[ RadSafe ] ODP: Residential radon and lung cancer suppression

Tue Jan 4 12:07:31 CST 2011

B Cohen's massive study (3/4 of USA pop.) even more directly refutes LNT fears, Jerry.
LESS lung cancer deaths in counties with MORE residential radon ( up to 4pC/cm ? - more than in 99% of homes) makes me want to ADD  radon to my home.

This reminds me, Jerry, as I shiver with "science predicted" proof of global warming (??)
of your article with Myron Pollycove (www.aapsonline.org/journal winter 2003 v8 #4) -
Can Cancer Be Treated With Low Doses of Radiation?

Howard Long

On Jan 3, 2011, at 8:59 PM, JERRY CUTTLER <jerrycuttler at rogers.com> wrote:

> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Happy New Year folks!
>  
> EPA: 21,000 deaths a year from radon  ???  Same ~50-year-old LNT ideology, year after year, from the same (radiation) protection racket.
> 
> Taking action to reduce radon levels 1) costs money, 2) stigmatizes properties (reducing their values) and 3) increases lung cancer incidence.  See again the following papers:
>  
> http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2477713/
>  
> http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2939692/
> 
> Jerry
> jerrycuttler at rogers.com
> 
> 
> --- On Mon, 1/3/11, George Sallit <georgesallit325 at btinternet.com> wrote:
> 
> From: George Sallit <georgesallit325 at btinternet.com>
> Subject: Re: [ RadSafe ] ODP: Residential radon and lung cancer suppression
> To: "The International Radiation Protection (Health Physics) MailingList" <radsafe at health.phys.iit.edu>, "Scott, Bobby" <BScott at lrri.org>
> Cc: "Bernard L. Cohen" <blc at pitt.edu>, "Thompson, Richard" <rthompso at jhsph.edu>, "Jerry Cuttler" <jerrycuttler at rogers.com>
> Date: Monday, January 3, 2011, 9:43 PM
> 
> 
> Oh dear.
> 
> Recent views from ICRP and others is causing people to re-think how
> collective dose is used. We have seen over the years how the concept of
> collective dose has been misused and I am afraid this could be an example of
> it. The data that we have in the health physics field has been very well
> studied and from it risks to individuals from those radiation doses
> assessed. We need to use this data carefully.
> 
> However, collective doses are a way of estimating total societal harm from a
> particular practice/operation. Where it is necessary to compare various ways
> of controlling these doses then the use of collective dose is helpful and
> gives a quantitative approach. Unfortunately collective dose has been used
> to try and 'extrapolate' the harmful effects of a collective dose to impacts
> to a population. This has led people to get the small doses from say
> discharges and then multiply this very small dose by a very large population
> and end up with a large collective dose. To give this number even more
> impact they then multiply these collective doses by death per unit dose and
> then calculate the total number of deaths from this collective dose. This
> has led to the headlines of X deaths from reactor discharges. This is a
> distortion of  how collective dose was intended to be used.
> 
> Now that is not the case here but the overall process is similar and it is
> how I believe the 21,000 estimated deaths is arrived at. So instead of using
> collective doses to help compare various dose reduction options such as
> ventilation, barriers etc. we have headlines of 21,000 deaths. Whilst I am
> in favour of people  taking action to deal with high radon levels,
> especially as the treatments can be relatively inexpensive and effective I
> am not sure that we advance the argument by using such headlines.
> 
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Cary Renquist" <cary.renquist at ezag.com>
> To: "The International Radiation Protection (Health Physics) MailingList"
> <radsafe at health.phys.iit.edu>; "Scott, Bobby" <BScott at lrri.org>
> Cc: "Bernard L. Cohen" <blc at pitt.edu>; "Thompson, Richard"
> <rthompso at jhsph.edu>; "Jerry Cuttler" <jerrycuttler at rogers.com>
> Sent: Monday, January 03, 2011 7:36 PM
> Subject: Re: [ RadSafe ] ODP: Residential radon and lung cancer suppression
> 
> Perhaps somebody should tell the EPA...
> Federal Radon Summit | Radon | US EPA
> http://j.mp/fpUFKV
> 
> EPA has designated January as National Radon Action Month.  Learn more about
> the national effort to take action against radon.
> 
> EPA: 21,000 deaths a year from radon
> 
> This is National Radon Action Month, and nine federal agencies are joining
> on actions to help Americans reduce their exposure to the invisible,
> odorless and naturally occurring radiation threat. Those agencies are EPA,
> General Services Administration, and the Depts. of Agriculture, Energy,
> Health and Human Services, Defense, Housing and Urban Development, Interior
> and Veterans Affairs.
> 
> The Environmental Protection Agency said radon is a "serious public health
> threat" that leads to more than 21,000 deaths annually in the U.S. According
> to EPA, one in 15 American homes contains high levels of radon but simple
> actions can be taken to monitor the risk and fix the problem if there is
> one.
> 
> ---
> Cary Renquist
> cary.renquist at ezag.com
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu
> [mailto:radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu] On Behalf Of Dobrzynski Ludwik
> Sent: Monday, 27 December 2010 01:24
> To: Scott, Bobby; radsafe at health.phys.iit.edu
> Cc: Bernard L. Cohen; Thompson, Richard; Jerry Cuttler
> Subject: [ RadSafe ] ODP: Residential radon and lung cancer suppression
> 
> Dear Bobby,
> Thanks for this mail. We have submitted more than 6 months ago a paper on
> radon problem to Health Physics. It seems that after some minor corrections
> the paper will be finally published. In short, it shows that basing on
> present data there is no reason to apply any linear dose-effect relationship
> up to the radon concentration 150 Bq/m3.
> With the best regards,
> Ludwik
> ________________________________
> 
> Od: Scott, Bobby [mailto:BScott at lrri.org]
> Wysłano: N 2010-12-26 22:11
> Do: radsafe at health.phys.iit.edu
> DW: Thompson, Richard; Bernard L. Cohen; Jerry Cuttler; Dobrzynski Ludwik
> Temat: Residential radon and lung cancer suppression
> 
> Hi all:
> 
> I thought some of you may like to know about the following paper:
> 
> Thompson RE. Epidemiological evidence for possible radiation hormesis from
> radon exposure: A case-control study conducted in Worcester, MA.
> Dose-Response (prepress version).
> 
> The paper by Dr. Richard Thompson of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of
> Public Health relates to a case-control study of lung cancer and residential
> radon exposure conducted in Worcester County, Massachusetts. Lung cancer
> risk (inferred from odds ratio) was estimated using different conditional
> logistic regression models that controlled for demographic, smoking, and
> occupational exposure covariates. An initial analysis using lowess smoothing
> of the response variable revealed a non-linear hormetic-type association
> between the log odds of lung cancer and radon exposure in the home. Results
> from application of several models that allow for a hormetic-type dose
> response implicated a possible > 2-fold increase in lung cancer risk for
> residing in a radon-free home as compared to the current level of radon for
> up to 250 Bq/cubic meter. Depending on the model used, the increase in lung
> cancer risk with radon elimination could be > 3 fold.  Radon levels
> significantly > 250 Bq/cubic meter were implicated as increasing lung cancer
> risk.  Smoking was strongly associated with lung cancer. Only 15 out of 200
> lung cancer cases in the study were never smokers.
> 
> Best wishes,
> 
> Bobby R. Scott
> Senior Scientist
> Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute
> 2425 Ridgecrest Drive SE
> Albuquerque, NM 87108 USA
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