ID Number		525
Study Type		Epidemiology
Model		Radar exposure to Belgian military personnel and correlation with cancer and mortality.
Details		Belgian military personnel serving from 1968-2003 (n = 27,671) were evaluated for occupational exposure to RF emissions and correlations with cancer. The authors report mortality was not significantly different between occupations that were exposed vs. controls (OR = 1.05; 95% CI 0.95-1.16). In a published paper (2009) of Belgian military radar operators (n = 4.417), the authors also report no effects on mortality (OR = 1.04, 95% CI 0.96-1.14), although there was an increased incidence of all cancers (OR = 1.22; 95% CI 1.031.47) and specifically from lymphoma (OR = 7.22; 95% CI 1.0947.9). and the risk appeared to increase with increasing duration of stay in radar battalions (i.e., dose response). The authors did not know whether the increase was due to microwave exposure or the ionizing radiation produced by electronic devices producing the microwaves. In an ongoing study, Belgian military personnel working on HAWK firing units and NIKE batteries will be examined (via medical records) to detect any correlations with leukemia, Hodgkin's lymphoma, and related diseases.
Findings		Effects
Status		Completed With Publication
Principal Investigator		Royal Military Academy, Brussels, Belgium - etienne.degrave@mil.be
Funding Agency		Ministry of Defence, Belgium
Country		BELGIUM
References		Degrave, E et al. Int J Cancer, (2009) 124:945-951 Degrave, E et al. Eur J Epidemiol., (2005) 20:677-681 Telle-Lamberton, M International journal of cancer., (2010) 127:997-998
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