AW: [ RadSafe ] Re: "Science" reports on background radiation andhealth

Wed Aug 10 13:03:11 CDT 2005

"Can you cite any epidemiological studies..." 

John:

Apparently you have fallen prey to the fairy tale perpetuated by linear philosophers that ecological epidemiological studies yield no valid conclusion whatsoever. Particularly in case of linear stimulus-risk relations, BL Cohen has conclusively refuted that myth. Otherwise it might indeed be impossible to extract risk coefficients from ecological studies. But who actually cares about risk coefficients if the complete (of course non-linear) risk function representing essentially the whole population is known. Obviously again only linear minds would care. Otherwise you might wish to study some of the results demonstrated in the papers of the incomplete list below (BTW, not all report ecological studies).

Kind regards, Rainer

On the "ecological fallacy"

Cohen B L, In defence of ecologic studies for testing a Linear-No Threshold theory, Invited Commentary. American Journal of Epidemiology, 139#8(1994)765-768

Cohen B L, Ecological versus case-control studies for testing a linear-no threshold dose-response relationship. International Journal of Epidemiology 19#3(1990)680-684

Seiler F A, Alvarez J L, Is the "ecological fallacy" a fallacy? Human and Ecological Risk Assessment 6#6(2000)921-941

'HBRA' populations

Craig L, Seidman H, Leukemia and lymphoma mortality in relation to cosmic radiation. Blood 17(1961)319-327

"From this table [3] there appears to be an inverse relationship between elevation and mortality from leukemias and lymphomas."  (After 'adjusting' for population size in metropolitan areas ...)  "From this table [5] ... there seems to be no observable effect of the increase of the intensity of cosmic radiation upon leukaemia mortality."    

Fleck C M, Schöllnberger H, Kottbauer M M, Dockal T, Püfert U, Modeling radioprotective mechanisms in the dose effect relation at low doses and low dose rates of ionizing radiation. Mathematical Biosciences 155(1999)12-44

Frigerio N A, Stowe R S, Carcinogenic and genetic hazard from background radiation. in: Biological and environmental effects of low-level radiation, Proceedings of a Symposium on Biological effects of low-level radiation pertinent to protection of man and his environment, Chicago, Ill., Nov. 1975, IAEA-SM--202/805, vol. 2, ISBN-92-0-010176-3, International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna 1976 , p. 385-393

Hickey R J, In Reply to: Harley J H, Pseudoscience, Health Physics 52#1(1987)103; 103-104

Hickey R J, Risks associated with exposures to radiation: science, pseudoscience and opinion. Health Physics 49(1985)949-952

Hickey R J, Bowers E J, Spence D W, Zemel B S, Clelland A B, Clleland R C, Low Level ionizing radiation and human mortality: multi-regional epidemiological studies. Health physics 40(1981)625-641

Jacobson A P, Plato P A, Frigerio N A, The role of natural radiations in human leukemogenesis. Am. J. Public Health 66#1(1976)31-37

"An analysis of the values in Table 3 [regression slopes, correlation coefficients, T-statistics and confidence levels] leads us to conclude that no correlation exists between leukaemia and radiation dose-rates between 60 and 142 mSv per year."<34> [ apart from the one with the smallest correlation coefficient, all the slopes are actually negative and one of the negative ones nearly significant (CL 93%)]

Jagger J, Natural background radiation and cancer death in Rocky Mountain states and Gulf coast states. Health Physics 75#4(1998)428-430

Pohl-Rüling J, Hofmann W, Investigation of cancer mortality in the Gastein valley, an area of high-level radiation. International Congress Series 1236(2002)27-29

Pohl-Rüling J, Fischer P, The dose-effect relationship of chromosome aberrations to alpha and gamma irradiation in a population subjected to an increased burden of natural radioactivity. Radiation Research 80(1979)61-81

"It is suggested that the shape of the dose-response curve at these very low levels of radiation [at Badgastein] may result from the induction of repair enzymes." ( unglaublich, das schon 1979!)

Nambi K S V, Soman S D, Environmental radiation and cancer in India. Health Physics 52#5(1987)653-657

Walter S D, Meigs J W, Heston J F, The relationship of cancer incidence to terrestrial radiation and population density in Connecticut, 1935-1974. Am. J. Epidemiol. 123#1(1986)1-14

"There were a few significant associations between radiation and cancer incidence, but these showed little consistency over time or between sexes. In fact, there were as many significant negative associations as positive ones, suggesting that they all might be chance findings."<8>

Kerala

Cheriyan V D, Kurien C J, Das B, Ramachandran E N, Karuppasamy C V, Thampi M V, George K P, Kesavan P C, Koya P K M, Chauhan P S, Genetic monitoring of the human population from high-level natural radiation areas of Kerala on the southwest coast of India. II. Incidence of numerical and structural chromosomal aberrations in the lymphocytes of newborns. Radiation Research 152, Suppl.(1999) S154-158

Chougaonkar M P, Eappen K P, Ramachandran T V, Shetty P G, Mayy Y S, Sadasivan S, Raj V V, Profile of doses to the population living in the high background radiation areas in Kerala, India. Journal of Environmental Radioactivity, 71(2004)275-297

Jaikrishan G, Andrews V J, Thampi M V, Koya P K M, Rajan V K, Chauhan P S, Genetic monitoring of the human population from high-level natural radiation areas of Kerala on the southwest coast of India. I. Prevalence of congenital malformations in newborns. Radiation Research 152, Suppl.(1999) S149-S153

Mohanty A K, Sengupta D, Das S K, Vijayan V, Saha S K, Natural radioactivity in the newly discovered high background radiation area on the eastern coast of Orissa, India. Radiation Measurements 38(2004)153-165

Nair M K, Nambi K S V, Amma N S, Gangadharan P, Jayalekshmi P, Jayadevan S, Cherian V, Reghuram K N, Population study in the high natural background radiation area in Kerala, India. Radiation Research 152, Suppl.(1999) S145-S148

Thampi M V, Cheriyan V D, Kurien C J, Ramachandran E N, Karuppasamy C V, Koya P K M, Das B, Georga K P, Rajan V K, Chauhan P S, Cytogenetic studies in the high level natural radiation areas of Kerala. International Congress Series 1225(2002)207-211

Yangjiang

Morishima H, Koga T, Tatsumi K, Nakai S, Sugahara T, Yuan Y, Wei L, Dose measurement, its distribution and individual external dose assessments of inhabitants in the high background radiation areas in China. J. Radiat. Res. 41,Suppl.(2000)9-23

People's Republic of China High Background Radiation Research Group, Health survey in high background radiation areas in China. Science 209(1980)877-880

Sun Q-F, Akiba S, Tao Z F, Yuan Y-L, Zou J M, Morishima H, Kato H, Zha Y-R, Sugahara T, Wei L-X, Excess relative risk of solid cancer mortality after prolonged exposure to naturally occurring high background radiation in Yangjiang, China. J. Radiat. Res. 41,Suppl.(2000)43-52

Tao Z-F, Zha Y R, Akiba S, Sun Q-F, Zou J M, Li J, Liu Y-S, Kato H, Sugahara T, Wei L-X, Cancer mortality in the high background radiation areas of Yangjiang, China during the period between 1979 and 1995. J. Radiat. Res. 41,Suppl.(2000)31-41

"On the contrary, the mortality of all cancers in HBRA was generally lower than that in the control area, but not statistically significant"

Wei L, Sugahara T, Tao Z, Eds., High Levels of Natural Radiation, Radiation Dose and Health Effects. International Congress Series 1136, Excerpta Medica, Elsevier, Amsterdam 1997

Wei L, Sugahara T, An introductory overview of the epidemiological study on the population at the high background radiation areas in Yangjing, China. J. Radiat. Res. 41,Suppl.(2000)1-7 

Wei L-X, Sugahara T, Risk assessment based on an epidemiological study in a high background radiation area. A China-Japan cooperative research. International Congress Series 1225(2002)267-275

"The results show that [...] the ERR = -0.01 (95% CI: -0.67,0.69)/Sv. 1698359 person-years were observed in the period from 1979 through 1995"

Wei L-X, Sugahara T, Recent advances of "Epidemiological study in high background radiation area in Yangjiang, China". International Congress Series 1236 (2002) 91-99

Domestic radon

Bogen K T, Mechanistic model predicts a U-shaped relation of radon exposure to lung cancer risk reflected in combined occupational and US residential data. Human & Experimental Toxicology 17(1998)691-696

Cavallo A J, Comment on "The U.S. Enevironmental Protection Agency's assessment of risks from indoor Radon". Health Physics 87#6(2004)671-672

Cohen B L, Response to "Residential Radon exposure and lung cancer risk: Commentary on Cohen's county-based study". Health Physics 87#6(2004)656-658

Cohen B L, The van Pelt reassessment of our lung cancer vs. Radon study. Correspondence, Health Physics 86#3(2004)316-318

Cohen B L, The Puskin observation on smoking as a confounder in ecologic correlations of cancer mortality rates with average county Radon levels. Correspondence, Health Physics 86#2(2004)203-204

Cohen B L, Updates and extensions to tests of the linear-no threshold theory. Technology 7(2000)657-672

Cohen B L, Response to 'The potential for bias in Cohen's ecological analysis of lung cancer and residential Radon', Letter to the Editor. J. Radiol. Prot. 22(2002)305-307

Cohen B L, Response to Lubin's proposed explanation of our discrepancy. Health Physics 75#1(1998)18-22

Cohen B L, Problems in the Radon vs lung cancer test of the linear no-threshold theory and a procedure for resolving them. Health Physics 72#4(1997)623-628

Cohen B L, Test of the linear-no threshold theory of radiation carcinogenesis for inhaled radon decay products. Health Physics 68#2(1995)157-174

Cohen B L, Colditz G A, Tests of the linear-no threshold theory for lung cancer induced by expsoure to Radon. Environmental Research 64(1994)65-89

Cohen B L, Stone C A, Schilken C A, Indoor Radon maps of the United States. Health Physics 66#2(1994)201-205

Cohen B L, Relationship between exposure to Radon and various types of cancer. Health Physics 65#5(1993)529-531

Cohen B L, Variation of Radon levels in U.S. homes correlated with house characteristics, location, and socioeconomic factors. Health Physics 60#5(1991)631-642

Cohen B L, A test of the linear-no threshold theory of radiation carcinogenesis. Environmental Research 53(1990)193-220

Conrady J, Martin K, Lembcke J, Martin H, The true size of the lung cancer risk from indoor radon: hidden behind a smoke screen? International Congress Series 1225(2002)253-258

Duport P, Danger in extrapolating indoor Radon risk from underground miner data. Health Physics 87#6(2004)670-671

Heath Jr. C W, Bond P D, Hoel D G, Meinhold C B, Residential Radon exposure and lung cancer risk: Commentary on Cohen's county-based study. Health Physics 87#6(2004)647-655

Puskin J S, James A C, Pawel D J, Response to Duport and Cavallo. Health Physics 87#6(2004)672

________________________________

Von: radsafe-bounces at radlab.nl im Auftrag von John Jacobus
Gesendet: Mi 10.08.2005 18:37
An: Muckerheide, James; Maury Siskel
Cc: cdn-nucl-l at mailman1.cis.mcmaster.ca; mbrexchange at list.ans.org; radsafe
Betreff: RE: [ RadSafe ] Re: "Science" reports on background radiation andhealth

Can you cite any epidemiological studies in the
literature that supports the idea that radiation is
the basis for improved health, etc.?

I think that there is a bit of a difference between
saying that low dose, low-dose rates does does not
cause harm vs. it is beneficial at these levels.

+++++++++++++++++++
"Every now and then a man's mind is stretched by a new idea and never shrinks back to its original proportion." -- Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

-- John
John Jacobus, MS
Certified Health Physicist
e-mail:  crispy_bird at yahoo.com