Conflict of interest in IARC, funded by telcos.

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	Conflict of interest in IARC, funded by telcos. Conflict of interest in IARC, funded by telcos
This is copy of a mail sent to David Collingridge, editor of the Lancet Oncology. Original article: https://pubpeer.com/publications/42E8BEABDD9C5FD5EF43F3378681DC Dear Dr. Collingridge, The paper ‘Carcinogenicity of radiofrequency electromagnetic fields’ [The Lancet Oncology, 2011, 12(7):624-6] is an IARC statement summarizing a report concluding that radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF) were ‘possible carcinogens’ (group 2B). Many experts argue that RF-EMF should have been classified as ‘probable carcinogens’ (group 2A). The IARC statement contains a lengthy declaration of conflict of interest (COI) by the experts invited to the discussions (at IARC, Lyon, France, May 2011), but is it complete? This is a matter of considerable importance. The IARC carcinogens classification has a huge impact on the public perceptions and policies regarding mobile phones heath effects. The COIs of the IARC experts should be nonexistent (ideally) or, at the very least, accurately disclosed. I listed below the COIs presented in the Lancet Oncology IARC statement and/or the associated IARC monograph. I then added information that readers of the IARC statement could have found helpful: undeclared COI and specifics of the funding sources omitted in the original COI declaration. Overall, 13 in 30 members of the IARC working group and 2 in 2 invited specialists have had ties with the telecommunication or defense industries (overall 44%). Eight of them declared some COI. Ten failed to declare at least one COI, including 7 who did not declare any. Four failed to mention the specific sources of funding they received. These numbers are most probably underestimating the extent of COIs as they are based on public information available on the Internet, which do not include consultancies and other non-public sources of COI. A good start to understand the wider context and motivation of the present letter (i.e. the long history of the militaries and the telecom industry in funding RF-EMF-related health research and setting exposure standards) is the PhD dissertation of D. Maisch (see link below). I am blowing the whistle anonymously because going as an individual against the interest of the powerful telecom and defense industries incurs some obvious risks. (But you can still reach me by e-mail at dosm@gmx.us). It is of course up to you and your colleagues to decide if the undeclared COIs breached any Lancet Oncology policies and if further action needs to be taken. But whatever your decision, I want the debate on COI in the RF-EMF field to happen in the public space, therefore this letter is mirrored on pubpeer.com and has been CC’ed to the editors of Retraction Watch and two EMF-related blogs (microwavenews.com and betweenrockandhardplace.wordpress.com) and, of course, to the IARC director’s office. Sincerely Yours. Here are the specific findings (relevant details and hyperlinks are provided at the end of the document): IARC working group members with known COI Elisabeth Cardis Declared COI: travel and accommodation expenses for presentations organized by France Telecom. Clemens Dasenbrock Undeclared COI: research funding from the GSM Association and the Mobile Manufacturers Forum. ReneÌ de Seze Declared COI: received significant research support (more than 100.000€, ceased in 2009) from Fondation SanteÌ et RadiofreÌquences, a research foundation created under the leadership of the French Ministry of Research and with public interest status. Half of the budget is State funded, the other half is provided by industry. The Foundation’s independence and the transparency of its operations are guaranteed by its Ethics Charter. In 2009, ReneÌ de Seze has prepared a report for a plaintiff’s lawyer on the association between radiofrequency fields and brain cancer. Unspecified funding source: R. de Seze had multiple research programs funded by France Télécom and Bouygues Télécom. He also obtained funding through the CoMoBio program sponsored by Alcatel, Bouygues Télécom, Cegetel, France Télécom. Jukka Juutilainen Undeclared COI: had numerous research programs funded by Nokia, Benefon, Sonera, Elisa, FINNET, the GSM Association and the Mobile Manufacturer Forum. Simon Mann Undeclared COI: received research funding from the GSM association, the Mobile Manufacturer Forum and the UK’s Mobile Telecommunication and Health Research Program (MTHR). MTHR received funding from Vodafone. James McNamee Undeclared COI: received research funding from Hydro Quebec and the Canadian Department of Defense. Meike Mevissen Declared COI: receives research funding for gene-pathway effects of radiofrequency EMF from Forschungsstiftung Mobilfunk, a non-profit-making research foundation at the ETH ZuÌˆrich. Neither industry, nor NGOs are represented on the Scientific Board of the Foundation. Unspecified funding sources: Forschungsstiftung Mobilfunk is sponsored by Orange, Sunrise and Swisscom. Junji Miyakoshi Undeclared COI: received research funds from NTT DoCoMo. Martin RoÌˆoÌˆsli Declared COI: receives research funding for studies on adverse health effects of mobile phone use from Forschungsstiftung Mobilfunk, a non-profit-making research foundation at the ETH ZuÌˆrich. Neither industry, nor NGOs are represented on the Scientific Board of the Foundation. He also serves as a Member on the Board of this foundation. Unspecified funding sources: Forschungsstiftung Mobilfunk is sponsored by Orange, Sunrise and Swisscom. Undeclared COI: Martin RoÌˆoÌˆsli also got funding from the Electric Power Research Institute. Malcolm Sim Declared COI: owns stock (less than 5.000 €) in Telstra, an Australian telecommunication service provider. Tomoyuki Shiria Undeclared COI: received funding from the Association of Radio Industries and Businesses, Japan. Luc Verschaeve Declared COI: research institute received a small research grant (less than 5.000 €, ceased in March 2011) from the GSM Operators Forum on environmental effects of mobile phone base stations. Undeclared COI: Luc Verschaeve is president of the Belgian BiomelectroMagnetic Group, which is sponsored by power grid operator Elia. He also received research funding from Belgacom. Vijayalaxmi Undeclared COI: received funds from the US Air Force and Forschungsgemeinschaft Funk (Research Association for Radio Applications, Germany) Invited specialists Anders Ahlbom Declared COI: served (until May 2011) on the Board of Directors of Gunnar Ahlbom AB, a consulting firm in the domains of EU affairs, especially within telecommunications. Note: his collaboration with Gunnar Ahlbom AB was apparently not known from IARC until it was revealed in the Swedish media, just ahead of the RF-EMF expert summit in May 2011. It has been considered significant enough for IARC to remove A. Ahlbom from the main working group. Undeclared COI: A. Ahlbom is member of the Swedish chapter of the Cosmos project, which received funds from TeliaSonera, Telenor and Ericsson. Niels Kuster Declared COI: Director and Board member of the non-profit IT’IS Foundation that performs exposure assessments for industry and governments and he is President of the Board and shareholder of Near-Field Technology AG, a holding controlling the two companies SPEAG and ZMT that are active in development of near-field measurement instruments, simulation software and medical test equipment. Unspecified funding sources: Neils Kuster, received research funds from the Mobile Manufacturer Forum and Swiss Telecom. IT’SI sponsors include most mobile phone manufacturers like Motorola, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, Nokia and many other players in the mobile communication industry. Links to evidence IARC monograph and related Lancet Oncology statement http://monographs.iarc.fr/ENG/Monographs/vol102/mono102.pdf http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanonc/article/PIIS1470-2045%2811%2970147-4/fulltext?_eventId=login PhD thesis of D. Maisch (background information on COI in RF-EMF research) http://www.emfacts.com/download/The_Procrustean_Approach.pdf IARC experts Clemens Dasenbrock, GSMA, MMF http://www.emf-portal.de/viewer.php?l=g&aid=17010 http://ieee-emf.com/viewstudy.cfm?ID=244 René de Seze France Telecom/CNET, CoMoBio, France, RAMP, EU 5th Framework, Europe, FSR, France http://ieee-emf.com/viewstudy.cfm?ID=89 France Telecom/CNET, CoMoBio, France http://ieee-emf.com/viewstudy.cfm?ID=145 http://ieee-emf.com/viewstudy.cfm?ID=279 comobio http://ieee-emf.com/viewstudy.cfm?ID=1251 Bouygues http://www.emf-portal.de/viewer.php?aid=11578&l=e France Telecom http://www.emf-portal.de/viewer.php?aid=3437&l=e http://www.emf-portal.de/viewer.php?aid=7148&l=e http://www.emf-portal.de/viewer.php?l=e&aid=11488 Comobio et Bouygues http://bouygue019340-4-4.clients.easynet.fr/radiofrequences_et_sante/actualites/%28nodeID%29/9842 Comobio partners: Alcatel, Bouygues Telecom, Cegetel, ENST de Paris et de Brest, France Télécom, IRCOM Limoges, Sagem, Supélec, universités de Bordeaux, Marseille, Nîmes, Orsay, Rennes http://www.ineris.fr/ondes-info/node/725 http://www.economie.gouv.fr/files/files/directions_services/dgccrf/boccrf/03_02/a0020010.htm Jukka Juutilainen GSMA, MMF http://ieee-emf.com/viewstudy.cfm?ID=251 http://ieee-emf.com/viewstudy.cfm?ID=537 nokia, benefon, sonera http://www.emf-portal.de/viewer.php?aid=14790&l=e http://www.emf-portal.de/viewer.php?aid=10487&l=e http://www.emf-portal.de/viewer.php?sid=6b19302729054218f29c58c2e8c64aa4&sform=8&l=e&aid=9979&for_print=1 http://www.emf-portal.de/viewer.php/8887.html?l=e Nokia http://www.emf-portal.de/viewer.php?aid=14055&l=e Nokia, sonera, elisa, finnet http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/bem.20449/abstract http://informahealthcare.com/doi/abs/10.1080/0955300031000096298 http://informahealthcare.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09553000601169800 Finnish mobile phone manufacturers and operators http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0027510708003199 history of his research and funding since 1998 here http://www1.itis.ethz.ch/mv/downloads/DAY3/3D-Juutilainen-s.pdf James McNamee Hydro-quebec http://ieee-emf.com/viewstudy.cfm?ID=2151 http://www.emf-portal.de/viewer.php?l=e&aid=17691 Canada DOD http://ieee-emf.com/viewstudy.cfm?ID=972 http://ieee-emf.com/viewstudy.cfm?ID=1621 Simon Mann HPA (NRPB), UK, MMF, MTHR (NRPB), UK, GSM Association, DTI, UK http://ieee-emf.com/viewstudy.cfm?ID=898 MTHR and Vodafone http://www.vodafone.com/content/index/about/sustainability/mpmh/scientific_research/research_programmes.html Junji Miyakoshi NTT DoCoMo http://ieee-emf.com/viewstudy.cfm?ID=1001 http://www.emf-portal.de/viewer.php?aid=11839&l=e http://www.emf-portal.de/viewer.php?l=e&aid=14217 http://www.emf-portal.de/viewer.php?aid=13863&l=e http://www.emf-portal.de/viewer.php?aid=12875&l=e http://www.emf-portal.de/viewer.php?l=e&aid=18030 Niels Kuster Member of mthr http://www.mthr.org.uk/members/kuster.htm head of IT IS http://www.itis.ethz.ch/who-we-are/staff-members/all-staff/niels-kuster/ IT’IS sponsors http://www.itis.ethz.ch/who-we-are/funding/ MMF http://ieee-emf.com/viewstudy.cfm?ID=245 MMF, Swiss Telecom http://ieee-emf.com/viewstudy.cfm?ID=1217 http://ieee-emf.com/viewstudy.cfm?ID=1562 http://ieee-emf.com/viewstudy.cfm?ID=1563 Martin Röösli www.ssphplus.ch/IMG/pdf/CV_roosli_ssph_.pdf Tomoyuki Shiria ARIB Association of Radio Industries and Businesses[http://www.arib.or.jp/english/], japan http://ieee-emf.com/viewstudy.cfm?ID=13 http://ieee-emf.com/viewstudy.cfm?ID=768 http://ieee-emf.com/viewstudy.cfm?ID=957 http://ieee-emf.com/viewstudy.cfm?ID=1043 Luc Verschaeve Belgacom http://ieee-emf.com/viewstudy.cfm?ID=46 http://ieee-emf.com/viewstudy.cfm?ID=55 http://ieee-emf.com/viewstudy.cfm?ID=1611 Elia http://www.bbemg.be/en/website-aims.html Vijayalaxmi US Air Force http://ieee-emf.com/viewstudy.cfm?ID=56 http://ieee-emf.com/viewstudy.cfm?ID=274 http://ieee-emf.com/viewstudy.cfm?ID=292 http://ieee-emf.com/viewstudy.cfm?ID=382 http://ieee-emf.com/viewstudy.cfm?ID=549 Research Association for Radio Applications http://ieee-emf.com/viewstudy.cfm?ID=1814 http://ieee-emf.com/viewstudy.cfm?ID=1917

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