Huntersville Ocular Melanoma Cluster Report...1 September 28. 2015 Huntersville Ocular Melanoma...
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1 September 28. 2015 Huntersville Ocular Melanoma Cluster Report: On 9/25/2015 Dave Stetzer and I visited Huntersville NC to study environmental exposures to high frequency electric currents in the Hopewell High School area, since a cluster of ocular melanoma (OM) had been reported in students. Background: In fall 2014, I received a phone call from Tom Kelly, residing in Kona HI. His wife had ocular melanoma, and he alerted me to a cluster of ocular melanoma in Hopewell High School in Huntersville NC, and to a channel 9 TV report of the cluster by Jim Bradley. He also gave me a contact E-mail and phone for Melody Kling, President of A Cure In Sight, an ocular melanoma support group. She gave me contact information and I contacted and interviewed some of the cases and surviving parents. A Google Earth photo of the school revealed it was adjacent to a Piedmont liquid natural gas (LNG) compressor and storage station on a 24-inch natural gas pipeline. The school is shown in the yellow circle and the LNG plant in the red circle. The red dot above the school was the residence of a case of ocular melanoma that never attended the school. The school was built in 2001. The LNG plant was already there. I suspected that electrical pollution from the LNG plant might have caused the cluster. I called the plant and learned that they had variable frequency drives (VFDs) on their 300 horsepower electric motors. Dave and I both had experience with animals and people becoming ill after exposure to small
Transcript of Huntersville Ocular Melanoma Cluster Report...1 September 28. 2015 Huntersville Ocular Melanoma...
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September28.2015
HuntersvilleOcularMelanomaClusterReport:
On9/25/2015DaveStetzerandIvisitedHuntersvilleNCtostudyenvironmentalexposurestohighfrequencyelectriccurrentsintheHopewellHighSchoolarea,sinceaclusterofocularmelanoma(OM)
hadbeenreportedinstudents.
Background:Infall2014,IreceivedaphonecallfromTomKelly,residinginKonaHI.Hiswifehadocularmelanoma,andhealertedmetoaclusterofocularmelanomainHopewellHighSchoolinHuntersvilleNC,andtoachannel9TVreportoftheclusterbyJimBradley.HealsogavemeacontactE-mailand
phoneforMelodyKling,PresidentofACureInSight,anocularmelanomasupportgroup.ShegavemecontactinformationandIcontactedandinterviewedsomeofthecasesandsurvivingparents.
AGoogleEarthphotooftheschoolrevealeditwasadjacenttoaPiedmontliquidnaturalgas(LNG)compressorandstoragestationona24-inchnaturalgaspipeline.
TheschoolisshownintheyellowcircleandtheLNGplantintheredcircle.Thereddotabovetheschoolwastheresidenceofacaseofocularmelanomathatneverattendedtheschool.Theschoolwasbuiltin2001.TheLNGplantwasalreadythere.
IsuspectedthatelectricalpollutionfromtheLNGplantmighthavecausedthecluster.Icalledtheplant
andlearnedthattheyhadvariablefrequencydrives(VFDs)ontheir300horsepowerelectricmotors.DaveandIbothhadexperiencewithanimalsandpeoplebecomingillafterexposuretosmall
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horsepowerVFDs.ManydairycowshavediedfromexposurestofieldsgeneratedbyVFDslessthan10HP.
IcontactedAnnClark,thenDeputySuperintendentoftheoftheCharlotteMecklenburgschooldistrict
inNovember2014.ThefollowingaretheEmailsIsentherandtheultimaterefusalIreceivedfromtheschooldistrictattorney:
From: SamMilham[[email protected]]Sent: Sunday,November16,20148:14PMTo: '[email protected]'Cc: 'DaveStetzer'Subject: ocularmelanoma(OM)clusterAttachments: LaQuintaMiddleschoolteachers'cancers.pdf
DearDeputySuperintendantClark,I'masemi-retiredphysician/epidemiologist,andhavestudiedandreportedonanumberofcancerclusters.Ihavestudiedthehealtheffectsofelectromagneticfieldsfornearly30years.Ihavepublishedabout100scientificpapersandhavewrittenabookcalledDirtyElectricity.MywebsitehasacopyofmyCVandanumberofrecentpapers.Http://www.sammilham.comIlearnedabouttheHopewellhighschoolocularmelanoma(OM)clusteracoupleofmonthsagowhenmanfromKona,Hawaii,whosewifehasOM,sentmethevideolinkfromChannel9Charlottedescribingthecluster.Heputmeintouchwithtwo501C3foundationswhichfocusonOM,ACureInsight,andtheOcularMelanomaFoundation(OMF).MelodyBurchettKlinghadOM,isinRaleighNCandismycontacttoACureInsight.ShegavemecontactinformationfortheHuntersvilleclustercases.The5casesofOMintheclusterareallfemale;3formerstudentsatHopewellHighschooland2womenwholivedneartheschool.Whatisreallystrikingaboutthemishowyoungtheyare.OMhasanincidenceof6permillionwithanaverageageof55andaslightmaleexcess.Twoofthestudentsdiedatages27and28,andtheonestudentsurvivorisage19,Thetwonon-studentcasesareages29and31.IlookeduptheHopewellhighschoolwhitestudentpopulation(1718studentsx46%white=790).OMisrarelyseeninnon-whites.Sincetheschoolhasbeen
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openfor13years,thepopulationatriskis790x13=10,270.MultiplyingthisbytheOMincidencegives10,270x6/1,000,000=0.06casesexpected.Since3casesoccurred,therelativeriskofOMintheschoolis3/0.06or50.Thatis,the3OMcasesintheschoolstudentpopulationwere50timesexpected.SincetheincidenceofOMinhighschoolagedchildrenismuchlowerthan6permillion,thetrueriskisatleast100timesexpected.The2communitycasesmeansthattheetiologicagentisnotlimitedtotheschool.I'dlikeyourhelpingettingaccesstotheschoolforacoupleofhoursinmid-December2014.Measuringtheelectricalpollutionintheschoolandintheneighborhoodshouldbeabletoidentifyitssource.IntwootherschoolsI'vestudied,thesourceoftheproblemwasofnon-schoolorigin(acelltoweroncampusatoneschool,andadefectiveutilitysubstationinanother).Onceidentified,itmaybepossibletoeliminatethesource.I'mattachingastudyofacancerclusterinmiddleschoolteacherscausedbyelectricalpollutionintheirclassrooms.Sadly,formerstudentsatthatschoolintheirearlytwentiesarenowshowingupwiththyroidcancerafterthreeyearsofexposure.AllthecancerclustersI'veexaminedhaveaconnectiontoelectricalpollution.
MycolleagueandmentorDaveStetzerfromWisconsinwillhelpmeintheinvestigation.I'matmywinterhomeintheCaliforniadesert.Wewillcoverthecostsoftheinvestigation.MyphoneinIndioCAis(760)775-5878.Respectfully,SamMilhamMD
Sam Milham <[email protected]> Sep 22 (6 days ago)
to Ann, matthew.hayes, Andre, John, Dave
Dear CMS people, Dave Stetzer and I will be in Huntersville to study the ocular melanoma cluster this Friday and Saturday Sept. 25-26. It is very important that we get into the school to make electrical measurements.
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We are quite certain that the epidemic was caused by bad electricity from the liquid natural gas plant near the school. They have variable speed drives on their 300 horsepower motors which cause problems with electrical equipment and human health. If this ever comes to litigation, the responsible parties are the manufacturer of the variable speed drives and the electric utility which violates its own and federal rules by dumping dirty electricity into the ground for return to the substation. The only role the school played in the epidemic was providing a large, susceptible exposed population. We await your decision, so we can plan our visit. Best, Sam MIlham MD
Andre F. Mayes Sep 22 (6 days
ago)
to me, Ann, MATTHEW, John
Dr.Milham,IamoneoftheCMSattorneysandhavebeenaskedtorespondtoyourcommunicationstomeandotherCMSemployeesregardingyourrequesttoenterHopewellHighSchooltotakeelectricalmeasurements. TheMecklenburgCountyHealthDepartment-Epidemiologystaff,theNorthCarolinaDepartmentofHealth&HumanServices–EnvironmentalEpidemiologybranch,theNorthCarolinaCentralCancerRegistry,andtheNorthCarolinaDepartmentofEnvironmentandNaturalResourceswereconsultedaspartofacomprehensiveanalysisofHopewellHighSchoolanditssurroundingenvironment(soil,water,schoolconstruction,asbestos,electromagneticexposure)withina2mileradiusoftheschoolanddeterminedthattheschoolwasincompliancewiththeenvironmentalstandardsrequiredbyMecklenburgCountyandNorthCarolina.Thesestateandcountyregulatoryagenciesconcludedthatfurthertestingofelectromagneticfieldswasnotwarranted.CMSwillcontinuetorelyontheexpertiseandrecommendationsoftheseregulatoryagenciesforguidance.Accordingly,youwillnotbepermittedtotakeelectricalmeasurementsatHopewellHighSchoolatthistime. Iftheregulatoryagencieseverrevisetheirrecommendationregardingelectromagnetictesting,CMSwillbehappytoreconsideryourrequestatthattime. André F. Mayes Deputy General Counsel Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools 980.343.5901(phone)|980.343.5739(fax)
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IphonedtheLNGplantandtalkedtoGaryNorthrup,plantmanager,theweekofSeptember15,2015torequestadmissiontotheplant.HereferredmetoMattKanes,DirectorofSafetyandCommunications
forPiedmont.Italkedtohimalso,makingthesamerequest,andwastoldthathewouldcontactmewithadecisionbySundaySeptember20whenIwasscheduledtobeginatriptovisitDaveStetzerinBlairWI,totraveltogethertoHuntersvilleonSeptember24.Henevercontactedmeorrespondedto
numeroustelephonemessages.NoE-mailaddresseswereavailableforeitherofthem.
HuntersvilleelectricityisprovidedbyElectriCities.ElectriCitiesisamembershiporganizationincludingpublicpowercommunitiesinNorthCarolina,SouthCarolinaandVirginia.ElectriCitiesalsoprovidesmanagementservicestothestate'stwomunicipalpoweragencies-NorthCarolinaMunicipalPower
AgencyNumber1andNorthCarolinaEasternMunicipalPowerAgency.
IntheUS,electricityisdistributedinagroundedWyesystemwithawireconnectingtheneutralcentertapofthetransformertotheearth.Alltheelectricitydeliveredhastoreturntothesubstationitcamefromandwhenthegridwasbuilt,mostofitreturnedontheutilityprimaryneutralwire.Mostloadslike
incandescentlightsandelectricmotorswerelinearloads,inthattheydidnothingtochangethe60Hzcurrentpoweringthem.Withthedevelopmentofcomputers,inverters,variablefrequencymotordrives,compactfluorescentlightsandothernonlinearloads,the60Hzwaveformsweredeformedby
thehighfrequencieswhichwereaddedtotheneutralreturncurrents.Highfrequenciesdon'ttravelwellontheneutralreturnwires,requiringalargerdiameterwiretocarryhigherfrequenciesthan60Hz.Theinadequateneutralsheatedupandcausedbuildingfires.Buildingcodeswerechangedtorequiremore
robustin-buildingneutralreturnwires,buttheutilitiesinsteadofaddingincreaseneutralcapacitytotheirwireneutrals,simplyusedthedowngroundsatthetransformerstodumpthereturncurrentsinto
theearthforsubstationreturn.By1998,about70%ofallelectricitydelivered,returnedtothesubstationviatheearth.Europehasadeltadistributionsystemwithallthedeliveredelectricityreturningtothesubstationviawires.TheUSNationalElectricSafetyCodeandmoststatepublicutility
commissionshaverulesforbiddinguseoftheearthasaprimaryneutralreturn.
Theoriginalelectricmotorshadsimpleon/offswitchesormayhavehadswitchesforhigh,mediumandlowspeeds.Thedevelopmentofvariablefrequencydrives(VFDs)allowedmotorspeedtobeinfinitelyvaried.Variablefrequencydrivesgenerateelectricalpollution,whichadverselyaffectselectric
equipment.VFDsonsmall,lowhorsepowermotorsdrasticallyreducemilkproductionindairycattleandhavecausedseriousillnessinhumans.ThePiedmontLNGplanthasVFDson300horsepowermotors.
Method:onSeptember25,2015,JoeWagner,anocularmelanomacasewhoformerlyworkedasacableinstallerintheBeattiesFordRoadarea,accompaniedDaveStetzerandme.Wedrovearoundtheschool
andLNGplantareawithanAMradiotunedoffstationlisteningforstaticpatterns,andcoveredtheBeattiesFordRd,McCoyRd,andHambrightRds.Wealsovisitedtheneighborhoodsofthetwonon-schoolOMcases,oneneartheschool,andoneneartheLancasterBarbecueonBeattiesFordroad.We
usedatwochannelFluke190oscilloscopetocapturevoltagewaveformsbetweentheprimaryneutralwireatapowerpolenearthemainentrancetothehighschoolonBeattiesFordRdandagroundprobe
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50feetawayparalleltotheschoolentranceroad(Figure1,2).Wealsocapturedthevoltagewaveformsbetweentwogroundprobes50feetapartparalleltoaPiedmontLNGpipelineatthecornerofOverhill
andCarverRoads,southoftheLNGplant(Figures3,4).
Figure1
Figure2
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Figure3
Figure4
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Resultsandinterpretation:
TherewasalotofAMradiostaticintheareaswestudied,indicatinghighfrequencyelectromagneticpollutionintheairatkilohertzfrequencies.Thisissignificant,becauseanothercaseofOMhasbeen
recentlyreportedinapolicemanwhoseterritorywastheBeattiesFordRdarea.
Thewaveformsandtheirspectraintheprimaryneutraltoearthgroundattheschoolandthecurrentintheearthatthepipelineareshownabove.
Thewaveformsatbothplacesarehighlydistortedutility60Hzwaveformswith16.8msbetweenpeaksRemarkably,thespectraatbothplacesareidenticalwithidenticalpeakfrequenciesof19,980Hz.The
spectraareasindividualasfingerprintsorDNA,provingbeyondanydoubtthattheelectricalpollutionattheschoolandintheearthatthepipelinehadthesamesource,mostlikelytheVFDsattheLNGplant.Inourexperiencethislevelofhighfrequencyelectricalpollutionintheearthandgridcausesa
widespectrumofmorbidityandmortalityinanimalsandpeopleexposedtoit.AthighestriskwillbetheLNGplantemployees,teachersandstudentsattheschool,andpeoplewholiveandworknearthepipeline.Theocularmelanomacasesarethetipofanicebergofmortalityandmorbidityinthosewho
havebeenexposed.DuringourvisittoHuntersvillewelearnedthatthebrotherofoneofthefatalOMschoolcaseswhoalsoattendedthehighschoolwasdiagnosedwithleukemia.
Recommendations:
1.TheVFDsonthemotorsatthePiedmontLNGplantshouldhavefiltersdesignedbythemanufacturerinstalledonthem.ThemanufacturersknowabouttheelectricalpollutiongeneratedbytheirVFDsand
usuallyhavethefiltersalreadyattachedtoVFDsmarketedinEuropewhichhasstricterelectricalpollutionrules.
2.Theelectricutility(ElectriCities)shouldaddanoversizedneutralbetweentheLNGplantandthe
utilitysubstation.OtherfiltersmayhavetobeinstalledattheplanttocomplywiththeInstituteofElectricalandElectronicEngineersIEEE-519standards.TheIEEE519limitstotalharmonicdistortionto5%forvoltageand20%forcurrent.Europehasstrictrulesonelectricalpollution,whicharemostly
ignoredintheUS.
3.TheHopewellHighSchoolshouldbeexaminedelectricallyandmadetocomplywithIEEE-519standards.
4.Asapublichealthspecialist,IwouldrecommendmorbidityandmortalitysurveillanceofcurrentandformerHopewellHighSchoolstaffandstudents,withaspecialfocusonocularmelanomaearly
detection.
Respectfullysubmitted,
SamuelMilhamMD,MPHDaveStetzer
