97 lines
4.7 KiB
Plaintext
97 lines
4.7 KiB
Plaintext
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VDT Radiation Danger
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Summ: D. Lauffer
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The New Yorker recently ran a series of articles under the
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heading of "The Annals of Radiation" by Paul Brodeur. They
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covered research and the industry responses to possible dangers
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from a variety of radiation sources. The articles covered power
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lines, microwave sources and Video Display Terminals. Brodeur
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relies heavily on the work of several epidemiologists,
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microbiologists and the maverick, Louis Slesin, editor of the
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Microwave News and the VDT News. The VDT article appeared in the
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6-26-89 issue of the New Yorker (an issue with skateboarders on
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the cover if you are looking in the local library). Since I do
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not have training in either medicine or electrical engineering, I
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am only offering a very brief, uncritical summary of the VDT
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article.
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Brodeur points out that the groups most likely to fund
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research into radiation dangers are the military and computer and
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electronics manufacturers. All of these have a vested interest in
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downplaying health hazards associated with regular use of VDTs
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both by the public and by their own personnel. The medium most
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likely to spread detailled information about hazards would be the
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newspapers, who have reporters, editors and clerks who take
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classified ads all of whom might hold them responsible for health
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risks. The Columbia Journalism Review has documented the lack of
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coverage by the press in articles in 1981 and 1984. Additionally,
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there is documentation that NIOSH and the FDA have been lax in
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pursuing problems in this area, even though they had announced
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studies of the problem.
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The major hazards no longer involve the X-Rays which had
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been emitted by the CRTs and consumer TVs in the past. They seem
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to lie in the magnetic radiation emitted by transformers
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associated with the changing image on the VDT. Epidemiologists
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have noted high incidence of miscarriages among VDT operators.
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This seems to correspond to research on Extra Low Frequency
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radiation (ELF) and Very Low Frequency radiation (VLF) which are
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emitted by components such as the fly-back transformer in the
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VDT. These components are often near the outside of the device,
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and are even more likely to send radiation to the sides or to the
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back of the terminal.
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Embroylogy research on chickens by Delgado, who has taught
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at Yale, indicated that serious changes were caused in early
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development by 100Hz magnetic radiation. The results were
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confirmed in a Swedish study, which led to banning VDTs which are
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not shielded for VLF in Sweden as of 1988. IBM now markets a VDT
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(only available in Scandinavian Countries) which meets VLF
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guidelines. Other research has found that as little as 15 minutes
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of exposure to ELF accelerates DNA/RNA transfer in insects. This
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would indicate a potential for problems in fetal development for
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early stage pregnant women who work at VDTs.
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An additional area of problems is the role of magnetic
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fields in these ranges in the increased incidence of childhood
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cancer. These are usually associated with power lines near
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residences. Epidemiologists have also noted increased incidence
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of cancer in adult VDT operators.
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Recommendations
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When VLF-shielded terminals become available, these should be
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given strong consideration for new purchases and
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replacements.
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When ELF-shielded terminals become available, these should be
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also given strong consideration for new purchases and
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replacements. These will require transformer shielding in Mu-
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metal.
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This is not a problem with liquid crystal displays LCD, such
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as are found in Laptop Computers.
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With the present generation of equipment you should sit 28
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inches in front, and about 40 inches away from any other
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terminal.
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Waiver of responsibilty
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I am still not sure that I understand all this material, and
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I am in no position to critique the positions taken. However,
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I'd rather be aware of the possibilities and and be conservative
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in my approach to my own safety. If this is like other lengthy
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articles in the New Yorker, it should be published in book form
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shortly. It will be very interesting to see what sort of
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reception the wider dissemination of these ideas gets, both from
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the industry and the press.
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Graciously supplied by Double Helix BBS
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