[ RadSafe ] Ecological Dose-Response Studies

[jjcohen at prodigy.net]

Jim,
    Are you suggesting that EPA makes decisions largely based upon political
considerations. If that is the case (and I suspect it is), they should stop
squandering all that money on scientific research and spend it where it
would do the most "good". To determine which policies are likely be the most
popular, they should contract with Harris, Zogby, or others capable of
accurately assessing public opinion .     Jerry


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Muckerheide, Jim (CDA)" <Jim.Muckerheide at state.ma.us>
To: <jjcohen at prodigy.net>; "RADSAFE" <radsafe at radlab.nl>; "Otto Raabe"
<ograabe at ucdavis.edu>
Sent: Thursday, February 08, 2007 2:49 PM
Subject: RE: [ RadSafe ] Ecological Dose-Response Studies


Sure. Just depends on what answer they want.

Regards, Jim


>-----Original Message-----
>From: radsafe-bounces at radlab.nl
>[mailto:radsafe-bounces at radlab.nl] On Behalf Of jjcohen at prodigy.net
>Sent: Thursday, February 08, 2007 4:17 PM
>To: RADSAFE; Otto Raabe
>Subject: Re: [ RadSafe ] Ecological Dose-Response Studies
>
>Otto,
>    You have given a fascinating comparison of some EPA policies.
>Can anyone explain how EPA determines when their rulemaking
>can be based on ecological studies and when it cannot be.
>Jerry Cohen
>
>
>
>----- Original Message ----- 
>From: "Otto Raabe" <ograabe at ucdavis.edu>
>To: "RADSAFE" <radsafe at radlab.nl>
>Sent: Thursday, February 08, 2007 9:48 AM
>Subject: [ RadSafe ] Ecological Dose-Response Studies
>
>
>> February 8, 2007
>>
>> The EPA in association with BEIR VI has rejected the
>detailed ecological
>> studies of Bernard Cohen that showed people living in
>regions with higher
>> radon levels in air in homes tended to have lower lung
>cancer rates and
>> demonstrating that the LNT model does not apply.
>>
>> In ecological studies the concentration of a potential toxicant is
>measured
>> in general areas where people are being exposed, but no
>information is
>> available about the actual dose to or exposure of any
>particular person.
>> Comparisons are made of rates of disease in people who live
>in areas with
>> different pollutant levels.  Because the actual level of
>exposure of the
>> people with disease is not really known, statisticians tend
>to give little
>> weight to the results of ecological studies. Also, unknown
>confounders can
>> badly skew the results.
>>
>> Ironically, EPA has a different view for air pollutants, For
>about ten
>> years ecological studies of air pollutants, especially
>particulate matter,
>> have been used to show an association between concentrations
>in outdoor
>air
>> and diseases in people. Often the affected people are in hospitals
>> breathing clean air and the measurements of pollutants are
>made outdoors
>> many miles away. In today's news a study from the University
>of Washington
>> involving 65,893 women who were presumably exposed to some
>extent or other
>> to normal outdoor levels of airborne particulate matter
>concluded that
>> women living in areas with higher concentrations had higher levels of
>heart
>> disease. It isn't clear what exposure anyone received since the
>> measurements were presumable made of outdoor levels at
>centrally located
>> air monitoring stations and no one knows where the women with heart
>disease
>> were during all of their lives or what they actually inhaled.  On the
>basis
>> of these and other similar studies the EPA in 2011 is scheduled to
>question
>> its standards for airborne particulate matter. Presumably they will
>> recommend lower ambient air concentration limits on
>particulate matter and
>> limits on emission sources.
>>
>> Otto
>>
>>
>> **********************************************
>> Prof. Otto G. Raabe, Ph.D., CHP
>> Center for Health & the Environment
>> University of California
>> One Shields Avenue
>> Davis, CA 95616
>> E-Mail: ograabe at ucdavis.edu
>> Phone: (530) 752-7754   FAX: (530) 758-6140
>> ***********************************************
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