[ RadSafe ] Thyroid Cancers and Reactors Media made stories are hard to contest

Sat Feb 6 19:45:30 CST 2010

Steven Dapra,

Anti nuclear activists create an impression among the lay public that  I-131 emissions from nuclear power reactors are causing thyroid cancer by narrating individual instances of one or two thyroid cancers from any where between a few kilometres from the reactor. They play on the emotions of the public by vividly describing the suffering of the patient and quoting statements from them attributing the disease to the reactor. The impact will be  too strong to be ignored. Generally they quote a physician often a generalist to reinforce the false impression.

Couple of years ago, a leading multi-edition daily in India carried a news story from an activist reporter. He claimed that the nuclear power reactors at Kalpakkam near Chennai (local name for Madras city) are causing thyroid cancer in regions a few kilometres away. He could secure explanations from an activist physician who also claimed that the people are suffering a condition called "thyroiditis"!!.The new item contained many inaccuracies and exaggerations. The management of the power station invited the reporter for a detailed discussion, gave him plenty of factual information and requested him to publish what was explained to him.They forgot that he was an activist. He went back; wrote a few lines from the text provided by the station management and reiterated that he stands by his original story! So long as there are newspapers willing to accept any such story indiscriminately, the damage cannot be undone! I have been involved in arresting the
 trend for the past few years; I cannot claim any success!

Some related articles are available for review. Those interested may also access http://ksparth.blogspot.com

http://ksparth.blogspot.com/2008/04/april-17-2008-radiation-epidemiological.html
http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/thscrip/print.pl?file=2009102250121200.htm&date=2009/10/22/&prd=seta&

K S Parthasarathy

________________________________
From: Steven Dapra <sjd at swcp.com>
To: radsafe at radlab.nl
Sent: Sun, 7 February, 2010 1:00:13
Subject: Re: [ RadSafe ] Thyroid Cancers and Reactors

Feb. 6

        Okay, fine, you got me on a technicality.  I doubt that many anti-nukers are thinking "Chernobyl!" when they make their charges of reactors-equal-thyroid-cancer.  They are claiming that properly functioning reactors are guilty of emissions that cause thyroid cancer.

        The exception certainly does not prove the "rule" --- or in this case it does not prove what amounts to an ideology.

Steven Dapra

At 11:19 AM 2/6/2010, Leo M. Lowe wrote:
> Hello,
> 
> The question was asked "Can anyone  show a cause and effect relationship between reactor emissions and thyroid cancer?  (No fair citing Mangano, Bertell, Sternglass, etc., etc.)"
> 
> Although clearly not related to chronic emissions from emissions under normal circumstances, a link between emissions from the Chernobyl accident and thyroid cancers has been clearly demonstrated.
> 
> L Lowe

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