Discrediting Evidence #1:
EMF exposure does not cause the development of cancer.
Analyzed by: Gina MacManus
Article: Electric and Magnetic Fields
Author: National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
Electric and magnetic fields (EMFs) are areas of energy that surround electrical devices. Power lines, electrical wiring, and appliances produce EMFs. Some people worry about EMF exposure and cancer. A few studies found a link between EMF exposure and a higher risk of childhood leukemia, but the link is weak. Other studies didn't find a link between EMF exposure and other childhood cancers.
For adults, studies of EMF exposure from power lines and electric blankets show little evidence of a link to cancer. In adults, EMFs may reduce heart rate and interfere with brain electrical activity during sleep. This may or may not affect your health.
Some people worry that wireless and cellular phones cause cancer. They give off radio-frequency energy (RF), a form of electromagnetic radiation. Scientists need to do more research on this before they can say for sure.
For adults, studies of EMF exposure from power lines and electric blankets show little evidence of a link to cancer. In adults, EMFs may reduce heart rate and interfere with brain electrical activity during sleep. This may or may not affect your health.
Some people worry that wireless and cellular phones cause cancer. They give off radio-frequency energy (RF), a form of electromagnetic radiation. Scientists need to do more research on this before they can say for sure.
Evaluation of Source:
Expertise: This claim is based on expertise as it is authored by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.
Education: There is not an individual author identified on the website so I am not able to analyze the education of a specific person. However, I did look up more information on the NIH. The National Institutes of Health (NIH), a part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is the primary Federal agency for conducting and supporting medical research. The following link goes into more detail about what NIH is and what they do. http://www.nih.gov/about/NIHoverview.html Based on this research I feel that the NIH has a large amount of credible expertise when it comes to evaluating the correlation between EMFs and cancer.
Experience/Accomplishments: For over a century, the National Institutes of Health has played an important role in improving the health of the nation. With the support of the American people, the NIH annually invests over $28 billion in medical research. Many important health and medical discoveries of the last century resulted from research supported by the National Institutes of Health. The NIH translates research results into interventions and communicates research findings to patients and their families, health care providers and the general public. In part because of NIH research, our citizens are living longer and better. Life expectancy at birth was only 47 years in 1900; by 2000, it was almost 77 years.
In the past several decades, NIH-supported research, and its national programs to communicate the results of research, played a major role in achievements such as:
•Death rates from heart disease and stroke fell by 40% and 51%, respectively, between 1975 and 2000.
•The overall five-year survival rate for childhood cancers rose to nearly 80% during the 1990s from under 60% in the 1970s.
•The number of AIDS-related deaths fell by about 70% between 1995 and 2001.
•Sudden infant death syndrome rates fell by more than 50% between 1994 and 2000.
•Infectious diseases—such as rubella, whooping cough, and pneumococcal pneumonia—that once killed and disabled millions of people are now prevented by vaccines.
•Quality of life for 19 million Americans suffering with depression has improved as a result of more effective medication and psychotherapy.
The NIH is a part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is the primary Federal agency for conducting and supporting medical research.
Position: The NIH has a very well recognized reputation as the primary Federal agency that conducts and supports medical research for the U.S Department of Health and Human Services.
Bias: The information is on the NIH website so of course the information is going to support their medical research findings. Otherwise, I do not feel that there is any bias involved, The NIH conducts studies and performs medical research that they publish for the public.
Analysis: According to the research on the NIH website, it is supported by studies that there is a very little link between EMFs and childhood cancers and EMFs and adult cancers. However, it does say on the website that “Scientists need to do more research on this before they can say for sure.” So the website provides some supporting evidence that it is probably unlikely that a link exists between EMF exposure and cancer but not enough research has been done to prove that EMF exposure has nothing to do with causing cancer.
Criteria of Adequacy: Discrediting Evidence #1
· Testability
This hypothesis can be tested and re-tested numerous times. The NIH has performed numerous studies to determine if there is a link between EMFs and Cancer or not.
· Fruitfulness
This hypothesis is fruitful. It makes very successful novel predictions that EMF exposure is not linked to cancer in any way. There is evidence from the tests and studies performed by the NIH to show that EMFs do not cause cancer.
· Scope
This hypothesis does not appear to have a broad scope. It shows that EMF exposure may not be directly linked to cancer but it does not explain other phenomena that may be associated that can cause cancer. It does not explore or give any explanation of other causes of cancer.
· Simplicity
The claim is quite simple and it only tries to prove that EMF exposure is not a probable cause of cancer. Through the evidence it shows that there is not a link between EMF exposure and cancer.
· Conservatism
I think this hypothesis is conservative. The NIH is a very reputable organization and their expertise is valued. I think that the claims involved fit very well with established beliefs about how EMFs can affect people and how cancer develops. The evidence supports the fact that multiple studies and research have not found a link between EMFs and cancer formation.
