[ RadSafe ] Interesting article

Wed Aug 4 18:15:56 CDT 2010

"Most people are acutely aware of their own ignorance and fear" 

Dear Wade:

I wish that what you said was true, but I have found is that people tend to
believe their own worst fears, especially when those fears are promoted by
groups with anti-nuclear agenda. I remember years ago (1995-1996) while
working at the Sosny Labs (Minsk, Belarus) on a Chernobyl project, when
asked by US Embassy personnel about my dosimetry, I told them that I was
getting about 80% of the dose that I would normally get living in
Albuquerque. I was told that I was lying. I gave them my dosimetry results
over the previous year, but they refused to believe it. Not long after that
I met an American tourist - who threw away the fruit that she was given by
her Belarusian host (a banana and an orange) because the US Embassy told her
to eat no fruit in Belarus because it was radioactive. I explained that the
banana and orange were certainly not grown in Belarus because the climate
was too cold.

Not too many years ago, New Mexico passed a new law relating to
"groundwater" quality, focused on uranium. Now every State has drinking
water quality standards, but New Mexico was coerced into formulating new
laws simply as an obstacle to uranium mining. Those intelligent,
well-educated lawmakers are not the kind that would be motivated by "real
explanations" but rather by the confused state of their constituencies and
the well-funded anti-mining lobbyists.

Dan ii

--
Dan W McCarn, Geologist
108 Sherwood Blvd
Los Alamos, NM 87544-3425
+1-505-672-2014 (Home - New Mexico)
+1-505-670-8123 (Mobile - New Mexico)
HotGreenChile at gmail.com (Private email) HotGreenChile at gmail dot com

-----Original Message-----
From: radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu
[mailto:radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu] On Behalf Of Wade Allison
Sent: Wednesday, August 04, 2010 14:07
To: Brennan, Mike (DOH); neildm at id.doe.gov; radsafe at agni.phys.iit.edu
Subject: Re: [ RadSafe ] Interesting article

Dear Mike
As you say, I dont think that we disgree. The problem is in the politics not
in the science.
As seen from through European eyes (my UK ones anyway) there are intelligent
people out there who would understand if we told them the truth. They are
the people I have been trying to address in my book. Without them on our
side, we are lost. I must say that I find them very receptive. Of course
some come up to me and say "So who is paying for your work?" To which I say
"nobody. I am saying what I know to be true for the sake of my
grandchildren, and I do have a fair idea of what I am talking about." It
works, so far at least. One day I will get a punch on the nose, no doubt.
The real antis are frightened and persuading them, or rather pacifying them,
comes later. Most people are acutely aware of their own ignorance and fear
(and me, so I work on it). Such a meta-stability in public opinion can
generate rapid change as we have seen in attitudes to smoking. You know the
story of the Emperor's New Clothes. So I am hopeful.
That's in the UK. In October I am going to Australia to give several talks.
Divisions and ignorance are greater there, I understand. In the US perhaps
you have a greater divide too and the politics is different again. But I am
convinced that educated middle America, like educated middle Brits, need
real explanations that they can understand. I hope that you would find that
I have made the case in my book although it is very hard to get the language
right. 
Best
Wade

Professor Wade Allison, MA DPhil  w.allison1 at physics.ox.ac.uk Emeritus
Fellow, Keble College, Oxford, UK OX1 3PG "Radiation and Reason"
http://www.radiationandreason.com <http://www.radiationandreason.com/>
(Oct09) 0-9562756-1-3 "Fundamental Physics for Probing and Imaging"
http://www.oup.co.uk/isbn/0-19-920389-X
<https://winfe.physics.ox.ac.uk/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.oup.co.
uk/isbn/0-19-920389-X>  (Oct06)

________________________________

From: Brennan, Mike (DOH) [mailto:Mike.Brennan at DOH.WA.GOV]
Sent: Wed 04/08/2010 18:46
To: Wade Allison; neildm at id.doe.gov; radsafe at agni.phys.iit.edu
Subject: RE: [ RadSafe ] Interesting article

Hi, Wade.

As I said, I don't disagree with your overall message.  I think that there
is plenty of room to argue that dose limits are more restrictive than are
needed to protect public health, and I would welcome an open discussion of
this among informed professionals, especially if there were a chance the
policy makers would listen. 

My concern is that the sentences "In fact radiation is much less harmful
than we feared. Given the availability of carbon-free nuclear power, this
makes a sea change in our view of radiation rather urgent." give the
impression that you feel we need to dose limits to the public in order to
facilitate nuclear power.  I realize that your position, like mine, is that
we should not let mindless fear of radiation prevent the construction of
newer, better, safer nuclear power plants.  I suspect we also agree that the
current dose limits likely exceed what is needed to protect public health,
though it is clear you feel more strongly on that point than I do.  So we
are basically in agreement.

My point is that these two issues should not be conflated, and to the extent
they are there are antis who will use it to say, "SEE!  They want to change
the limits so they can poison women and children with radiation from new
power plants!"  I know this is not the intent, and I recognize that the
antis will twist everything to support their world view, but I don't think
we should toss them any easy balls. 

Just my opinion.

-----Original Message-----
From: radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu
[mailto:radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu] On Behalf Of Wade Allison
Sent: Wednesday, August 04, 2010 1:56 AM
To: Brennan, Mike (DOH); neildm at id.doe.gov; radsafe at agni.phys.iit.edu
Subject: Re: [ RadSafe ] Interesting article

For clarification, neither the data nor the article as a whole suggests any
relaxation in reactor control design and safety. Those were the problems at
Chernobyl and Three Mile Island. The concern is the unwarranted exceptional
treatment of human radiation safety. If not relaxed, this seriously
unbalances our prospects in other areas, such as the use of fossil fuels.
This does not disagree with Mike, perhaps, but some have misread the article
[for which I was set a rather tight word limit.]

Professor Wade Allison, MA DPhil  w.allison1 at physics.ox.ac.uk Emeritus
Fellow, Keble College, Oxford, UK OX1 3PG "Radiation and Reason"
http://www.radiationandreason.com <http://www.radiationandreason.com/>
<http://www.radiationandreason.com/>  (Oct09) 0-9562756-1-3 "Fundamental
Physics for Probing and Imaging"
http://www.oup.co.uk/isbn/0-19-920389-X
<https://winfe.physics.ox.ac.uk/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.oup
.co.uk/isbn/0-19-920389-X>  (Oct06)

________________________________

From: radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu on behalf of Brennan, Mike
(DOH)
Sent: Tue 03/08/2010 19:31
To: neildm at id.doe.gov; radsafe at agni.phys.iit.edu
Subject: Re: [ RadSafe ] Interesting article

While I don't particularly disagree with the author's message, I do wish he
(and everyone else) wouldn't use statements like, "Given the availability of
carbon-free nuclear power, this makes a sea change in our view of radiation
rather urgent."  Selling nuclear power on its "carbon-free" attribute is a
mistake, as it unnecessarily embroils nuclear power in an argument that
should be about the down-side of burning stuff that throws crap into the
air.  Secondly, relaxing the standards for radiation exposure to the public
should not be sold as necessary for the expansion of nuclear power, as
proper design, construction, and operation of a nuclear power plant does not
expose the public to anything close to current limits (and if someone feels
they need to be sloppier in their design, construction, and/or operation, I
don't think I want them involved.

-----Original Message-----
From: radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu
[mailto:radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu] On Behalf Of neildm at id.doe.gov
Sent: Tuesday, August 03, 2010 10:31 AM
To: radsafe at agni.phys.iit.edu
Subject: [ RadSafe ] Interesting article

I just found an article on the website of New Scientist magazine supporting
the position of relaxation of radiation limits based on more rational
perception of the risks.

"Our attitude to ionising radiation is irrational, and easing safety limits
would do far more good than harm, says Wade Allison"
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20727715.800-whos-afraid-of-radiat
ion.html

Here is a pirated blurb about the author: "Wade Allison is a nuclear and
medical physicist at the University of Oxford and the author of Radiation
and Reason (YPD Books). He has no ties to the nuclear industry."

Dave Neil
DOE-ID Lessons Learned Coordinator

Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it.  - George
Santayana

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