On 18 Aug 2004 21:25:13 GMT, "Frank Dresser"
wrote:


"lsmyer" wrote in message
...
This is a link to an article investigating leukemia rates in areas near AM
transmitters.

http://www.wired.com/news/medtech/0,1286,64579,00.html

I don't doubt that high levels of RF can be dangerous. The first two chief
engineers I worked with both died of cancer in their 50s.

Maybe they got cancer from some other cause (both smoked), but I still
feel
like I'm inside a microwave oven anytime I'm around an AM transmitter
site.




Wouldn't FM broadcast antennas be an even greater concern? The height of
most adults would make them resonant somewhere near, or in, the FM broadcast
band. I'd expect energy transfer to be more effiecnt from the FM broadcast
antenna to the human body than it is in the AM broadcast band.

Anyway, there's been over 80 years of kW+ levels of AM broadcasting, and it
seems strange this leukemia concern has gone unnoticed until now.

Frank Dresser

It is another one of these cases where there may indeed be a link, but
there is no assurance at all that the link is causative. For example
you can find a link between smoking and cirrosis of the liver. Many
smokers are also significant drinkers. It wasn't the smoking that
caused the problem, but the smoking and other behaviours that are
causative are often seen together. I.E. most high power AM
transmitters are in major cities, and there are significant other
hazards from things like air pollution that exist independent of the
AM broadcast facilities.

As far as those working around the equipment, I'd be more interested
in the potential X-ray exposure. The voltages used in high power
transmitter tubes produce significant X-ray hazards, and these weren't
recognized for a long time.