Governor Deval Patrick held a town meeting on Cape Cod two weeks
ago. I was the second questioner and asked his support for a study
of the Cape Cod Ewing's Sarcoma Cluster. I handed his aid a leter
describing the cluster and my desire for an independent
multidisciplinary study of the cluster.

I received a letter this week from him saying that he is asking his
Secretary of Health and Human Services, Dr. JudyAnn Bigby and her
staff to respond to me.

Those who are so moved may want to write to her encouraging her to
give this matter her careful consideration. It may lead to
identifying the first known risk factor for Ewing's sarcoma. My
daughter Holly and her coach attended a talk by Sen. Kennedy's son
who said if his father gets a letter, it goes in the waste basket.
If he gets 100 letters, he pays attention.

As crass as this sounds, my experience confirms it. Kennedy has not
been responsive the two time I have written. I'm told it takes about
$15,000 to get the attention of a senator. Maybe we can do better at
the state level.

You can write to

Dr JudyAnn Bigby, Secretary
Executive Office of Health & Human Services
One Ashburton Place
11th Floor
Boston, MA 02108
617-573-1600

Yes, it's "JudyAnn," so be careful. The Governor has asked her/her
staff to contact me.

People at the National Disease Clusters ALliance have been trhying to
muster spport from the professional community: epidemiologists,
engineers, lawyers, doctors, etc. Meanwhile, I put together a scope
of work in the form of a proposal for what a thorough and dilligent
investigation should include.

I am posting it here so that anyone who has someting to contribute,
sees something I missed, or can fill in some blanks might be
encouraged to do so.

Bernie

************************************************************

A Multidisciplinary Investigation of Possible Causes of the
Cape Cod Ewing's Sarcoma Cluster
August 23, 2008

During the years 1995-2004, Ewing's sarcoma occurred on Cape Cod at a
statistically significant standardized incidence ratio of 384. Two
deaths have resulted from this cluster. Ewing's sarcoma is a rare
pediatric bone cancer with no known risk factors. It is the result
of double strand DNA breaks and a translocation error, usually
involving chromosomes 11 and 22.

There are compelling reasons to conduct a diligent and thorough
investigation of the Cape Cod Ewing's Sarcoma Cluster. If a cause is
not identified, the community lives in doubt that it is over, and in
fear that it may occur again. If an environmental cause is
identified, it may be eliminated. If an environmental cause is
identified which cannot be eliminated, an understanding of the cause
may suggest actions to minimize risk, or suggest surveillance
practices which may lead to early diagnosis and successful
treatment. If the cluster is the result of peculiar lifestyle
factors, it is possible to eliminate those factors. A diligent study
of this cluster may advance the understanding of this disease.

One common factor has been identified which is unique to Cape Cod,
and which has geographic and temporal associations with the Ewing's
sarcoma cases: exposure to intense, pulsed, circularly polarized
electromagnetic radiation from the 1.1 million watt Air Force PAVE
PAWS phased array radar station. Its stated purpose is to conduct
long range surveillance of intercontinental ballistic missiles and
cruise missiles out to a distance of 3000 miles, and to track
satellites and space debris. While its scanning pattern is described
as pseudo-random, a more regular enhanced search mode is available
which would increase the exposure by a factor of 16. This radar
station is on the same military reservation which dispatched jet
fighter aircraft to New York City on the morning of September 11,
2001. A temporal clustering of eight Ewing's sarcoma cases occurred
in the years 2002-2005. A case should be expected on Cape Cod once
every 6.7 years.

The Ewing's sarcoma cases lived, worked, or attended schools at
exposed geographic locations expected to receive high levels of
electromagnetic radiation from the PAVE PAWS radar. The two cases
which resulted in deaths attended high schools on a path where two
radar beams overlap, and on which more pulses are transmitted.

The high incidence of Ewing's sarcoma on Cape Cod and the temporal
and geographic associations between the PAVE PAWS radar and the
Ewing's sarcoma cases were sufficiently compelling that the
Massachusetts Department of Public Health conducted an
investigation. Part of that investigation involved measurement of
the power flux density of the radar pulses. Measurements were
conducted in 2007 at sites associated with the Ewing's cases, and at
other control sites chosen to have similar elevations and distances
from the radar as the Ewing's cases. No comparison measurements were
made at distances beyond the Ewing's case farthest from the radar, or
at highly populated areas shaded from the radar by the terrain. This
was a fatal design flaw in the measurement program.

The study was also deficient in the analysis of the measurements. It
failed to note that measurements in 2004 were 40-500 times higher
than measurements in 2007 at the same sites. It failed to notice
that the peak measurements at some sites in 2007 were less than
temporal averages in 2004; because of the timing of the pulses, peaks
should be thousands of times greater than temporal averages. The
Massachusetts Department of Public Health lacks the engineering
expertise to analyze and understand the radar measurements.

In any disease cluster there are confounders. There may be
agricultural practices, land use patterns, geological features, or
natural biological organisms unique to Cape Cod which are factors in
this cluster. The cause may be a combination of factors rather than a
single factor.

There remains a need for a diligent and comprehensive
multidisciplinary study of the Cape Cod Ewing's Sarcoma Cluster
involving epidemiology, engineering, and molecular biology. It is
imperative that it be conducted by independent parties who are
unbiased and who are not pressured to defend a particular doctrine,
technology, or organization.

An epidemiologic investigation should begin with a complete and
detailed medical history of these cases designed to identify or
eliminate common factors in the Cape Cod Ewing's Sarcoma Cluster.
Lifestyle patterns should also be identified. There should be a
review of other epidemiologic studies of the higher incidence of
breast cancer and childhood cancer on Cape Cod.

The presence of a unique engineered facility with a history of
environmental impact statements, research investigations,
specification changes, hardware changes and continuing community
questions about its operational safety requires an engineering review
by parties not obliged to defend the technology. A review of peak
power flux density measurements made in 2004 which were not compared
with published specifications, and were not even plotted, is
required. Approximately half of those measurements are traceable to
the maximum possible output of one particular instrument with the
result that the reported values are clipped at levels below the true
values. That renders a larger body of epidemiologic research and
predictions of the intensity of human exposure based on those
measurements of dubious value.

It is also necessary to resolve the statements made to the
Massachusetts Department of Public Health in 2007 regarding the
presence of outside interference in the 2004 measurements which
contradict the assurances given six different times that outside
interference was not a factor in the 2004 measurements. Engineering
analysis supports the statements made in 2004 that the measurements
were indeed from the PAVE PAWS radar and not outside interferers.

Though under-reported due to the clipping error, the peak power flux
density measurements reported in 2004 exceeded the published radar
specifications at 10 of 50 sites measured. At one site 18.5 miles
from the radar, the approximate distance of homes of three Ewing's
sarcoma cases, the radar was 46 times the value predicted by
published specifications, and consistent with the main beam of the
radar. The public has been repeatedly assured that the main beam of
the radar is directed a minimum of three degrees above the horizon at
the radar. This site yielded the strongest radar signal measured in
2004 and 2007.

Engineering analysis can also predict how radar exposure may be
enhanced in metal buildings such as schools, on conducting surfaces
such as salt water beaches, and in the human body itself. Finite
Difference Time Domain analyses to determine how electromagnetic
radiation is absorbed by humans of various sizes has been used to
show that current safety standards may not adequately protect
children. That research should be validated and extended to humans
of various sizes and in various postures such as sitting or the fetal
position.

Molecular biology and biomedical engineering studies can determine if
the PAVE PAWS radiation exploits a weakness leading to chromosomes
breaks linked to Ewing's sarcoma, or if it promotes a migration of
genetic material within the cell and the translocation error leading
to carcinogenesis. The molecular weight and moment of inertia, and
electrical charge and dipole moment of genetic material involved in
the Ewing's translocation must be determined. In combination with
calculations of the electrical field which is present in the body the
response of the genetic material may be determined. If
electromagnetic radiation induces a biologic response, this type of
study has the potential of leading to an etiology for Ewing's sarcoma.

There is a cost to be born in supporting such a thorough and detailed
investigation. However, it must be recognized that the cost of
treating a case of Ewing's sarcoma is often several million dollars.
If a remission is achieved, follow-up medical testing is required for
life. Unfortunately, some cases which are successfully treated
develop other cancers related to the intensive initial treatment. It
is essential that we learn as much about the causes of the Cape Cod
Ewing's Sarcoma Cluster as possible.

End of Message