WASHINGTON Police officers told Congress on Monday they fearradar guns used to catch speeders may cause cancer, and they wantfederal health agencies to determine if the link exists.
Appearing before a Senate Environmental Affairs Subcommittee,one of the officers, Patrolman Thomas Malcolm of Windsor Locks,Conn., who used a radar gun for 15 years, called himself a victim ofpoor regulation and information.
In November, 1989, surgeons removed Malcolm's left testiclebecause it had a cancerous tumor. Malcolm believes radiation fromthe antenna in his radar gun caused the cancer because, like manyofficers, he placed the gun on his lap when he wasn't "clocking" avehicle.
"No one told me to turn the unit switch to the `off' position ifnot clocking someone," Malcolm said. "No one explained to me that Ishould not rest the unit in my lap because the antenna was in theunit."
The Senate committee is pushing the Environmental ProtectionAgency and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Healthto study radar guns and cancer.
Senators Christopher Dodd and Joseph Lieberman, both ConnecticutDemocrats, said they are frustrated with EPA's slow pace inperforming a comprehensive radar gun study requested and financed byCongress last year.
EPA officials said they are researching the best method totackle the $1.8 million study.
Scientists gave mixed reports to the subcommittee.
Bryan Hardin, of the federal Centers for Disease Control, said arecent evaluation of an unidentified police department in Virginiafound radiation "exposure levels below applicable occupationalstandards."
However, to allay fears of the Virginia police officers, theevaluation recommended lowering exposure levels.
"The scientific information available today is not adequate todetermine whether additional guidelines are needed for radar guns andother sources of microwave radiation," Hardin told the subcommittee.
Even so, the Food and Drug Administration, which oversees theCenters for Disease Control, has asked police officers to call (800)638-6725 if they believe they have sustained radar-related injuries.
It recommended that officers not place the radar gun within 6inches of the body.
Dr. William Ross Adey of the Pettis Memorial Veterans MedicalCenter in Loma Linda, Calif., questioned the adequacy of existingexposure standards.
He said there is an "urgent need for a national civilianresearch program on the medical effects" of radiation from radar gunsbecause they "may carry a significant biological and biomedicalrisk."
But the largest manufacturer of radar guns, Kustom Signals Inc.,said it meets all federal safety standards for radar emissions.
John Kusek, senior vice president of Kustom Signals, said thecompany is suing Connecticut because it banned radar guns without anyscientific evidence linking the guns to health hazards.
"Even a child's nursery monitor typically emits six times thepower of a police radar gun," Kusek said.
Gary Phillip Poynter, a trooper with the Ohio State HighwayPatrol, was the first to suggest a link between radar guns and cancerin police officers.
He wrote in a bimonthly police newspaper about the disturbingnumber of cancer cases among Ohio state troopers; 19 in 10 years.After his article appeared, he said he was swamped with calls fromofficers citing similar concerns.
No comments:
Post a Comment