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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2005. An Assessment of Potential Health Effects from Exposure to PAVE PAWS Low-Level Phased-Array Radiofrequency Energy. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11205.
×

AN ASSESSMENT OF POTENTIAL HEALTH EFFECTS FROM EXPOSURE TO PAVE PAWS LOW-LEVEL PHASED-ARRAY RADIOFREQUENCY ENERGY

Committee to Assess Potential Health Effects from Exposures to PAVE PAWS Low-Level Phased-Array Radiofrequency Energy

Board on Radiation Effects Research

Division on Earth and Life Studies

NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES

THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS
Washington, D.C.
www.nap.edu

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2005. An Assessment of Potential Health Effects from Exposure to PAVE PAWS Low-Level Phased-Array Radiofrequency Energy. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11205.
×

THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS
500 Fifth Street, N.W. Washington, DC 20001

NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.

This study was supported by contract F05604-01-C-9000, between the National Academy of Sciences and the U.S. Air Force. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the organizations or agencies that provided support for the project.

International Standard Book Number 0-309-09309-0

Additional copies of this report are available from the
National Academies Press,
500 Fifth Street, N.W., Lockbox 285, Washington, DC 20055; (800) 624-6242 or (202) 334-3313 (in the Washington metropolitan area); Internet, http://www.nap.edu.

Copyright 2005 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.

Printed in the United States of America.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2005. An Assessment of Potential Health Effects from Exposure to PAVE PAWS Low-Level Phased-Array Radiofrequency Energy. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11205.
×

THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES

Advisers to the Nation on Science, Engineering, and Medicine

The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Bruce M. Alberts is president of the National Academy of Sciences.

The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. Wm. A. Wulf is president of the National Academy of Engineering.

The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Harvey V. Fineberg is president of the Institute of Medicine.

The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy’s purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Bruce M. Alberts and Dr. Wm. A. Wulf are chair and vice chair, respectively, of the National Research Council.

www.national-academies.org

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2005. An Assessment of Potential Health Effects from Exposure to PAVE PAWS Low-Level Phased-Array Radiofrequency Energy. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11205.
×

COMMITTEE TO ASSESS POTENTIAL HEALTH EFFECTS FROM EXPOSURES TO PAVE PAWS LOW-LEVEL PHASED-ARRAY RADIOFREQUENCY ENERGY

FRANK S. BARNES (Chairman),

University of Colorado, Boulder, CO

ROBERT C. HANSEN (Vice-Chairman),

R. C. Hansen, Inc., Tarzana, CA

LARRY E. ANDERSON,

Battelle, Pacific Northwest National Laboratories, Richland, WA

GRAHAM A. COLDITZ,

Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA

FRANCESCA DOMINICI,

Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD

KENNETH J. McLEOD,

State University of New York, Binghamton, NY

KEITH D. PAULSEN,

Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH

LESLIE L. ROBISON,

University of Minnesota Cancer Center, Minneapolis, MN

SUSAN L. SANTOS,

University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey School of Public Health and East Orange New Jersey Veterans Administration Medical Center War Related Illness and Injury Study Center, Medford, MA

JAN A. J. STOLWIJK,

Yale University School of Medicine (emeritus), Beltsville, MD

GAYLE E. WOLOSCHAK,

Northwestern University, Chicago, IL

Consultant

DAVID R. CHALLONER,

University of Florida, Gainesville, FL

National Research Council Staff

RICK JOSTES, Study Director

EVAN B. DOUPLE, BRER Director

COURTNEY GIBBS, Program Assistant

DORIS E. TAYLOR, Staff Assistant

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2005. An Assessment of Potential Health Effects from Exposure to PAVE PAWS Low-Level Phased-Array Radiofrequency Energy. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11205.
×

BOARD ON RADIATION EFFECTS RESEARCH

S. JAMES ADELSTEIN (Chairman),

Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA

HAROLD L. BECK,

Department of Energy Environmental Laboratory (Retired), New York, NY

JOEL S. BEDFORD,

Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO

JAMES E. CLEAVER,

University of California San Francisco Cancer Center, San Francisco, CA

SARAH C. DARBY,

University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom

SHARON L. DUNWOODY,

University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI

C. CLIFTON LING,

Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY

DANIEL KREWSKI,

University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada

THEODORE L. PHILLIPS,

University of California, San Francisco, CA

ANDREW M. SESSLER,

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA

JOHN C. VILLFORTH,

Food and Drug Law Institute (Retired), Derwood, MD

PAUL L. ZEIMER,

Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN

EDWARD R. EPP (Board Liaison to the Committee),

Massachusetts General Hospital (Retired), Boston, MA

National Research Council Staff

EVAN B. DOUPLE, Director,

Board on Radiation Effects Research

ISAF AL-NABULSI, Senior Program Officer

RICK JOSTES, Senior Program Officer

CATHERINE S. BERKLEY, Administrative Associate

DORIS E. TAYLOR, Staff Assistant

COURTNEY GIBBS, Program Assistant

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2005. An Assessment of Potential Health Effects from Exposure to PAVE PAWS Low-Level Phased-Array Radiofrequency Energy. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11205.
×

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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2005. An Assessment of Potential Health Effects from Exposure to PAVE PAWS Low-Level Phased-Array Radiofrequency Energy. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11205.
×

Preface

In a January 11, 2001, letter from Senator Edward M. Kennedy to the Secretary of the Air Force, F. Whitten Peters, Senator Kennedy asked that the Air Force fund an independent study through the National Research Council of the National Academies “to examine the health effects of the PAVE PAWS system.” Kennedy further requested that “this follow-on study (to the previous 1979 National Research Council report) should address, at a minimum, the effects, if any, of the PAVE PAWS radar over the past two decades and should also examine the validity of using continuous-wave and pulsed non-ionizing radiation biological-effects data as surrogates for phased-array non-ionizing radiation biological effects data.” The offices of Senators Kennedy and Kerry, and Congressman Delehunt, participated in discussions with the Air Force and the National Research Council to establish the task that is addressed by this committee in this report.

A committee composed of individuals with engineering, biology, epidemiology, risk communication, and biostatistics expertise was established by the National Research Council to address the task. The committee heard from interested citizens in a public forum held in Sandwich, MA on May 28, 2002. In additional open sessions of the committee, the committee gathered information from the Air Force, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, the PAVE PAWS Public Health Steering Group, various experts from universities and other institutions, and the Cape Cod public.

The committee also evaluated information provided to the committee by interested parties, surveyed the scientific literature, and conducted a preliminary statistical correlation analysis to evaluate the potential for biological and health effects from the PAVE PAWS radar. A letter report was published providing

Page viii Cite
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2005. An Assessment of Potential Health Effects from Exposure to PAVE PAWS Low-Level Phased-Array Radiofrequency Energy. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11205.
×

advice regarding the Air Force waveform measurement effort and a second interim letter report was published that commented on the adequacy, at that time, of available information and outlined the general characteristics of information that the committee deemed useful in its evaluation of the potential biological and health effects of the PAVE PAWS radar.

This report is an update of a prior 1979 National Research Council report (Analysis of the Exposure Levels and Potential Biologic Effects of the PAVE PAWS Radar System) and addresses the following:

  1. The applicability of, and the level of uncertainty associated with, using data derived from cell, animal, and epidemiological studies employing pulsed and continuous-wave exposure for evaluation of potential adverse health effects following phased-array exposures;

  2. The extent of the exposure of the public to electromagnetic energy from the PAVE PAWS system;

  3. Potential biological and health effects of the PAVE PAWS Radar System; and

  4. Recommendations for appropriate follow-on study design issues, including the strengths and limitations of the approaches suggested and the potential value of the proposed work.

Frank S. Barnes, Ph.D.

Chair

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2005. An Assessment of Potential Health Effects from Exposure to PAVE PAWS Low-Level Phased-Array Radiofrequency Energy. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11205.
×

Reviewers

This report has been reviewed in draft form by persons chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise in accordance with procedures approved by the National Research Council’s Report Review Committee. The purposes of this review are to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the institution in making the published report as sound as possible and to ensure that the report meets institutional standards of objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process. We wish to thank the following for their participation in the review of this report:

Thomas F. Budinger, University of California, Berkeley, CA

David G. Hoel, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC

Daniel Krewski, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada

Steven C. Lewis, University of Texas, Dallas, TX

Frank Prato, St. Joseph’s Health Centre, London, Canada

Andrew M. Sessler, E.O. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA

Zenon Sienkiewicz, National Radiological Protection Board, Chilton, United Kingdom

Bernard Veyret, University of Bordeaux, Pessac Cedex, France

Although the reviewers listed above have provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the conclusions or recommendations, nor did they see the final draft of the report before its release. The review of this report was overseen by John F. Ahearne, Sigma Xi and Duke

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2005. An Assessment of Potential Health Effects from Exposure to PAVE PAWS Low-Level Phased-Array Radiofrequency Energy. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11205.
×

University, Research Triangle Park, NC, and Richard B. Setlow, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY. Appointed by the National Research Council, they were responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this report was carried out in accordance with institutional procedures and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content of this report rests entirely with the authoring committee and the National Research Council.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2005. An Assessment of Potential Health Effects from Exposure to PAVE PAWS Low-Level Phased-Array Radiofrequency Energy. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11205.
×

Acknowledgments

The committee would like to thank Dr. Richard Albanese for directing the committee’s attention to aspects of the PAVE PAWS waveform that merited investigation. Richard and Sharon Judge, Charles Kleecamp, Ron Cronin, Jim Tomlin, and Victor Vyssotsky provided many insightful comments to the committee. We thank the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, the PAVE PAWS Public Health Steering Group, the Coalition to Operate PAVE PAWS Safely, and the U.S. Air Force for providing information to the committee.

We would also like to thank the following speakers at committee information-gathering sessions: Stephen Cleary, Stetson Hall, Robert S. Knorr, Joseph Roti-Roti, Kurt Oughstun, Thomas Roberts, Daniel Wartenberg, Robert Torres, and Donald McLemore.

The committee is especially indebted to the conscientious support and guidance provided by the study director, Rick Jostes. He sought and provided important information from a number of sources and he diligently kept the committee focused on its timeline and its charge. Dr. Jostes was well assisted in the administration of the committee’s work by Courtney Gibbs and Doris Taylor. Courtney Slack, a Christine Mirzayan Science & Technology Policy Graduate Fellow, provided additional valuable assistance to NRC staff.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2005. An Assessment of Potential Health Effects from Exposure to PAVE PAWS Low-Level Phased-Array Radiofrequency Energy. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11205.
×

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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2005. An Assessment of Potential Health Effects from Exposure to PAVE PAWS Low-Level Phased-Array Radiofrequency Energy. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11205.
×
   

 Visit Details,

 

26

   

 Conclusions and Findings,

 

29

3

 

PHYSICAL MECHANISMS FOR RF EFFECTS ON BIOLOGICAL SYSTEMS

 

31

   

 Summary,

 

35

4

 

EXPOSURE LEVELS

 

37

   

 Overview,

 

37

   

 PAVE PAWS Operation,

 

37

   

 The Beam Characteristics,

 

38

   

 PAVE PAWS Power-Density Estimates and Measurements,

 

40

   

 Population Exposure to Other RF Sources,

 

48

   

 Summary of PAVE PAWS Exposure Data,

 

51

5

 

PAVE PAWS EXPOSURE CONDITIONS

 

53

   

 Exposure Characteristics,

 

53

   

 Waveform Decay,

 

55

   

 Precursors,

 

68

   

 Summary,

 

76

   

Annex 5-1:   Dispersion in Biological Tissues,

 

78

   

Annex 5-2:   Papers on Precursor Measurements,

 

78

   

Annex 5-3:   Papers on Precursor Calculations,

 

82

   

Annex 5-4:   Related Papers on Precursors,

 

88

   

Annex 5-5:   Papers by Professor Oughstun and Colleagues,

 

90

6

 

EVIDENCE OF BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF RF EXPOSURE RELEVANT TO PAVE PAWS RADAR SYSTEM

 

94

   

 Introduction,

 

94

   

 Literature Review,

 

97

   

 Indirect Molecular Effects,

 

100

   

 Phenotypic Responses,

 

101

   

 Summary And Conclusions,

 

105

7

 

ANIMAL AND HUMAN STUDIES ADDRESSING HEALTH EFFECTS

 

110

   

 Introduction,

 

110

   

 Cancer—Human Studies,

 

111

   

 Cancer—Studies In Animal Models,

 

111

   

 Human Behavioral Studies,

 

114

   

 Animal Behavior,

 

115

   

 Other Physiological Studies,

 

116

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2005. An Assessment of Potential Health Effects from Exposure to PAVE PAWS Low-Level Phased-Array Radiofrequency Energy. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11205.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2005. An Assessment of Potential Health Effects from Exposure to PAVE PAWS Low-Level Phased-Array Radiofrequency Energy. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11205.
×

Map of Cape Cod in Massachusetts showing the “Upper Cape” as a shaded area. The Upper Cape is the portion of the Cape which is closest to the mainland and is commonly taken to extend to Barnstable. The location of the PAVE PAWS radar is indicated by the solid triangle near the town of Sagamore. The dashed lines extending from the radar indicate the approximate boundaries of the main beam when the radar is scanning (radar beam projects angled upward and to the East). From http://www.wordiq.com/definition/Cape_Codon10/27/2004.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2005. An Assessment of Potential Health Effects from Exposure to PAVE PAWS Low-Level Phased-Array Radiofrequency Energy. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11205.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2005. An Assessment of Potential Health Effects from Exposure to PAVE PAWS Low-Level Phased-Array Radiofrequency Energy. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11205.
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PAVE PAWS is a phased-array warning system designed to detect and track sea-launched and intercontinental ballistic missiles operated on Cape Cod since 1979 by the U.S. Air Force Space Command. In 1979, the National Research Council issued two reports to address concerns from Cape Cod residents about the safety and possible health effects of the radiofrequency energy from the radar. Following up on the1979 report, the new report finds no evidence of adverse health effects to Cape Cod residents from long-term exposure to the PAVE PAWS radar. The report specifically investigated whether the PAVE PAWS radar might be responsible in part for the reported higher rates of certain cancers in the area, but concludes there is no increase in the total number of cancers or in specific cancers of the prostate, breast, lung, or colon due to radiation exposure from PAVE PAWS. The report did find in the scientific literature a few biological responses to radiofrequency exposures that were statistically significant. Such responses do not necessarily result in adverse health effects, but the report recommends additional studies to better discern the significance, if any, of those findings.

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