claims about the purported cellular    
effects of electric and magnetic fields."                       
     But experts debate whether the disclosure strengthens the  
case that electric power is safe.  While the National Academy of
Sciences has repeatedly found no evidence of danger from EMFs,  
other researchers say there is still evidence of links between  
radiation and "killer diseases."  And Liburdy has denied his    
research is wrong, saying he agreed to the federal settlement   
only because he was unable to spend $1 million to mount a legal 
defense.  Liburdy:  "The raw data for these figures is not      
challenged, and is valid. ... Independent scientists have       
reviewed this for me and concluded that misconduct is not       
warranted" (William J. Broad, New York Times, July 24).  He     
added:  "I admit no scientific wrongdoing" (Jessie Seyfer,      
AP/Seattle Post-Intelligencer/others, July 24).                 
     William Safire in a New York Times column uses the case an 
an example of an "era of no-fault government" where             
"blamelessness is next to godliness; nobody in authority is held
responsible for blunders, no matter how costly" (July 26). 

kevin.goldsmith@wepco.com
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