In June 2011, The CDC Drafted Information On the May 2011 WHO/IARC Group 2B Carcinogenic Classification of Wireless Radiofrequency Radiation and Then Deleted the Information
From EHT’s Ongoing Analysis Of Internal Documents
Below please read the June 1, 2011 CDC draft of media talking points below which never saw the light of day in June 2011. EHT obtained these though our FOIAs.
BACKGROUND
In May 2011 The World Health Organization International Agency for the Research (IARC) on Cancer classified radio frequency (wireless) radiation as a Class 2 B “Possible Human Carcinogen”. CDC’s Director of the National Center for Environmental Health and Director of the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, Dr. Chris Portier chaired the IARC review of the mechanistic evidence as part of the expert working group.
WHAT HAPPENED IN JUNE OF 2011?
Understanding the importance of the May 2011 IARC Classification of Radiofrequency Radiation as a Class 2 B Carcinogen, CDC officials rush to write new content for the CDC website in order “to update the information with the current IARC meeting release.”
“We need to rush this since our website is out of date.”
-CDC email dated June 1, 2011 at 12:55
So on June 1, 2011 CDC officials drafted information that they were going to present to the American people about the new WHO IARC classification of cell phone radiation as a Class 2 Carcinogen. It never saw the light of day. In just 48 hours the information on the IARC classification disappeared.
“This document will need some “subtraction” before posting on the web”
-CDC email dated June 2, 2011
SPECIFICALLY WHAT INFORMATION WAS DELETED?
The following information was deleted:
- Statements about how the WHO IARC classified radiofrequency from cell phones as a possible cause of cancer.
- The fact that CDC NCEH/ATSDR Director Dr. Chris Porter was a member of the expert review panel, chaired the review of the mechanistic evidence and agrees with his fellow panel members.
- That the IARC made its determination based on a positive association between exposure to RF and the occurrence of glioma.
- That glioma is a lethal diagnosis and people who are diagnosed with glioma usually live fewer than five years.
- That the final IARC report (the Monograph detailing all the evidence in full) will not be released until 2012, but that the IARC intends to publish its preliminary findings in the journal Lancet in the next few months.
WEB PAGE WITH DELETED IARC INFORMATION WAS POSTED JUNE 2, 2011
Two days later the CDC updated their cell phones and health website but DELETED any discussion of the WHO/IARC Carcinogenic classification and DELETED information about the lethality of gioma, the brain tumor linked to cell phone use. Instead, a diluted version of the initial draft was posted on the CDC website without any mention of the fact that the world’s foremost independent scientific review group had made a new official determination on the strength of evidence showing harm. Could this explain why most people on the street, doctors and even our trusted pediatricians are still in the dark about the WHO IARC’s classification?
FACT: CDC’s 2005-2011 WEBSITE HAD NOTED THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION’S UPCOMING REVIEW Previous to June 2011, the CDC had a posted webpage on cell phones and health (a webpage which had not changed since 2005). This 2005 -May 2011 web page specifically referred to the upcoming World Health Organizations review of the evidence stating that “ results should be complete in the next 3-4 years.” Why did the CDC decide NOT to share WHO/IARC determination once the review was completed?
FACT: SCIENTISTS SIGNED OFF ON THE MATERIAL
According to the internal documents, “The Office of Science reviewed this document” referring to the June 1, 2011 Draft that contained information on the IARC Classification. The internal communications clearly show several scientists and researchers signing off on the language (page 346 of the internal documents). According the CDC officials, “the intended audience was the general public”.
OUR RIGHT TO KNOW
Why was the “general public” DENIED this information? Why was information “subtracted” ? Does the CDC think US citizens are incapable of handling the information about the IARC classification? Why aren’t citizens being fully informed on this issue ? Where is the transparency one would expect from a government agency tasked to protect public health and safety through the control and prevention of disease?
This is what the CDC posted after deleting the IARC information
See talking points drafted by the CDC in 2011 brought to light by EHT FOIA
The CDC did NOT change their website after the May 2011 WHO/IARC classification until 3 years later
June 2011 CDC Website No Changes , May 2012 CDC Website No Changes
THE CDC DECIDED AGAINST SHARING INFORMATION ON THE RISKS OF CELL TOWERS NEAR SCHOOLS AND HOMES
In emails written in 2014, CDC officials contemplated adding content about cell towers that never made it to the agency website. The agency noted, “Similar to cell phones the data appear to be contradictory but this is where CDC could be of service to clarify the research.” A CDC official describes how people were trying to stop a cell tower up on top of a local elementary school and “people had signs in their yards protesting the tower because of radiation concerns. So it’s definitely information people are looking for.” EHT notes that information on cell tower research was never added to the CDC site.
And finally: What lay behind the successive watering down of CDC information on the risk to children from cell phone radiation?
INFORMATION ON THE RISK TO CHILDREN IS REMOVED PIECE BY PIECE:
On August 18, 2014, the bulk of sentences cautioning the public of the greater risk to children from phone radiation were removed because—according to what CDC officials state in the emails—“We thought the struck language was hard to understand.” (page 397 of internal documents). In fact, according to the internal documents, this precautionary wording was developed by considering the precautionary stance of other governments and expert groups (page 142 of the internal documents). Some recent precautionary advisories from government officials include these from India, France, Israel, Cyprus, Belgium, and Germany.
Please take a look at the wording about children’s health that was deleted from the CDC website. Click here to see before and after.
Do cell phones cause health problems in children.
It’s too soon to know for sure. It’s not known if cell phone use by children can cause problems. Children who use cell phones and continue to use them as they get older are likely to be around RF for many years. If RF does cause health problems, kids who use cell phones may have a higher chance of developing these health problems in the future.
As of January 2016, the text has further changed. For example, there is no longer a statement about children anywhere on the webpage. It is unknown at what date this text was deleted but was sometime after August 20, 2014.
See below the information that was deleted about caution in cell phone use.
Can using a cell phone cause cancer?
There is no scientific evidence that provides a definite answer to that question. Along with many organizations worldwide, we Some organizations recommend caution. More research is needed before we know for sure if using cell phones causes cancer health effects.
