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2 June 2003 |
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http://www.thisisyork.co.uk/york/news/YORK_NEWS_LOCAL1.html |
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A TOP US Air Force scientist says he would not buy a house near a North Yorkshire spy base because he fears the radiation it creates could cause cancer. USAF researcher Dr Richard Albanese says he fears phased array radiation being created by RAF Fylingdales, on the North York Moors, could have carcinogenic properties, and he would prefer to "live outside the beam" of the controversial listening post. Dr Albanese says he is "medically conservative" and would choose not to take the risk close to the base, which is to be expanded under the Son Of Star Wars missile defence system. "I think the concerns I have mandate the kind of action that is being taken - medical study, aggressive urgent medical study taking a path between alarm and complacency," he adds. The programme will reveal that a similar base at Cape Cod, US, is at the centre of a five-million dollar investigation into an unexplained cluster of rare cancers in the nearby community. Dr Albanese is now running tests at Cape Cod which were ordered after medical experts found raised levels of breast and lung cancer in young women near the Sagamore base, 70 miles from Boston. Emissions from the radar, like those at Fylingdales, are within legal limits, but some researchers question whether complex waves of electromagnetic radiation should be subject to tighter regulation. Some experiments have suggested that the emissions from phased array bases can damage DNA, the genetic material for plants and animals. Dr Albanese was in the team that first identified Agent Orange, a defoliant used during the Vietnam War, as the cause of unexplained cancers in American veterans. He compared his concerns over radiation affects to those about X-rays, asbestos and lead in fuel during the years leading up to scientific proof they could damage health. There is no evidence of a cancer cluster around Fylingdales, but the Yorkshire Cancer Register confirmed no research has yet been done. Emissions are within legal limits. The base is notorious for the effect it has on motorists with numerous breakdowns on the nearby A171 road blamed on interference with car alarms and immobilisers. Campaigner Jackie Fearnley, who lives in nearby Goathland, said she was "shocked" by the revelations. She said residents had little information on what occured at the military base. A Ministry of Defence spokesman said today: "We do not believe there is a risk to the local community, and the support of the community is very important to the Ministry." - Dr Albanese's claims were made to the team behind a BBC Inside Out television interview to be broadcast tonight on BBC1 at 7.30pm.
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2 June 2003 |
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/insideout/yorkslincs/series3/radiation_... |
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A senior US Air Force scientist has told the BBC he would not buy a house near Britain’s biggest radar base because he fears its radiation could pose a serious health risk. The role of RAF Fylingdales on the North York Moors is set to be expanded under plans for President Bush’s new Star Wars missile defence system. But Inside Out can reveal that an almost identical base on Cape Cod in the USA is at the centre of a $5m investigation into an unexplained cluster of rare cancers in the local community. Cancer fears
In an exclusive interview, serving US Air Force researcher, Dr Richard Albanese says he fears Phased Array Radiation from radars may have carcinogenic properties that science has yet to understand. What makes Dr Albanese’s claims more disturbing is that he was a member of the medical team that first identified Agent Orange - a defoliant used during the Vietnam war - as the cause of unexplained cancers in American veterans. He’s now running the Cape Cod tests, which were ordered after local medical experts identified raised levels of breast and lung cancer in young women near the Sagamore base, 70 miles from Boston. Legal limits Emissions from the radar, like those at Fylingdales, are well within legal limits.
However, some researchers are now questioning whether the complex waves of electro-magnetic radiation from Phased Array bases should be subject to tighter regulation. Some experiments have suggested they can actually damage DNA. Dr Albanese says, "Technology seems to lead our medical understanding by somewhere between 10 and 20 years in almost every incident I have worked on." He compared his concerns to those over X-Rays, asbestos and lead in fuel in the years leading up to scientific proof they could damage health. No known effectsThere’s no evidence of a cancer cluster in the Fylingdales area but the Yorkshire Cancer Register confirmed no research has yet been done in the area. The only known effect emissions from the base have is on local motorists. Numerous breakdowns on the busy A171 are due to interference with car alarms and immobilisers. Resident’s anger
Local campaigner Jackie Fearnley says she’s shocked by Inside Out’s revelations from America. These come only months after the Ministry of Defence reassured local people that the British base was safe. Jackie, who lives in Goathland, says, "My husband and I have talked seriously about whether we go on living in such a place." "We’ve seen the way America decides policy purely to suit themselves and we are not necessarily going to be in very much control or given much information." "We really must ask, ‘is this the right thing for us?’" Cape Cod campaigner Richard Judge warned people in Goathland, "I would make sure the people in Britain understand they’ve been given a system that may not be safe." | |||||||
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2 June 2003 | |||||||
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/north_yorkshire/2954306.stm 
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The role of Fylingdales on the North York Moors is being expanded as part of the United States' missile defence system. A BBC1 television programme to be shown in Yorkshire on Monday reveals there is concern about an almost identical base on Cape Cod. A US Air Force scientist Dr Richard Albanese tells the programme that radiation from the radar system may have carcinogenic properties. Young women Dr Albanese was a member of the medical team that first identified agent orange - a defoliant used during the Vietnam war - as the cause of unexplained cancers in American veterans. He is now running the Cape Cod tests, which were ordered after local doctors identified raised levels of breast and lung cancer in young women near the Sagamore base 70 miles from Boston. Emissions from Sagamore and at Fylingdales are well within legal limits. But some researchers are now questioning whether the complex waves of electro-magnetic radiation should be subject to much tighter regulation. Cancer cluster Dr Albanese said: "Technology seems to lead our medical understanding by somewhere between 10 and 20 years in almost every incident I have worked on." There is no evidence of a cancer cluster in the Fylingdales area. But the Yorkshire Cancer Register has confirmed that no research has yet been done near the base. Sophie Hull's report can been seen on Inside Out on BBC1 Leeds at 1930 BST on Monday.
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