Cancer and radio transmitters in WW2 aircraft

[airsearch]

Is there evidence linking a high incidence of cancer to aircrew who had radio transmitters behind their seats during long reconnessance flights in WW2? I am trying to assist my mum's eligibility to a war widow's pension after Dad died of Biliary Cancer.

[Kerosene Kraut]

Don't know if this is relevant to you: In Germany military ground based radar operators are fighting for compensation on a similar background.

Bund zur Untersttzung Radargeschdigter (http://www.radaropfer.de)

The widow of a german air force F-104 radar maintenance technician even got compensated:
Krebs durch Radar: Rente für die Witwe eines Bundeswehrsoldaten - Der Sozialticker (http://www.sozialticker.com/krebs-durch-radar-rente-fuer-die-witwe-eines-bundeswehrsoldaten_20081122.html)

Sorry everything is german.

Cheers and good luck,

KK

[Molemot]

A friend's father, who did many missions in Wellingtons and Lancaster B2s as a Wireless Operator/Air Gunner - including the Peenemunde raid - finally succumbed to a brain tumour a few years back. Not evidence, but anecdotal reinforcement anyway.

[Bob the Doc]

Not aware of any evidence. Would be difficult to prove causation in a group 60 years after the original exposure. You would need to show a high incidence of a particular type of cancer relative to the normal population. Given that cancer kills about 30% of the population anyway, relating it to an exposure so long ago would be difficult.

Not saying it is impossible but that is how I would see it. How powerful were these sets? I take it the aerial was on the outside of the a/c?

Sorry to put a downer on it

BtD

[HEATHROW DIRECTOR]

I've been a radio amateur for 30 years and use HF and VHF radio transmitters every day. I have not seen any statistics suggesting that radio amateurs suffer cancer more than other people and I am sure that if there was a link it would have been publicised many years ago.

Mum deserves all she can get but I fear that attempting to link the radio with Dad's disease may prove to be impossible.

[airsearch]

Thank you so much for your reply. I have really appreciated everyone's responses. Dad used to fly Bostons in New Guinea and Avro Ansens off the Australian coast. It is a shame he didn't find this site as he would have loved chatting to others with a passion for aircraft. Kind regards.

[harrowing]

Heathrow Director
There have been numerous studies about increased cancer risk with amateur radio operators. Perhaps there is no conclusive proof, but I always feel happier using a remote antenna rather than a hand held.
73s
harrowing
VK4DWH

[HEATHROW DIRECTOR]

harrowing.. OK, guess I've just never seen them over here. I've been in radio both as an SWL and amateur for well over 50 years and don't recall any such studies. I can only think of a couple of amateur friends who died of cancer, but that was definitely due to things other than radio. On the other hand, a good number of non-amateur friends have succumbed.

If you have any links to studies on the internet I'd be very interested to read them.

73 de Bren G4DYO

[Mike744]

I was a Radio Officer in the Merchant Navy for 23 years - during that time when on watch I was mostly within 3' of copper overhead feeders carrying RF from transmitters up to 2kW plus my work with radar equipment. I've not heard of any higher prevalance to cancer amongst retired fellow R/O's.

[harrowing]

Haethrow Director,
Here are just a few of the sites that came up with a search for "leukemia radio amateur"
INCREASED MORTALITY IN AMATEUR RADIO OPERATORS DUE TO LYMPHATIC AND HEMATOPOIETIC MALIGNANCIES -- MILHAM 127 (1): 50 -- American Journal of Epidemiology (http://aje.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/127/1/50)
leukemia amateur radio - PubMed Results (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?db=pubmed&cmd=Search&Term=leukemia%20amateur%20radio&itool=QuerySuggestion)
FHA - Leukemia mortality in amateur radio operators - Article Summary (http://www.find-health-articles.com/rec_pub_2861522-leukemia-mortality-amateur-radio-operators.htm)
http://www.feb.se/EMFguru/Research/Childhood.pdf

The last one refers to higher incidence in children since electrification of houses in the 1920s. As always with statistics, there is a difference between correlation and cause and effect. Tobacco is a prime example.
Partly tongue-in-cheek, one could argue that those interested in amateur radio may have a higher genetic pre-dispostion to whatever. A good friend is well aware of the possible link between engineers and autism in offspring.
On the other hand, perhaps old age is no longer listed as a cause of death, which can make the incidence of some diseases appear to rise with time, coupled with the increased life expectancy and something having to wear out or fail eventually. I am pretty certain there have been several papers written on that topic too.
Airsearch, good luck with your research and efforts.
Cheers
harrowing

[HEATHROW DIRECTOR]

OK Harrowing. Many thanks for those. I note that some go back to the 80s and none are very recent. I don't recall any articles on the subject in UK radio magazines, which i have been seeing on-aond-off for 50 years.

The field strength on my radio room with my antenna radiating 500 watts is quite low compared to, say, that in the ops rooms at Heathrow which were constantly bombarded with many megawatts from the nearby 23cm radar. When it first came into service it nearly drove us mad with the beeping sound in our headsets every few seconds but I believe it was somehow electronically "switched off" as it swept past the tower...... but not as it swept through the hundreds of offices close by! Over the years 2-3 ex-colleagues have died from Cancer but whether that was due to exposure to radar I doubt if anyone could prove.

Right, I'm going on the air soon so I'll just don my lead underpants...

[Agaricus bisporus]

Is there any study that credibly links exposure to RF with health problems of any sort? Thought not...

If there were a link it would be blindingly obvious by now - we've been using high powered RF for well over 100 years and so far no correlation has been made that I'm aware of.

[Mike744]

Ageed. I've not seen a credible article yet linking RF exposure to Cancer.
Surely a serious study would include average exposure to stated frequencies & power levels in the work place. At sea I was regularily exposed to frequencies from 410 kHz to over 22 MHz at powers up to 2 kW plus Marine VHF and that from 3 & 10cm Radars.
At Heathrow I'd guess you'd need lead underpants :\ I've heard that the 23cm head there produces peak power at least 150 kW at frequency/s of approx 1.3 GHz (correct me if I'm wrong) plus the RF radiation from the Nav/Comms etc.
- any one there with squeeky voices (and no kids yet)? :hmm:

[Curio]

My father was a wireless operator in 1942-5, flying in lancasters in about 40 missions over Germany.
He developed a brain tumour (astral cytoma) in 1972 and was dead 9 months later.
I looked up Google using the terms "wireless operator" & "brain tumour" and found 7 pages of references to other WWII wireless operators with similar fates.

[harrowing]

Curio,
There are a couple of similar threads in this section, the most applicable is "Cancer and radio transmitters in WW2 aircraft"
Cheers

[Bad medicine]

Harrowing, you beat me to it!:ok:

Cheers,

BM