George Carlo's Cell Phone Radiation Controversy  $25-Million Scientific Study Project Part 2

I FIRST RECRUITED DR. ARTHUR (BILL) GUY, PERHAPS THE DEAN OF ALL BIO-ELECTROMAGNETICS SCIENTISTS AND CERTAINLY ONE OF THE WORLD'S FOREMOST EXPERTS IN THE MEASUREMENT OF RADIO FREQUENCY RADIATION. HE WAS EMERITUS PROFESSOR AT THE UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON IN SEATTLE, AND HAD DONE WORK FOR THE CELLULAR INDUSTRY BEFORE. THE CTTA HAD SUG¬GESTED THAT I APPROACH DR. GUY ABOUT PARTICIPATING, BUT I DID NOT FOL¬LOW THE SUGGESTION UNTIL I HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO VET HIM MYSELF. THAT PROCESS WAS EASY—A SIMPLE LITERATURE SEARCH YIELDED HIS NAME ON VIRTUALLY EVERY IMPORTANT COMMITTEE OVER THE PAST TWO DECADES, AND WHAT SEEMED LIKE LITERALLY HUNDREDS OF PUBLICATIONS HAD HIM IN AUTHORSHIP. MY FIRST CONTACT WITH HIM WAS AT A MEETING IN WASHINGTON, D.C., AT CTJA HEADQUARTERS. HE WAS IN TOWN GIVING ADVICE TO CTTA ABOUT THE SITING OF BASE STATIONS FOR TRANSMITTING CELLULAR TELEPHONE CALLS, AND I HAD ARRANGED TO MEET WITH HIM.

 I BELIEVED IT WAS IMPORTANT FOR ME TO REACH OUT TO HIM, OUT OF RESPECT FOR HIS STATURE IN THE FIELD. AFTER THE FIRST FIVE MINUTES I KNEW WE NOT ONLY WANTED HIM TO BE PART OF THE SAG, BUT WE NEEDED HIM. HE WAS A TALL, RUGGED-LOOKING MAN IN HIS EARLY 60S, WITH A DISARMING AND LOW-KEY DEMEANOR. HE LOOKED LIKE A PROFESSOR, PROBABLY THE TYPE THAT EVERY STUDENT WANTED TO WORK WITH. WE TALKED RADIO WAVE DOSIMETRY, THE CONCEPT I HAD DEVELOPED FOR THE SAG, AND WHAT HIS ROLE WOULD BE—THE HEAD OF ALL THE DOSIMETRY WORK. HE HAD MANY TOUGH QUESTIONS, AND I SWEATED IT OUT FOR A WHILE.

AFTER ALL, I KNEW VERY LITTLE ABOUT THIS SCIENCE, HAD DONE NO RESEARCH IN IT, AND I WAS ABOUT TO EMBARK ON, AND IN FACT HEAD UP, THE LARGEST PROGRAM EVER ATTEMPTED IN THIS FIELD, WITH NO PRIOR EXPERIENCE. SO I WAS WORRIED, AT FIRST, ABOUT TRYING TO IMPRESS THE MAN WHO MANY PEOPLE BELIEVED WAS "THE FIELD." BUT WHEN THE CONVERSATION DRIFTED TO SALMON FISHING, IT WAS CLEAR WE WERE COMFORTABLE WITH EACH OTHER. HE AGREED TO SIGN ON.

TO ROUND OUT THE SAG I RECRUITED DR. IAN MUNRO, A WORLD-RENOWNED TOXICOLOGIST WITH WHOM I HAD WORKED ON A NUMBER OF PRIOR PROJECTS INVOLV¬ING HERBICIDES AND DRUG DEVELOPMENT. A FORMER HIGH-RANKING OFFICIAL IN THE CANADIAN HEALTH MINISTRY, DR. MUNRO WOULD HANDLE OVERSIGHT ON ALL NONHUMAN RESEARCH IN THE PROGRAM. HE WAS ALSO A FISHERMAN.

SO THE SAG WAS IN PLACE WITH DR. GUY OVERSEEING DOSIMETRY, DR. MUNRO TOXICOLOGY, AND ME COVERING EPIDEMIOLOGY, PUBLIC HEALTH, AND GEN¬ERAL MANAGEMENT. WE BEGAN DAILY PHONE CONFERENCES AND DESIGNED OUR program. This was April of 1993, and we needed to present our overall program to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on May 22.

"Revolutionary New Technologies
Protect You from the Harmful Effects of Cell Phone Radiation,

Computers, Bluetooth Headsets, Microwave Ovens,

Cordless Phones, and other Wireless Technologies."

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