ORIGINAL COMMENT · UNEDITED TEXT
SUPPLEMENTAL COMMENT: RADAR MAINTENANCE, ELF FIELDS, X-RAYS, AND PARATHYROID DISEASE
This supplements my prior HHS comments on radar maintenance, RF exposure, deficient monitoring, medical surveillance, latency, and accountability. I request investigation of extremely low-frequency (ELF) magnetic fields from numerous transformers and a Power Conditioning System (PCS) inside an ASR-11/MSSR equipment shelter, alongside RF and possible incidental X-rays.
SWEDISH OCCUPATIONAL STUDY: Hakansson et al., "Arc and resistance welding and tumours of the endocrine glands," Occupational and Environmental Medicine 2005;62:304-308; DOI 10.1136/oem.2004.015479, examined 67 parathyroid tumor cases. Adjusted odds ratios were 3.3 (95% CI 1.6-6.9) for any welding, 4.3 (1.7-10.6) for arc welding, and 2.6 (0.9-7.1) for resistance welding. The authors considered ELF magnetic fields a possible explanation. Welding has other exposures; the association does not prove ELF causation. It does justify targeted research among electrical and radar technicians.
ASR-11/MSSR SHELTER: Commissioned at my FAA facility in 2007, the installation placed numerous energized transformers and a PCS IN THE SAME ROOM where technicians routinely worked, often at close range. Transformer leakage flux, load currents, conductor routing, and power electronics can produce spatially variable 60 Hz magnetic fields, harmonics, and switching-frequency fields. These sources differ from radar RF emissions. HHS should examine equipment ratings, locations, loads, technician proximity and work duration, and any ELF surveys.
RF SHIELDING IS NOT ELF PROTECTION: Metal cabinets and enclosures effective against radar RF cannot be assumed to attenuate 60 Hz magnetic fields. Ordinary conductive RF shielding may offer little attenuation at power frequency. Actual protection depends on magnetic permeability, thickness, geometry, frequency, and source arrangement. Some steel structures reduce ELF fields; effectiveness requires measurements or engineering analysis. RF compliance does not establish ELF safety.
IONIZING RADIATION LITERATURE: "The Parathyroid as a Target for Radiation Damage," New England Journal of Medicine 2011; DOI 10.1056/NEJMc1104982, reported signs of primary hyperparathyroidism in 15 of 61 Chornobyl cleanup workers following substantial radiation exposure. "Dose-response relationships for radiation-induced hyperparathyroidism" (PMID 7829622) identified 36 confirmed cases among 2,555 people irradiated in childhood and a significant dose-response. "Parathyroid tumors in atomic bomb survivors in Hiroshima" (PMID 1762105) reported a radiation-associated trend. "Therapeutic radiation and hyperparathyroidism" (PMID 2764660) provides further case-control evidence. A 2024 UK vascular surgeon radiation-safety survey (DOI 10.54522/jvsgbi.2024.155) reported one parathyroid adenoma, an observation that does not prove causation. These exposures differ from mine, but justify investigating occupational ionizing radiation and long latency.
MEDICAL CHRONOLOGY: I maintained military radar/electronics beginning in 1982 and FAA systems through 2017. Original laboratory records show calcium 8.8 mg/dL in 2002; subsequent values include 9.0 (2004), 8.9 (2005), 9.8 (February 2007), 10.0 (2011), 10.2 (2016), 10.6 (December 2017), and 10.8 (March 2018). PTH was 174 pg/mL in January 2018. A parathyroid adenoma was removed April 23, 2021. This documents evolving biochemical findings, not proven disease onset or causation. The 2007 installation merits scrutiny without excluding earlier exposures.
DISTINCT EXPOSURE PATHWAYS: Some legacy high-voltage radar electron tubes can generate incidental ionizing X-rays under certain conditions. X-rays, radar RF/microwaves, and ELF magnetic fields require separate exposure assessments. Neither RF compliance nor lack of personal dosimetry proves that other exposures were absent. Proposed mechanisms involving oxidative stress, calcium signaling, or endocrine-cell proliferation should be studied, not presumed established.
I REQUEST THAT HHS: (1) review and commission follow-up to the Swedish parathyroid findings; (2) evaluate transformer and PCS magnetic fields at actual FAA technician positions, including shielding effectiveness; (3) establish long-term FAA ATSS and military radar-maintainer cohorts tracking calcium, PTH, parathyroid adenomas, hyperplasia, and hyperparathyroidism; (4) preserve equipment drawings, transformer/PCS specifications, maintenance procedures, shielding records, and RF/ELF/X-ray surveys; and (5) independently reconstruct exposures, evaluate latency, and investigate failures of medical surveillance.
Missing measurements are not proof of no exposure. Federal radar technicians deserve rigorous investigation of their COMPLETE maintenance environment.