Saturday, August 03, 2013

Formal Complaint to the Health Protection Agency, March 2013.


Formal Complaint to the Health Protection Agency, March 2013.  


A complaint from UK organisations and individuals concerning the failure of the HPA to provide appropriate precautionary advice regarding radiofrequency electromagnetic fields.  Included is a complaint about the absence of any reference to the IARC classification of radiofrequency electromagnetic fields as a Group 2B possible human carcinogen in the recent submission from the HPA to the Commons Select Committee Inquiry into Smart Meter Roll-out. 

Vancouver: Chief Medical Health Officer "strongly opposed" to prudent avoidance policy.


 Vancouver: Chief Medical Health Officer "strongly opposed" to prudent avoidance policy.


Dear Mayor Robertson and Council,

It is with amazement and bewilderment that I read the attached letter from
Chief Medical Officer Patricia Daly in which she states, unequivocally, that
there are no health risks from cell transmitters.

As you have been shown before by educated residents of Vancouver, there are
thousands of independent studies showing that prolonged exposure to
radiation like that from cell transmitters can lead to many serious health
effects ranging from neurological problems, cellular leakage, DNA damage,
reduced fertility, to cancer and cardiac problems. It was not without cause
that the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) declared
radiation from wireless technology to be a 2b (posssible) human carcinogen,
the same classification as DDT,lead, HIV and many industrial chemicals. Many
scientists believe that the classification should be probable (2a) and would
be even definite (1) if the mechanisms were fully understood.

To state that a prudent avoidence policy would mislead the public is one of
the most irresponsible statements I heard from a public health officer.
Isn't the job of this person to identify risks or possible risks in order to
prevent harm?

Dr. Daly bases her argument on  2012 UK HPA's AGNIR Report which has been
shown not to be independent.  Professor Anthony Swerdlow, chairman of the
AGNIR and an epidemiologist at the Institute of Cancer Research, has long
been a supporter of the status quo, stating that there is no evidence of
harm from RF radiation despite the many studies to the contrary. Mona
Nilsson, an investigative reporter, reported that Prof. Swerdlow is a
shareholder in telecommunication companines, Cable and Wireless Worldwide,
and Calbel and Wireless Communications. His wife is a shareholder of BT
group, and global telecommunications services company. A clear conflict of
interest which, if Dr. Daly had done any research, would have been easily
found and which should force her to reconsider use of this resource.

The Vancouver Coastal Health authority also is in a position of conflict of
interest with regard to cell towers and companies. It has many contracts for
transmitters which are on hospitals, nursing homes and other VCH buildings.

Unfortunately Dr. Daly's letter is fraught with incorrect, out-of-date, and
biased information about the safety of cell towers, some of which may be as
a result of the fact that she is not an expert in the field of
bio-engineering or RF radiation.

I would strongly suggest that you correspond with independent experts before
making your decision about implementing a policy of prudent avoidance.
According to the Provincial Charter, it is your responsibility to protect
the health of your constituents even if that means protecting them from Dr.
Patricia Daly.

Respectfully,
Sharon Noble
Victoria, British Columbia

cc.  Dr. Patricia Daly, Chief Medical Health Officer, Vancouver Coastal
Health Authority
      Dr. Perry Kendall, M.D., Provincial Medical Officer, British Columbia
      Dr. Olle Johansson, PhD, The Experimental Dermatology Unit,
Department of Neuroscience,Karolinska Institute, Stockholm,Sweden
      Dr. David Ostrow, President and CEO, Vancouver Coastal Health
Authority
      Dr. David Carpenter,  M.D., Director, Institute for Health and the
Environment. University at Albany, Albany, NY
      Dr. Martin Blank, PhD, PhD, Department of Physiology and Cellular
Biophysics, Columbia University, College Physicians & Surgeons, New York
      Mike Smyth, The Province and CKNW

Viral Finding May Open Treatment Possibilities for 15-20K Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Patients in the U.S.

Viral Finding May Open Treatment Possibilities for 15-20K Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Patients in the U.S. -



More Viral Funny Business in ME/CFS


Persistent human herpesvirus-6 infection in patients with an inherited form of the virus. Pantry, S, Medveczky, M, Arbuckle, J, Luka, J, Montoya, J., Hu, R. Renne, H., Peterson, D., Pritchett, J., Ablashi, D. and P. Medveczky. Journal of Medical Virology.

A lot of interesting viral possibilities have been raised in chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) over time, but this virus, possibly found in every cell of a persons body, might just take the cake.

ciHHV-6 – The Wrong Kind of Integration

Most people are exposed to HHV-6 early in life and carry a latent form of the virus in their body. Usually benign, immune suppression can allow HHV-6 to become reactivated causing fever, seizures, encephalitis, cognitive problems, heart disease and more.
gene model
Some people have HHV-6 integrated into every cell of their body
ciHHV-6 is different though. Two HHV-6 viruses (HHV-6A and HHV-6B) that probably jumped into the human germ at some unknown point several hundred thousand years ago, now some people carry a copy of it in the DNA of every cell of their body; that’s right – every cell of their body.

Does the thought of having a potentially harmful herpesvirus genome present in the DNA of every cell of your body send a little shiver up your spine? It certainly does mine, but before anyone panics let’s recognize that our DNA is larded with all sorts of weird stuff including many old (mostly beaten up) viruses. (Fragments of retroviruses make up about 8% of our genome) Almost all of us have also been infected by 5-8 of the 9 herpesviruses that can smack us hard if our immune systems let them get out of line. We carry toxic species of bacteria in our guts. We’re full of surprises, but the idea that a potentially damaging herpesvirus exists – fully intact – in some people’s DNA calls for more research.

Studies of approximately 6,000 blood and cord blood donor tests indicate 0.8% or slightly less than 1% of the US population, most of whom are in good health, have ciHHV-6. Tests on people with chronic illnesses are less extensive, but early studies suggest increased rate of ciHHV6 integration are present in numerous neurological disorders including children suspected of encephalitis (3.26%), non-Hodgkins Lymphoma (3.13%) and multiple sclerosis (2.86%).

The first of its kind in chronic fatigue syndrome, this study, led by a respected herpes virus researcher (and in collaboration with Dr. Jose Montoya  of Stanford University and Dr. Dan Peterson of Simmaron Research), determined whether a kind of human herpes virus 6 infection called ciHHV-6A or ciHHV-6B was present in a subset of patients diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome.

Misdiagnosis Presents Dangers

Even in its benign, unactivated state ciHHV-6 can produce lab test results that make it look like you have roaring HHV-6 infection when you do not. The high viral loads that are a distinctive feature of ciHHV-6 present a danger when physicians, believing the patient has a raging HHV-6 infection, prescribes unneeded and potentially dangerous antivirals.
stethoscope with question mark
Misdiagnosing ciHHV-6 as an active HHV-6 infection can lead to unneeded and possibly dangerous antiviral -treatment
In fact, high levels of HHV-6 (> 5.5 log10 copies/ml of HHV-6 in whole blood) on quantitative PCR tests are considered a definitive indication that ciHHV-6 is present unless a patient is acutely ill. HHV-6 appears to be largely localized in the tissues in ME/CFS, and therefore doesn’t leak a lot of HHV-6 into the blood. (Very high levels of HHV-6 DNA can be found during primary (or first) infections, but this type of infection is not usually seen in ME/CFS).

Even in primary infections HHV-6 loads will diminish over time in the blood. That doesn’t happen with ciHHV-6.
Since a latent ciHHV-6 infection is contained within the cellular DNA, the result on a serum or plasma PCR test is much lower because the cells are separated from the plasma and only DNA from cells that die in the process will show up.

The Study

Three hundred and thirty seven people suffering from neurological problems and long-term fatigue were tested using quantitative PCR for the presence of ciHHV-6. Very, very high levels of HHV6 indicated that two percent (7/337) had chromosomally integrated HHV-6. mRNA tests indicated the virus was actively replicating in their blood.
Two percent (2.1%) of the ME/CFS population translates into about 15-20,000 people with ME/CFS in the US.

Findings

Not Homegrown After All

This study suggests that, in symptomatic ciHHV-6 patients, infection with an exogenous HHV-6 virus may be a frequent occurrence.

The second part of the study involved four ciHHV6 patients suffering from symptoms consistent with ME/CFS including debilitating fatigue, headache, blurred vision, cognitive impairment, pain, etc. who were given further testing to determine the type of HHV-6 present. All had an active infection of different strain of HHV-6 virus than found in their genome. That suggested their illness was not due to ciHHV-6 reactivation but to another strain of HHV-6 they’d been exposed to.

It also suggested that people with ciHHV-6 and neurological symptoms such as fatigue and cognitive problems may very well have two HHV-6 infections; the ciHHV-6 in their DNA and an outside infection.

Long-Term Antiviral Treatment Provides Hope 

The good news…Is that antiviral drugs improve the severe neurological symptoms, including dysfunction and long-term fatigue, suffered by a certain group of patients with CFS. Dr. Peter Medveczky

Two treatment regimes, a short-term regime (900 mg/valganciclovir 2x’s/day) lasting 3 weeks and a longer term (900 mg/valganciclovir 2x’s/day for first three weeks then 450 mg twice daily for three weeks or more) lasting greater than or equal to six weeks. The short-term treatment had no effect on viral load (U100 RNA) or symptoms while the long-term treatment eliminated both. A blood test five weeks after the end of the treatment for one patient, however, indicated the virus was back in full force.

(Note that Valtrex, an antiherpesvirus drug commonly used in ME/CFS, is not effective against HHV-6)

valcyte molecule
Valganciclovir (Valcyte) is effective against HHV-6; (valaciyclovir) Valtrex is not
Kristin Loomis, the Executive Director of the HHV-6 Foundation, suggested patients with active ciHHV-6 infections may also benefit from supplements that enhance their cellular immune response such as AHCC, ImmunoPro, and Avemar, or the prescription drug Immunovir that can be ordered legally from Canada with a prescription.

Last year Medveczky and Montoya reported successfully resolving the neurological symptoms and fatigue of two ciHHV6 patients experiencing cognitive problems, depression, fatigue, and abnormal qEEG readings. Their qEEG readings normalized and their DNA load declined although, (as expected), it did not disappear. According to the Pantry study they remain symptom free.

Kristin Loomis suggested one reason these patients may need longer than normal treatment regimes is a long lasting immunosuppression caused by HHV-6. She noted that the beta herpesviruses (HHV-6, 7 and CMV (HHV-5)) found in ME/CFS all cause immunosuppression that can last up to six months. Until the immune system is restored, these virsues will continue to reactivate during stressful periods or in response to another illness.

She also encouraged patients with ciHHV6 to join the CIHHV6 registry.

ciHVV-6 Opens The Door?

Why the ciHHV-6 patients were infected with a different HHV-6 strain than they were harboring isn’t clear, but several possibilities exist. Findings of reduced antibody rates to an HHV-6 protein suggest ciHHV-6 may somehow have switched off some immune factors that target HHV-6, thereby opening the door for new HHV-6 infections.

kicking door open
Some preliminary evidence suggests ciHHV-6 could open the door for more HHV-6 infections
Kristin Loomis, the President of the HHV-6 Foundation that helped fund the study, noted that many people with recurring herpesvirus infections (ciHHV-6 or not) probably have an undiagnosed immune deficiency such as hypogammaglobulinemia, impaired CD4 or NK cell responses, reduced lymphoproliferative response and/or low NK cell counts. The following tests at a lab such as Quest can identify these some of these immune ‘holes’.

  • IgG Subclasses Panel
  • Lymphocyte Subset Panel (CD4, CD8, CD3, CD19 and CD16/56)

  • ImmuKnow Immune Cell Function (measures CD4 cell response)

  • Natural Killer Cell Functional Assay, FC
Other causes of viral reactivation include stress. (Hydrocortisone activates virus in the laboratory.)

Drugs Open the Door?

Laboratory cell culture studies suggest the possibility that in some cases drugs may have opened the door for ciHHV-6 reactivation. Antibiotics such as Amoxicillin, Minocycline, Vancomycin, Dapsone, Trichostatin; NSAIDS such as ibuprofen and naproxen; immunosuppressants such as hydrocortisone; anti-inflammatories such as sulfasalazine, anticonvulsants such as carbamazepine, phenobarbital, valproic acid and HDAC inhibitor Trichostatin A have all been found in laboratory culture tests or in case reports, to enhance the risk of HHV-6 reactivation. (Click here for more drugs – Table Four).

Extreme drug allergies (also known as Drug Induced Hypersensitivity Syndrome or DRESS) result in HHV-6 reactivation in about 85% of cases. Steroids can also activate HHV-6; it is unknown if they present a unusual risk to individuals with ciHHV6, however.

Tested Positive for HHV-6? You Probably Have ciHHV-6

A team of ciHHV-6 experts does not recommend routine screening for ciHHV-6 for the general population but does recommend that patients with ‘suspiciously high’ serum or plasma HHV-6 levels get screened using quantitative PCR using whole blood or PBMC’s.
Kristin Loomis suggested ME/CFS patients who’ve tested positive for HHV-6 (via quantitative PCR) probably have ciHHV-6. The question then becomes whether they also have an active infection or if your test merely reflected the fact that you have ciHHV-6.
This is the tricky part. ciHHV-6 infection can result in false positives for active HHV-6 infection but this study involved four ME/CFS patients with inherited ciHHV-6 infection. This suggests ciHHV-6 infected ME/CFS patients may be at greater risk of succumbing to an outside strain of HHV-6.

The Missing Test

We have two questions here. If you’ve tested positive for HHV-6 do you actually ciHHV-6?  And if you have ciHHV-6, do you also have another HHV-6 infection?
Question mark
Since tests to determine if active HHV-6 infections are not available commercially, doctors will have to make informed judgments regarding treatment
The first question is relatively easy to answer. Quantitative PCR tests offered by commercial laboratories can suggest you have ciHHV-6. Since ciHHV-6 is expected to produce high DNA copy numbers, and CFS patients with persistent low-level HHV-6 infections almost always test negative (or fall below the level of detection) for HHV-6, any quantitative PCR DNA lab tests indicating high HHV-6 loads very strongly suggests that you have ciHHV-6.

(Note: This does not apply to persons testing positive on the qualitative nested PCR tests at VIP Laboratories or Redlabs.)

Unfortunately, no commercial laboratories offer tests that can tell if you have an active HHV-6 infection.
Physicians will need to rely on their clinical assessments (ie do your symptoms suggest you  have an active infection? Do immune lab tests suggest your body is fighting off an infection, etc.)  to determine if antivirals are indicated.

Kristin Loomis suggested that those with a positive plasma test in the past should send blood samples to the clinical lab University of Washington to confirm CIHHV6 status, using a form that can be downloaded from the HHV-6 Foundation page on CIHHV6 testing. The University of Washington has a new third generation PCR test that is highly accurate and designed to identify ciHHV6 samples.

Testing Must Be Done on Whole Blood (Not Plasma)

Alternatively, samples can be sent to Viracor or Quest but physicians need to contact the lab director at each lab in advance to request that the testing be done on whole blood instead of plasma.

The test used in this study, a real-time PCR assay for HHV-6 U100 mRNA, can differentiate between latent and active infections but is not available in commercial labs.

A New Subset 

An estimated 15,000 to 20,000 patients with this CFS-like disease in the United States alone may ultimately benefit from … this research including antiviral therapy. Dr. Peter Medveczky
pie chart with subsets
Researchers propose subsetting out a category of ME/CFS patients with ciHHV-6 and HHV-6 infections.
The authors proposed to call ciHHV-6 with an outside HHV-6 infection “inherited herpesvirus six syndrome” or IHS. When asked why the ‘syndrome’ tag, Kristin Loomis replied that too much is unknown to pin the disorder down more. Several different HHV-6 scenarios, it turns out, could be causing similar symptoms. An abortive HHV-6 infection, reactivation of the integrated genome even if it is not fully replicating, or even ciHHV-6′s interference with genetic functioning of the chromosomes its found in, could all potentially cause similar symptoms.
Medveczky explains that IHS patients are:

  1. ciHHV-6 positive
  2. suffer from an illness similar to ME/CFS,
  3.  have HHV-6 mRNA  (late mRNA) present in their blood indicating the virus is active
  4. respond to six weeks of antiviral treatment with the disappearance of the active virus and experience symptom improvement

Since ciHHV-6 is found in all the cells of the body it’s potential to wreak mischief either genetically or through reactivation is high. It will take future studies to determine if it does, however. Medveczky found that HDAC inhibitor Trichostatin A activates CIHHV6 in the test tube. Many of the new cancer treatments, such as Vorinostat, are HDAC inhibitors.

Good Pedigree

The senior author of the study, Dr. Peter Medveczky, has been publishing herpesviruses papers since the 1980′s. HHV-6 Foundation president, Kristin Loomis, noted that Medveczky was completely skeptical when he first heard about ciHHV-6 but he’s now convinced, and he’s actively linking a subset of ME/CFS to a viral disorder. With his long stint of herpesvirus research behind him, Medveczky is the kind of researcher other researchers listen to – a vital need.

Conclusion

Doubled rates of ciHHV-6 in ME/CFS relative to the general population suggest ciHHV-6 could contribute to ME/CFS. The high viral loads in laboratory tests, present in people with benign ciHHV-6 infections, can lead to unneeded courses of antivirals. On the other hand, some evidence suggests ciHHV-6 associated immune dysfunction may open the door for further herpesvirus infections.

This early study indicates new HHV-6 infections may be commonly found (and effectively treated) in ME/CFS patients with ciHHV-6. Further study is needed but the success of long term antiviral treatment regimes (@ 6 weeks)  in these patients suggests from 15-20,000 ME/CFS patients in the U.S. could ultimately benefit from appropriate courses of antivirals. Shorter-term courses are not effective.

Since persistently high levels of HHV-6 are associated with ciHHV-6 status but not chronic HHV-6 infection, further testing, while not definitive, can help determine whether ciHHV-6 is present. Physicians will need to decide on a case-by-case basis if antiviral treatment is warranted. Quantitative PCR tests done on whole blood can suggest whether ciHHV-6 is present. No commercial laboratory tests at this time can determine if an active HHV-6 infections are present.

Further Studies

All one study can do is open the door; it takes confirmatory studies to make the findings stick. If a sub-category of ME/CFS called Inherited Human Herpesvirus Six Syndrome is to take hold substantial research is needed. Small research foundations like the HHV-6 Foundation can only do so much. Thus far the work has been done on a shoestring; now it needs full funding and that means NIH funding.

- See more at: http://simmaronresearch.com/2013/08/finding-opens-treatment-possibility-for-15-20k-chronic-fatigue-syndrome-patients-in-us/#sthash.SGPp374d.dpuf

Rush to digitalize toddlers risks Internet addiction



Rush to digitalize toddlers risks Internet addiction
By: Devra Davis
Posted: 08/1/2013 1:00 AM | 

More suited to a sci-fi flick than reality, a startling epidemic of young people with smartphone-addled brains is on the rise, and the long-term consequences might be far worse than you or I could imagine.

Reporting one in five students is addicted to their smartphone, South Korea, the world's most tech-savvy nation, is aggressively tackling the problem, establishing more than 100 Internet-addiction camps.

As the number of young smartphone users escalates around the globe, educating children and parents about the effects of this increasingly prevalent drug of the future is imperative.

South Korean medical researchers released a recent report that illuminates the experiment in which we are all unwitting participants.

Neuroscientists there reported a rise in digital dementia -- the tendency of the young to be so obsessed with smartphones they can't remember phone numbers, produce legible handwriting or look people in the eye, all signs of a type of brain damage.

In a nation where 20 per cent of 10- to 19-year-olds spend seven hours a day on smartphones and tablets, exposures are the highest in the world and reports of lopsided brain development are increasing.

According to the Korean Ministry of Science, the country has more digital devices than people, with many children beginning to use devices as toddlers.

Psychiatrist Dr. Byun Gi-Won, of the Balance Brain Center in Seoul, South Korea, explained, "Young people who are heavy technology users are likely to have a properly developed left hemisphere of the brain while the right hemisphere will be unused and underdeveloped."

The Atlantic Monthly reported that in Korea, a cottage industry of Internet-addiction treatment centres has surfaced.

Meanwhile in the U.S., parents are giving young children cellphones as toys. The Los Angeles School District, along with many others, is making multimillion-dollar commitments to the use of wireless digital devices, and Google has "gifted" the city of San Francisco Wi-Fi for major public parks.

These expansive growths of wireless are taking place with no thought about the long-term impact this can have on developing brains, bodies and babies that are growing up in a sea of radio-frequency radiation -- also known as microwave radiation -- that is without precedent in human history.

The American Academy of Pediatrics and the group I head, Environmental Health Trust, have long advocated that children need more lap time than screen time.

If digital devices must be used to distract a toddler on a long car trip, put them on airplane mode and make sure they remain disconnected from Internet or Wi-Fi. Most tips for reducing usage come down to one simple notion -- distance is your friend and time is your enemy. Keep calls and connection times as short as possible.

Look around you these days. Young parents are glued to their phones while strolling with their toddlers -- some of whom are also zoned into their own electronic devices. Watch youngsters turn crestfallen when a caregiver shifts from playing with them to answer a text or call. See families seated at dinner tables, each immersed in their own screen.
When we strip away from our lives all the electronified trappings and stuff with which we are so preoccupied; when we throw away all those things we now crave and believe we need, what is left is what essentially makes us human.

The rush to digitize toddlers and young children flies in the face of what developmental psychologists have long understood. Children learn best by direct human touch and eye contact -- from real people not machines.

Devra Davis, PhD, is an award-winning author and scientist. She is president of Environmental Health Trust, a non-profit research and policy organization, based in Jackson, Wyo.

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition August 1, 2013 A11
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/analysis/rush-to-digitalize-toddlers-risks-internet-addiction-217881311.html


Diggers cancer cluster claim

Diggers cancer cluster claim 

Joseph Catanzaro, The West Australian
Updated August 3, 2013, 2:50 am

Diggers cancer cluster claim
Cancer claims: Sapper Luke Butler. Picture: Supplied

A device used by Australian soldiers in Afghanistan to jam the detonation of roadside bombs has been linked to a cluster of cancer among returning Diggers, with internal documents revealing the Federal Government was aware of alleged problems as early as 2008.
The Government's claim last month it was not aware of multiple cases where the battlefield device allegedly caused cancer has been exposed as false by the grieving widow of an Australian soldier.
She released documents yesterday showing the Veterans' Affairs Department was told of the potential danger years earlier.
The revelation has reignited a call from the Australian Medical Association for an investigation into the link between the device and what it believes constitutes a cancer cluster, and comes after Skye Butler provided The Weekend West with documents her husband Sapper Luke Butler sent to Veterans' Affairs in 2008.
Obtained under Freedom of Information laws, the documents show Spr Butler claimed the bomb-jamming equipment he used in Afghanistan caused his brain tumour, which killed him at age 27 in 2010.
Mrs Butler released the dossier after Veterans' Affairs Minister Warren Snowdon spoke publicly in June of his "surprise" when the family of another soldier, 28-year-old Kevin Dillon, claimed his fatal cancer was caused by the electronic countermeasure device.
A lifesaving tool in a war where insurgents frequently attack using roadside bombs, the mobile version of the device can be worn on the soldier's back and uses high-power radio transmitters to disrupt mobile phone signals that detonate bombs.
At the time, Mr Snowdon said he believed Mr Dillon's case was the first where the device had been linked to cancer, and "there is no evidence I am aware of the equipment we use has given that outcome", and Veterans' Affairs had told him it had no records linking cancer with the device.
Mrs Butler's documents, held by Veterans' Affairs, showed it was aware of her husband's claim five years earlier linking the ECM to his tumour.
A board of inquiry assessing his compensation claim put in writing his assertion two soldiers he worked with in the 1st Combat Engineer Regiment had "suffered similar conditions".
AMA president Dr Steve Hambleton revealed the group was aware of four cases where the bomb-jamming device had allegedly been linked to cancer in returned soldiers.
It is believed this makes between four and six cases where an ECM has been allegedly linked to cancer.
Mrs Butler yesterday spoke out to question how many cases the Government might not be admitting.
"They either haven't looked (for the records) or they're lying about it," Mrs Butler said. "It's really insulting to Luke. It's insulting to all soldiers."
Besides "high-frequency radio exposure", the compensation claim by Spr Butler on September 1, 2008 put "exposure to foreign materials (fumes)" during his service as an additional possible trigger that led to his malignant neoplasm.
Last month, the Australian Government Repatriation Medical Authority - an independent statutory authority responsible to Mr Snowdon - gazetted its aim to investigate nerve agents and oil-well smoke as factors in malignant neoplasm of the brain.
Dr Hambleton said the ECM device worked on the microwave band, which should not be able to cause the kind of tissue heating that damages DNA. But he said nothing could be ruled out without an investigation.
"Theoretically there is no risk," he said. "Even though there are a couple of other cases, it doesn't necessarily mean a connection. But when you see clusters, you do want to investigate."
A spokesperson for Mr Snowdon said the minister's comments in June were based on advice from the Repatriation Medical Authority and Defence, based on medical and scientific evidence on ECM and cancer.
In June, Rear Admiral Robyn Walker of Joint Health Command said about Mr Dillon's case: "I am not aware, at this point, of any concerns raised about ECM." She did not respond to questions yesterday but Defence maintained there "has been no evidence of cancers attributed to the frequencies and equipment we use".

http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/wa/18319261/diggers-cancer-cluster-claim/