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September28.2015

HuntersvilleOcularMelanomaClusterReport:

On9/25/2015DaveStetzerandIvisitedHuntersvilleNCtostudyenvironmentalexposurestohighfrequencyelectriccurrentsintheHopewellHighSchoolarea,sinceaclusterofocularmelanoma(OM)

hadbeenreportedinstudents.

Background:Infall2014,IreceivedaphonecallfromTomKelly,residinginKonaHI.Hiswifehadocularmelanoma,andhealertedmetoaclusterofocularmelanomainHopewellHighSchoolinHuntersvilleNC,andtoachannel9TVreportoftheclusterbyJimBradley.HealsogavemeacontactE-mailand

phoneforMelodyKling,PresidentofACureInSight,anocularmelanomasupportgroup.ShegavemecontactinformationandIcontactedandinterviewedsomeofthecasesandsurvivingparents.

AGoogleEarthphotooftheschoolrevealeditwasadjacenttoaPiedmontliquidnaturalgas(LNG)compressorandstoragestationona24-inchnaturalgaspipeline.

TheschoolisshownintheyellowcircleandtheLNGplantintheredcircle.Thereddotabovetheschoolwastheresidenceofacaseofocularmelanomathatneverattendedtheschool.Theschoolwasbuiltin2001.TheLNGplantwasalreadythere.

IsuspectedthatelectricalpollutionfromtheLNGplantmighthavecausedthecluster.Icalledtheplant

andlearnedthattheyhadvariablefrequencydrives(VFDs)ontheir300horsepowerelectricmotors.DaveandIbothhadexperiencewithanimalsandpeoplebecomingillafterexposuretosmall

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horsepowerVFDs.ManydairycowshavediedfromexposurestofieldsgeneratedbyVFDslessthan10HP.

IcontactedAnnClark,thenDeputySuperintendentoftheoftheCharlotteMecklenburgschooldistrict

inNovember2014.ThefollowingaretheEmailsIsentherandtheultimaterefusalIreceivedfromtheschooldistrictattorney:

From: SamMilham[smilham2@comcast.net]Sent: Sunday,November16,20148:14PMTo: 'a.clark@cms.k12.nc.us'Cc: 'DaveStetzer'Subject: ocularmelanoma(OM)clusterAttachments: LaQuintaMiddleschoolteachers'cancers.pdf

DearDeputySuperintendantClark,I'masemi-retiredphysician/epidemiologist,andhavestudiedandreportedonanumberofcancerclusters.Ihavestudiedthehealtheffectsofelectromagneticfieldsfornearly30years.Ihavepublishedabout100scientificpapersandhavewrittenabookcalledDirtyElectricity.MywebsitehasacopyofmyCVandanumberofrecentpapers.Http://www.sammilham.comIlearnedabouttheHopewellhighschoolocularmelanoma(OM)clusteracoupleofmonthsagowhenmanfromKona,Hawaii,whosewifehasOM,sentmethevideolinkfromChannel9Charlottedescribingthecluster.Heputmeintouchwithtwo501C3foundationswhichfocusonOM,ACureInsight,andtheOcularMelanomaFoundation(OMF).MelodyBurchettKlinghadOM,isinRaleighNCandismycontacttoACureInsight.ShegavemecontactinformationfortheHuntersvilleclustercases.The5casesofOMintheclusterareallfemale;3formerstudentsatHopewellHighschooland2womenwholivedneartheschool.Whatisreallystrikingaboutthemishowyoungtheyare.OMhasanincidenceof6permillionwithanaverageageof55andaslightmaleexcess.Twoofthestudentsdiedatages27and28,andtheonestudentsurvivorisage19,Thetwonon-studentcasesareages29and31.IlookeduptheHopewellhighschoolwhitestudentpopulation(1718studentsx46%white=790).OMisrarelyseeninnon-whites.Sincetheschoolhasbeen

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openfor13years,thepopulationatriskis790x13=10,270.MultiplyingthisbytheOMincidencegives10,270x6/1,000,000=0.06casesexpected.Since3casesoccurred,therelativeriskofOMintheschoolis3/0.06or50.Thatis,the3OMcasesintheschoolstudentpopulationwere50timesexpected.SincetheincidenceofOMinhighschoolagedchildrenismuchlowerthan6permillion,thetrueriskisatleast100timesexpected.The2communitycasesmeansthattheetiologicagentisnotlimitedtotheschool.I'dlikeyourhelpingettingaccesstotheschoolforacoupleofhoursinmid-December2014.Measuringtheelectricalpollutionintheschoolandintheneighborhoodshouldbeabletoidentifyitssource.IntwootherschoolsI'vestudied,thesourceoftheproblemwasofnon-schoolorigin(acelltoweroncampusatoneschool,andadefectiveutilitysubstationinanother).Onceidentified,itmaybepossibletoeliminatethesource.I'mattachingastudyofacancerclusterinmiddleschoolteacherscausedbyelectricalpollutionintheirclassrooms.Sadly,formerstudentsatthatschoolintheirearlytwentiesarenowshowingupwiththyroidcancerafterthreeyearsofexposure.AllthecancerclustersI'veexaminedhaveaconnectiontoelectricalpollution.

MycolleagueandmentorDaveStetzerfromWisconsinwillhelpmeintheinvestigation.I'matmywinterhomeintheCaliforniadesert.Wewillcoverthecostsoftheinvestigation.MyphoneinIndioCAis(760)775-5878.Respectfully,SamMilhamMD

Sam Milham <sam.milham@gmail.com> Sep 22 (6 days ago)

to Ann, matthew.hayes, Andre, John, Dave

Dear CMS people, Dave Stetzer and I will be in Huntersville to study the ocular melanoma cluster this Friday and Saturday Sept. 25-26. It is very important that we get into the school to make electrical measurements.

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We are quite certain that the epidemic was caused by bad electricity from the liquid natural gas plant near the school. They have variable speed drives on their 300 horsepower motors which cause problems with electrical equipment and human health. If this ever comes to litigation, the responsible parties are the manufacturer of the variable speed drives and the electric utility which violates its own and federal rules by dumping dirty electricity into the ground for return to the substation. The only role the school played in the epidemic was providing a large, susceptible exposed population. We await your decision, so we can plan our visit. Best, Sam MIlham MD

Andre F. Mayes Sep 22 (6 days

ago)

to me, Ann, MATTHEW, John

Dr.Milham,IamoneoftheCMSattorneysandhavebeenaskedtorespondtoyourcommunicationstomeandotherCMSemployeesregardingyourrequesttoenterHopewellHighSchooltotakeelectricalmeasurements. TheMecklenburgCountyHealthDepartment-Epidemiologystaff,theNorthCarolinaDepartmentofHealth&HumanServices–EnvironmentalEpidemiologybranch,theNorthCarolinaCentralCancerRegistry,andtheNorthCarolinaDepartmentofEnvironmentandNaturalResourceswereconsultedaspartofacomprehensiveanalysisofHopewellHighSchoolanditssurroundingenvironment(soil,water,schoolconstruction,asbestos,electromagneticexposure)withina2mileradiusoftheschoolanddeterminedthattheschoolwasincompliancewiththeenvironmentalstandardsrequiredbyMecklenburgCountyandNorthCarolina.Thesestateandcountyregulatoryagenciesconcludedthatfurthertestingofelectromagneticfieldswasnotwarranted.CMSwillcontinuetorelyontheexpertiseandrecommendationsoftheseregulatoryagenciesforguidance.Accordingly,youwillnotbepermittedtotakeelectricalmeasurementsatHopewellHighSchoolatthistime. Iftheregulatoryagencieseverrevisetheirrecommendationregardingelectromagnetictesting,CMSwillbehappytoreconsideryourrequestatthattime. André F. Mayes Deputy General Counsel Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools 980.343.5901(phone)|980.343.5739(fax)

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IphonedtheLNGplantandtalkedtoGaryNorthrup,plantmanager,theweekofSeptember15,2015torequestadmissiontotheplant.HereferredmetoMattKanes,DirectorofSafetyandCommunications

forPiedmont.Italkedtohimalso,makingthesamerequest,andwastoldthathewouldcontactmewithadecisionbySundaySeptember20whenIwasscheduledtobeginatriptovisitDaveStetzerinBlairWI,totraveltogethertoHuntersvilleonSeptember24.Henevercontactedmeorrespondedto

numeroustelephonemessages.NoE-mailaddresseswereavailableforeitherofthem.

HuntersvilleelectricityisprovidedbyElectriCities.ElectriCitiesisamembershiporganizationincludingpublicpowercommunitiesinNorthCarolina,SouthCarolinaandVirginia.ElectriCitiesalsoprovidesmanagementservicestothestate'stwomunicipalpoweragencies-NorthCarolinaMunicipalPower

AgencyNumber1andNorthCarolinaEasternMunicipalPowerAgency.

IntheUS,electricityisdistributedinagroundedWyesystemwithawireconnectingtheneutralcentertapofthetransformertotheearth.Alltheelectricitydeliveredhastoreturntothesubstationitcamefromandwhenthegridwasbuilt,mostofitreturnedontheutilityprimaryneutralwire.Mostloadslike

incandescentlightsandelectricmotorswerelinearloads,inthattheydidnothingtochangethe60Hzcurrentpoweringthem.Withthedevelopmentofcomputers,inverters,variablefrequencymotordrives,compactfluorescentlightsandothernonlinearloads,the60Hzwaveformsweredeformedby

thehighfrequencieswhichwereaddedtotheneutralreturncurrents.Highfrequenciesdon'ttravelwellontheneutralreturnwires,requiringalargerdiameterwiretocarryhigherfrequenciesthan60Hz.Theinadequateneutralsheatedupandcausedbuildingfires.Buildingcodeswerechangedtorequiremore

robustin-buildingneutralreturnwires,buttheutilitiesinsteadofaddingincreaseneutralcapacitytotheirwireneutrals,simplyusedthedowngroundsatthetransformerstodumpthereturncurrentsinto

theearthforsubstationreturn.By1998,about70%ofallelectricitydelivered,returnedtothesubstationviatheearth.Europehasadeltadistributionsystemwithallthedeliveredelectricityreturningtothesubstationviawires.TheUSNationalElectricSafetyCodeandmoststatepublicutility

commissionshaverulesforbiddinguseoftheearthasaprimaryneutralreturn.

Theoriginalelectricmotorshadsimpleon/offswitchesormayhavehadswitchesforhigh,mediumandlowspeeds.Thedevelopmentofvariablefrequencydrives(VFDs)allowedmotorspeedtobeinfinitelyvaried.Variablefrequencydrivesgenerateelectricalpollution,whichadverselyaffectselectric

equipment.VFDsonsmall,lowhorsepowermotorsdrasticallyreducemilkproductionindairycattleandhavecausedseriousillnessinhumans.ThePiedmontLNGplanthasVFDson300horsepowermotors.

Method:onSeptember25,2015,JoeWagner,anocularmelanomacasewhoformerlyworkedasacableinstallerintheBeattiesFordRoadarea,accompaniedDaveStetzerandme.Wedrovearoundtheschool

andLNGplantareawithanAMradiotunedoffstationlisteningforstaticpatterns,andcoveredtheBeattiesFordRd,McCoyRd,andHambrightRds.Wealsovisitedtheneighborhoodsofthetwonon-schoolOMcases,oneneartheschool,andoneneartheLancasterBarbecueonBeattiesFordroad.We

usedatwochannelFluke190oscilloscopetocapturevoltagewaveformsbetweentheprimaryneutralwireatapowerpolenearthemainentrancetothehighschoolonBeattiesFordRdandagroundprobe

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50feetawayparalleltotheschoolentranceroad(Figure1,2).Wealsocapturedthevoltagewaveformsbetweentwogroundprobes50feetapartparalleltoaPiedmontLNGpipelineatthecornerofOverhill

andCarverRoads,southoftheLNGplant(Figures3,4).

Figure1

Figure2

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Figure3

Figure4

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Resultsandinterpretation:

TherewasalotofAMradiostaticintheareaswestudied,indicatinghighfrequencyelectromagneticpollutionintheairatkilohertzfrequencies.Thisissignificant,becauseanothercaseofOMhasbeen

recentlyreportedinapolicemanwhoseterritorywastheBeattiesFordRdarea.

Thewaveformsandtheirspectraintheprimaryneutraltoearthgroundattheschoolandthecurrentintheearthatthepipelineareshownabove.

Thewaveformsatbothplacesarehighlydistortedutility60Hzwaveformswith16.8msbetweenpeaksRemarkably,thespectraatbothplacesareidenticalwithidenticalpeakfrequenciesof19,980Hz.The

spectraareasindividualasfingerprintsorDNA,provingbeyondanydoubtthattheelectricalpollutionattheschoolandintheearthatthepipelinehadthesamesource,mostlikelytheVFDsattheLNGplant.Inourexperiencethislevelofhighfrequencyelectricalpollutionintheearthandgridcausesa

widespectrumofmorbidityandmortalityinanimalsandpeopleexposedtoit.AthighestriskwillbetheLNGplantemployees,teachersandstudentsattheschool,andpeoplewholiveandworknearthepipeline.Theocularmelanomacasesarethetipofanicebergofmortalityandmorbidityinthosewho

havebeenexposed.DuringourvisittoHuntersvillewelearnedthatthebrotherofoneofthefatalOMschoolcaseswhoalsoattendedthehighschoolwasdiagnosedwithleukemia.

Recommendations:

1.TheVFDsonthemotorsatthePiedmontLNGplantshouldhavefiltersdesignedbythemanufacturerinstalledonthem.ThemanufacturersknowabouttheelectricalpollutiongeneratedbytheirVFDsand

usuallyhavethefiltersalreadyattachedtoVFDsmarketedinEuropewhichhasstricterelectricalpollutionrules.

2.Theelectricutility(ElectriCities)shouldaddanoversizedneutralbetweentheLNGplantandthe

utilitysubstation.OtherfiltersmayhavetobeinstalledattheplanttocomplywiththeInstituteofElectricalandElectronicEngineersIEEE-519standards.TheIEEE519limitstotalharmonicdistortionto5%forvoltageand20%forcurrent.Europehasstrictrulesonelectricalpollution,whicharemostly

ignoredintheUS.

3.TheHopewellHighSchoolshouldbeexaminedelectricallyandmadetocomplywithIEEE-519standards.

4.Asapublichealthspecialist,IwouldrecommendmorbidityandmortalitysurveillanceofcurrentandformerHopewellHighSchoolstaffandstudents,withaspecialfocusonocularmelanomaearly

detection.

Respectfullysubmitted,

SamuelMilhamMD,MPHDaveStetzer