AW: [ RadSafe ] German radiophobia

[Rainer.Facius at dlr.de]

"I assume that the article you quote from is not from a publication that you normally read."

 

John:

 

Quite the contrary! 

 

SPIEGEL-ONLINE, the internet version of the prestigious and MOST influential (German governments nearly stumbled on several occasions) weekly news journal DER SPIEGEL (THE MIRROR), is one of my regular daily news sources, mainly because of its otherwise very useful science rubric. 

 

The article itself quotes an 'expert', Dr. S. Pflugbeil, president of the "Gesellschaft für Strahlenschutz", http://www.gfstrahlenschutz.de/#Vorstand (Society for Radiation Protection - no kidding ) as warrantor for the doom the poor refugees will face.

 

Regarding my colleagues in the institute, the vast majority has no radiation expertise and most of them believe the public myth that "any small amount of ionizing radiation is potentially (with some finite probability) lethal". Some of them - otherwise most professional technicians - I even would count among the hysterics in this regard.

 

All this mainly because the media flourish best on selling ANGST and because BEIR VII and the like do feed them by endorsing the LNT postulate as a scientific fact!

 

Best regards, Rainer

 


________________________________

Von: John Jacobus [mailto:crispy_bird at yahoo.com]
Gesendet: Do 13.10.2005 18:26
An: Facius, Rainer; radsafe at radlab.nl
Betreff: Re: [ RadSafe ] German radiophobia

Rainer,
Thanks for the posting. 

What I was asking is do you know personally know of
anyone who has a fear of chronic low level ionizing
radiation.  That is, a friend, family member, or
coworker. 

I believe that we associate with people who are like
ourselves.  If you read, have a college education, and
a good job, you will associate yourself with like
individuals. I really do not know of anyone who truly
fears radiation, but I read about them all the time.
I wonder where they all are?  In Germany?

I assume that the article you quote from is not from a
publication that you normally read.

<...>
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On Oct. 5, 1947, in the first televised White House address, President Truman asked Americans to refrain from eating meat on Tuesdays and poultry on Thursdays to help stockpile grain for starving people in Europe.

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