Monterey Peninsula Airport
Noise
Source: KIRO 7 Eyewitness: Health News.
In a three mile radius around the Seattle-Tacoma (Sea-Tac) airport, Washington, U.S.A. twenty-one people have contracted glioblastoma, a rare and aggressive brain cancer over a three year period. Washington State Epidemiologist, Juliet VanEenwyk, said, "We found elevated rates of globlastoma in an area three miles around Sea-Tac airport."In the three year period the state examined, they expected 12 cases of glioblastoma but found 21.
They also found excessive cases of all the cancers they looked for.
Suspecting there was a significant occurrence of brain cancer in the residential areas around the airport, residents Audrey Richter and Rose Clark collected three years data to compile a map geographically locating brain cancer cases. The map clearly shows that the closer one is to the flight path, the more likely one is likely to die of cancer.
The residents are blaming toxic chemicals from aircraft fuel from the aircraft flying overhead and are urging the state's health department to investigate to find what could be dangerous in jet fumes.
John Bregar, from the Environmental Protection Agency said that formaldehyde, benzine and other chemicals in jet fuel have been linked to cancer. "We don't really know what happens when exhaust fumes from airlines reacts with other chemicals in the air," said Bregar. "We don't know what kind of effect that has on human health".
The state health department has launched its own investigation and are looking at other possible hazards, such as auto exhaust fumes. A spokesperson said that if the federal government ever decides to study jet fuel emissions, that could give them valuable information.
What is interesting about this news item is that nothing is mentioned about the possible connection between the cancers, particularly glioglastoma, and the airport radar transmissions.
Epidemiologist John Goldsmith, at Ben Gurion University, Isreal has listed the findings from different studies which suggest four possible health effects from radar exposure: A) disturbances in blood counts, not necessarily of clinical severity; B) changes in chromosomes of white blood cells; C) increases in frequency of unfavourable reproductive outcomes, especially spontaneous abortion, and D) increases in cancers of certain sites.
Several years ago the Menzies Centre for Population Health Research in Hobart Tasmania was asked to look into cancer incidence around the Hobart airport and apparently similar enquiries were happening in relation to other airports near Australian cities. This was done on a confidential basis.
I have contacted a doctor, who is associated with the Sea-Tac inquiry and suggested they look into radar exposure. What I am trying to find now are any studies done specifically on airport radar and cancer incidence?