[ RadSafe ] Pilot of Enola Gay Had No Regrets for Hiroshima

[stewart farber]

National Public Radio on its All Things Considered show on Nov. 1st, ran a segment about the death of Paul Tibbets, pilot of the Enola Gay. See below for link:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=15858203&sc=emaf

Tibbets was 92 and never wavered in his belief that the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki was necessary to quickly end the war and save lives. He said he had no regrets and dismissed as "hogwash" any suggestion that the attack was morally wrong.

Of note on the subject of radiation risks, the NPR report by Melissa Block and Robert Siegel stated incorrectly that "tens of thousands of Japanese died from long-term effects of radioactive fallout".

I wrote NPR's "All Things Considered" a response using their feedback mechanism, citing  data from the ABCC that excess cancer deaths in the 60,000 people followed long-term by the Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission documented about a 5% increase in cancer mortality, and about a 1% increase in total mortality -- a total of about 500 deaths through 1990. Their suggestion of "tens of thousands" of radiation related deaths long-term after the initial deaths due to blast, shock, and radiation exposure was an exaggeration and simply wrong.

Does anyone have more current summary cancer mortality data on the ABCC studies of the survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki from 1990 to present?  Thanks for any feedback on this point that people can offer me since my references are a bit dated.

Stewart Farber, MS Public Health
Consulting Scientist
Farber Medical Solutions, LLC
Bridgeport, CT 06604
[203] 441-8433 [office]
email: radproject at sbcglobal.net
website: http://www.farber-medical.com