Italy Has Divisions Over `Electrosmog' --- Issue of Power-Line Cancer Threat Roils Political Scene
Wall Street Journal; New York, N.Y.; Apr 16, 2001; By Yaroslav Trofimov;

 

Abstract:
Italian Health Minister Umberto Veronesi argues that drastic measures pander to irrational fears without any tangible benefit to public health. Mr. Veronesi, a leading oncologist who doesn't belong to a political party and isn't running in the May 13 general election, has gone on the attack against fellow ministers, backed by scientists increasingly angry at being ignored by Italy's politicians.

Mr. Veronesi, consistently ranked by opinion polls as one of Italy's most popular public figures, believes that's a stiff price to pay for combating a peril that may not exist -- while no action is taken against proven cancer dangers like smoking in public spaces. The World Health Organization doesn't currently list electromagnetic fields among the 385 agents that clearly, probably or possibly cause cancer. A working group of U.S. public-health professionals recently recommended classifying electromagnetic fields as possible carcinogenic elements -- about the same risk as coffee and pickled vegetables.

Such resistance is prompting an outpouring of fury from some of Mr. Veronesi's fellow ministers. "I'm amazed. He's essentially saying that our Parliament is made up of madmen," says Agriculture Minister Alfonso Pecoraro Scanio, one of the leaders of Italy's Green Party. "Veronesi's opinion represents a small minority of scientists."

 

ROME -- Few things arouse more passion in Italy these days than the debate over catching cancer from power lines and radio antennas.

Although the World Health Organization says there is no proof that this so-called electrosmog causes cancer, the issue is already causing a government rift. With an election campaign in full swing, the nation has watched government ministers accuse each other of immorality and disregard for human lives as they battle over a controversial law that would cost taxpayers tens of billions of euros.

Italy's environment minister has even threatened to shut down the Vatican's radio-transmission facilities amid an uproar over whether its electromagnetic waves were causing an increase in child leukemia. But on April 10, he was overruled by fellow ministers, who said that the government will instead pursue diplomatic negotiations with the Vatican to "find a solution acceptable to both parties" -- just as the radio station offered to curb its medium-wave transmissions.

Italian Health Minister Umberto Veronesi argues that drastic measures pander to irrational fears without any tangible benefit to public health. Mr. Veronesi, a leading oncologist who doesn't belong to a political party and isn't running in the May 13 general election, has gone on the attack against fellow ministers, backed by scientists increasingly angry at being ignored by Italy's politicians.

"It's very convenient for some people to fan a panic about imagined health disasters so that they can come forward and say, `I'm your savior, vote for me,' " says Umberto Tirelli, director of medical oncology at Italy's National Tumors Institute and one of the authors of an open letter by Italian scientists to President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi. "One thing is clear -- there is no such thing as electrosmog and it doesn't cause cancer."

The target of these scientists' ire is the so-called electrosmog law passed by the Italian Parliament in February, which would require burying a big part of Italy's power-transmission lines. While the law itself doesn't set limits on electromagnetic fields, the government's draft implementation decree reduces these limits to just 0.5% of the internationally accepted guidelines.

Enel SpA, the nation's biggest power utility, says that if the law is implemented according to current plans, it would have to spend 21 billion to 26 billion euros on rebuilding its power grid to satisfy the new requirements, according to Chairman Enrico Testa. The utility, he adds, is authorized by regulators to pass the cost on to Italian consumers, who already face some of Europe's highest electricity bills.

Mr. Veronesi, consistently ranked by opinion polls as one of Italy's most popular public figures, believes that's a stiff price to pay for combating a peril that may not exist -- while no action is taken against proven cancer dangers like smoking in public spaces. The World Health Organization doesn't currently list electromagnetic fields among the 385 agents that clearly, probably or possibly cause cancer. A working group of U.S. public-health professionals recently recommended classifying electromagnetic fields as possible carcinogenic elements -- about the same risk as coffee and pickled vegetables.

Mr. Veronesi's opinion is crucial because the decree to implement the electrosmog law must be signed by the Ministry of Health. Mr. Veronesi won't do so until he receives a scientific opinion from the nation's Supreme Health Council, an advisory board made up of health professionals, his spokesman says.

Such resistance is prompting an outpouring of fury from some of Mr. Veronesi's fellow ministers. "I'm amazed. He's essentially saying that our Parliament is made up of madmen," says Agriculture Minister Alfonso Pecoraro Scanio, one of the leaders of Italy's Green Party. "Veronesi's opinion represents a small minority of scientists."

He argues that experiences with previously dismissed health risks like asbestos and mad-cow disease should have taught Mr. Veronesi to be less complacent. If Mr. Veronesi doesn't sign the decree, he adds, other ministers will pressure Prime Minister Giuliano Amato to overrule him.

Credit: Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal

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