Kvikk case

rdf:langString Kvikk case

rdf:langString The Kvikk case is about a variety of birth defects in the children of the men who served on HNoMS Kvikk. AN investigation found that the ship's electronic systems were not to blame; no other cause has been established. Suspicion arose when two former officers accidentally met in the orthopedic department at Haukeland University Hospital in Bergen, and it was later revealed that in all eleven children already had been born with birth defects from 1987 to 1994. In the end, the case counted 17 injured children, and it was also discovered that the phenomenon of birth defects already had started in 1983. Among the claimed birth defects are clubfoot, thumb hypoplasia, hip dysplasia, congenital heart defects, structural brain damage, cataracts, and other defects. Some of the children have also had developmental delays and behavioral problems. Kvikk was the only vessel in the Norwegian navy that was used as an electronic warfare (EW) vessel, and one widely discussed theory was that the powerful electromagnetic radiation from the boat's radio communication masts and radar led to several of those who served aboard the ship having children with clubfoot, and in some cases stillborn children. The idea was that the powerful radiation possibly damaged genetic material in the sperm of the men who worked aboard. A total of 17 out of 85 children of officers who served at Kvikk have been born with birth defects. Of the other theories about the cause of the deformities is one that Kvikk was the only vessel that was used to experiment with different types of camouflage paint.