[ RadSafe ] Busby: chemist or physicist?

Mon May 2 19:00:24 CDT 2011

May 2

         It is true that degrees and titles do 
not necessarily determine one's qualifications to discuss a subject.

         I maintain that Chris Busby is not 
qualified to claim that radiation releases from 
Fukushima will lead to 800,000 excess cancer 
deaths in Tokyo.  He claimed at the infowars.com 
link below to have calculations to prove this.  I 
have already asked him for them and so far they 
have not been forthcoming.  Okay, okay.  I only 
made the claim yesterday and perhaps CB hasn't 
had the opportunity to post them.  So let's wait 
until he does post them --- not that I think he 
ever will --- and we can evaluate them and see if they have any merit.

         Let me point out too, that CB still has 
not said anything of substance about my critique 
of his claims about infant leukemias being caused 
by the Chernobyl accident.  On April 29 I asked 
him to explain the "5 difference groups" he 
appeared to have introduced in a posting here on 
the 29th.  So far we have heard nothing about 
these purported groups.  By itself, Busby's 
reluctance to substantiate his allegations induces some skepticism on my part.

         I reiterate my offer:  if anyone can 
find errors of fact or interpretation in my 
critique of Busby, please post them here so we can assess them.

Steven Dapra


At 08:43 AM 5/2/2011, you wrote:
>Let me say that I agree 100% with Franz. Titles 
>may be important in receiving a grant, but is 
>not a sole criteria to determine one's ability 
>to address a subject. I know many qualified 
>individuals that don't even have. College degree. But they know their business,
>
>Regards,
>
>Sandy
>Sent from my iPad
>
>On May 2, 2011, at 10:36 AM, "Franz SchÃ¶nhofer" 
><franz.schoenhofer at chello.at> wrote:
>
> > Steven, Roger, Chris and all others engaged on RADSAFE in the recent debate
> > on PhD degrees in different fields!!!
> >
> > May I try to get some sense into this debate? First of all I voluntarily
> > confess that I am a chemist by education - please continue reading! The
> > education at the University of Vienna was extremely hard, partly because it
> > comprised a lot of compulsary physics lectures and practica, not to talk
> > about physical chemistry with all the thermodynamics up to Schroedinger
> > equation. I voluntarily attented - together with many of my collegues -
> > lectures on radioactivity and radiochemistry 
> held by Prof. Broda, well known
> > in Austria, but most likely not in the USA 
> and the same is true for lectures
> > by Prof. Schoenfeld, who brought to our knowledge then the really
> > sensational new techniques of chromatography, 
> ion exchange and radiochemical
> > techniques. My PhD thesis was a combination of radioanaltytical chemistry
> > using a physical phenomenon called electrophoresis. After that I worked in
> > radiochemical analysis, gamma-spectrometry, Liquid Scintillation
> > Spectrometry, Emergency Planning (before Chernobyl), Radioecology (past
> > Chernobyl), radon, NORM, etc. etc. etc.
> >
> > Now please tell me, what kind of expert I am 
> - or you may also answer that I
> > know a little about everything, but nothing about something.... A good old
> > joke!
> >
> > I actually do not know the education system 
> in the USA. The system in Europe
> > and Austria has been changed dramatically since I studied - not to the
> > better. It seems that the interchange between different topics like in this
> > discussions between chemistry and physics 
> (statistics, epidemiology....) has
> > become almost non existent - otherwise I cannot understand these fierce
> > discussion.
> >
> > Another sad topic is of course the discussion about titles.
> >
> > I always had the impression, that titles are not so important in the USA. I
> > might have been a dozen times or more in the USA and know dozens of US
> > scientists personally, but I usually do not 
> know their titles. This was once
> > very important in some parts of Europe, but I never really knew, what
> > academic titles my friends in Scandinavia held. Even in Germany adressing
> > one another with the academic title is outdated among scientists.
> >
> > What is the discussion about PhD titles good for? I know many persons
> > without such a title, whom I believe to be 
> excellent scientists. Mostly they
> > are found in the USA, but this includes in my 
> home country such, who had not
> > the financial opportunity to finish their studies, but still do excellent
> > work.
> >
> >
> > I hope I could calm down this not always reasonable discussion.
> >
> > Best regards,
> >
> > Franz
> >
> >
> >
> > Franz Schoenhofer, PhD
> > MinRat i.R.
> > Habicherg. 31/7
> > A-1160 Wien/Vienna
> > AUSTRIA
> >
> >
> > -----UrsprÃ¼ngliche Nachricht-----
> > Von: radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu
> > [mailto:radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu] Im Auftrag von Steven Dapra
> > Gesendet: Montag, 02. Mai 2011 05:10
> > An: The International Radiation Protection (Health Physics) Mailing List
> > Betreff: Re: [ RadSafe ] Busby: chemist or physicist?
> >
> > May 1
> >
> >         Okay, Mr. CHEMICAL physicist.  Besides, I did not call you a
> > physicist. The infowars.com web site that was fawning and simpering
> > over you called you a "physicist."  Why don't you register a
> > complaint with your sycophants?  By the way, how do you know there is
> > "a rage" in all those residents of 
> Tokyo?  Have you interviewed any of them?
> >
> >         You are not a nuclear physicist, nor are you an
> > epidemiologist, hence when you are spewing about power reactors and
> > epidemiology you are outside of your field, so big deal.
> >
> >         I think it's safe to assume that you are implying that
> > Fukushima will cause an *additional* 800,000 cancers.  That claim is
> > a fraud and a hoax.  But just to be reasonable about it, let's see
> > your "calculations," assuming that you can find the envelope upon
> > whose back you made them.
> >
> > Steven Dapra
> >
> >
> > At 01:06 PM 5/1/2011, you wrote:
> >
> >> My PhD is in Chemical PHYSICS
> >> Thank you
> >> Chris Busby
> >>
> >> -----Original Message-----
> >> From: radsafe-bounces at agni.phys.iit.edu on behalf of Steven Dapra
> >> Sent: Sat 30/04/2011 05:05
> >> To: radsafe at agni.phys.iit.edu
> >> Subject: [ RadSafe ] Busby: chemist or physicist?
> >>
> >> April 29
> >>
> >>        According to this hysterical and fear-mongering article, Chris
> > Busby
> >> is a physicist.  Here's the quote:
> >>
> >> "Dr. Chris Busby, another physicist says there is a rage in the
> >> people in Tokyo and he now predicts based on his calculations that
> >> 800,000 people out of about 8 million who live within 200 kilomters
> >> [sic] of the plant will contract cancer if they are not moved out."
> >>
> >>        Here's the link:
> >>
> >> http://www.infowars.com/fukushima-exposure-levels-going-up-everywhere/
> >>
> >>        Based on the size of the scroll bar it looks like a long
> >> article.  Over three fourths of it is comments from readers.  (The
> >> article is about 2400 words long.)
> >>
> >> Steven Dapra