European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - November 21, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 6 a the stars and stripes thursday november 21, 1991 leukaemia May be Mim us to Power lines appliances los Angeles a doctors found childhood television were 1times More Likely to have leukemic leukaemia May be linked to Power lines Black and Pluie As youngsters who did not watch. Those who used Hai t c i a inns id i i 211r n rep re n n h the pm a. L. 1  o 11___ _ i. A los Angeles apr doctors found childhood leukaemia May be linked to Power lines Black and Pluie televisions and hair dryers and they say the study also casts suspicion on electric blankets video games and other appliances. The five year $1.7 million study was sponsored by the electric Utility Industry and conducted by drs. Stephanie London John Peters and others at the University of Southern California. It was published this month in the american journal of epidemiology the researchers called it the most comprehensive study yet on the possible but unproved health risks of electromagnetic Fields or Emfs a invisible Force Fields generated by Power lines appliances and everything electrical. A the current study adds some support to the hypothesis that electromagnetic Fields increase childhood leukaemia risk but it does no to resolve the controversy a said Peters us occupational health director. The researchers compared 232 los Angeles county children who got leukaemia by age 11 and 232 who did not and adjusted the results to account for other factors that might raise the risk of cancer. The study s main conclusions released in february found that children who live close to High voltage Power lines May have twice the Normal l-in-20,000 Chance of getting leukaemia. Children who regularly watched Black and White Peters television were 1times More Likely to have leukaemia As youngsters who did not watch. Those who used hair dryers were 2.8 times More Likely to have the cancer As those who did not use the devices. Yet the study found Only a weak link Between leukaemia and the strength of magnetic Fields measured in the children s Homes and no link Between the cancer and the intensity of electric Fields. That suggests that if Emfs really do promote cancer some Factor other than the strength of those Fields is responsible. The final version of the study released tuesday also hinted children might face an increased risk of leukaemia if they regularly use electric blankets Curling Irons video games electric space Heaters or electric clocks with dials rather than digital displays Peters said. The links Between leukaemia and appliances were statistically Gnu Vicant Only for hair dryers and Black and White televisions. Peters said that Means the connection Between cancer and other appliances is inconclusive and requires More study. Because of such uncertainty a it would be important for parents not to panic about these results a said London an assistant professor of preventive Medicine. Nevertheless Peters endorsed a concept called a prudent avoidance a which Means reducing exposure to electromagnetic Fields when it is cheap and easy. Some scientists have suggested avoiding electric blankets moving clocks away from Beds and sitting at least Arm s length from computer screens. The study was financed by the electric Power research Institute the Palo Alto based research Arm of the nation s private utilities. The group praised the study but said a the relationship Between leukaemia and magnetic Fields remains  study finds Frog like hormone helps men Tan a without Sun by the los Angeles times researchers in the heart of the country a skin cancer Belt say they have found a Way to make people Tan without Sun a a finding some say could prove not Only a Triumph of vanity Over the elements but also a hedge against environmental decay. University of Arizona researchers report in wednesdays journal of the american medical association that injections of a synthetic form of a hormone that enables frogs and lizards to change color caused deep tanning in White men without the need for potentially harmful exposure to ultraviolet radiation. The experimental treatment might one Day be useful for people who Tan poorly and Burn easily leaving them at High risk for skin cancer and perhaps for Many others As pollution continues to damage the Earth a protective Ozone layer the researchers said. The report was received tuesday with curiosity and some caution by dermatologists. Like the study a authors some dermatologists pointed out that the results were preliminary and that nothing was known about Long term effects of the hormones use. Bese kinds of substances have a lot of different activities in the body a said or. Anita Leighton director of the dermatology Center at the University of California los Angeles. A a. This might be useful later on but you have to make sure that if it s for widespread use its not doing any  excessive exposure to the Sun is one of the greatest risk Taci ors Tor skin cancer which strikes primarily fair skinned people. The Ozone layer is thought to protect people against the suns ultraviolet b rays which have been linked to skin cancer and  have to make sure that if its for widespread use its not doing any  a or. Anita Highton in the study the researchers used a synthetic a super potent form of a hormone known As Alpha Melan Tropin. In some animals the hormone is known to regulate skin coloration by acting on cells that produce Melanin the protective pigment. Half of the 28 men in the study received 10 injections of the hormone Over a two week period the control group got shots of a Saline solution. By the end of the third week those who had received the hormone had begun to Tan. The control group did not Tan. A Many of the people were accused by acquaintances of taking a very Long vacation a said Robert t. Dorr an associate professor of pharmacology and Medicine at the Arizona cancer Center at the University of Arizona. As for Side effects the researchers said most of the men who received the hormone shots a experienced a mild hushing reaction immediately after the first few shots. Many also reported vague Gastro intestinal discomfort for five to 15 minutes after the shots. Dieters gain weight scale inspections Evansville ind. A a weight watchers  relented tuesday to a state official s demands that inspectors be allowed to Check the Scales used to weigh clients. Quot they Are going to allow us to come in whenever we want and look at whatever we  said Vanderburgh county attorney Jeff Wilhite. Loretta Townsend the state department of weights and measures supervisor for the county has said weight watchers Scales should be subject to the same inspections As butchers Scales. She said she had tried for More than 13 months to persuade weight watchers of kentuckians inc. To allow in Pechon of Scales at its Evansville Center. The company is based in Louisville by. Quot a a Townsend said about 30 people called her Over a five year period complaining that they were not allowed to see the readings of Scales used to weigh them before weight watchers meetings. Under weight watchers lifetime membership plan clients who reach a weight goal May attend the meetings for free but those who exceed that weight by 3 pounds or More must pay $9 to go to the meetings. Weight watchers attorney David Roth said tuesday that the organization consented to inspections because of a county ordinance that requires inspections.  news Van hindered firefighters charges say from wire reports Oakland Calif. A a television news Van ripped a Hole in a water Hose supplying firefighters battling last months deadly wildfire when the Driver ignored officials and zoomed into a restricted area police said. Hing Chung no 27, a photographers assistant with Pix television was charged monday with interfering with a firefighter discharging his duties failing to obey a traffic officer and failing to obey a firefighter All misdemeanours. Thirty firefighters were without water for 30 minutes which put them in danger and probably caused the loss or damage of some Homes Oakland fire officials said. The oct. 20 inferno killed 25 people destroyed More than 3,000 Homes and caused an estimated $1.5 billion in damage. Spokesman Ron Lorntzen confirmed that no is a photographers assistant for Pix but1 declined to comment on the allegations. J a Trade Center fire hurts 1 new York a a fire in an electrical closet forced the evacuation of three High floors of a world Trade Center Tower tuesday an official said. One person was injured. The fire broke out on the 94th floor about 6 30 p.m., said officer David Limm of the port authority police. It was confined to the closet he said. Smoke from the fire spread to the floors above and below Limm said. A person who opened the electrical closet suffered facial Burns Limm  pays for trawler s1iinnecock, . A a Fisherman whose trawler had to be blown up by the Navy after the boat snagged a world War ii torpedo has accepted $220,000 for the loss. Daniel hand 54, was fishing 60 Miles off Long Island on March 13 when the Navy torpedo got caught in his netting. Worried it could explode and Send shrapnel onto Shore the Navy scuttled the 75-foot boat and detonated the torpedo underwater. Hand said he was told he would be compensated but when he submitted his claim the Navy denied it was one of its torpedoes. Hand hired a Marine Surveyor to get torpedo fragments and the Navy finally admitted it had owned  s sour grapes for pair Sacramento Calif. A two California grape brokers were sent to prison for Labelling cheap wine grapes As higher Quality varieties. . District judge Edward Garcia on monday sentenced Nick Bavaro 35, to 21 months in prison and Bavaro a brother Frank 30, to 15 months. The two were convicted of misrepresenting 6,500 tons of Thompson and other Low priced grapes As Zinfandel chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc grapes which they sold in 1987 and 1988 to California wineries. . Attorney George of Connell said the Brothers received Between $500 and $1,200 per ton Tor grapes Worth Between $100 and $200 per  rescued from sea  a Man who floated in a Box Tor two Days after his boat Sank was rescued tuesday trom the Atlantic but another person was missing the coast guard said. Lamar Campbell. 24, was in stable condition at Beaufort memorial Hospital. He suffered dehydration and hypothermia authorities said. A Man who was w Ith Campbell when their shrimp boat Sank sunday had not been found by late tuesday. A coast guard helicopter was returning to Savannah cia., when Campbell was spotted off South Carolinas Southern coastline