[ RadSafe ] The Dangerous Myths of Fukushima

[Roger Helbig]

The media, though, probably put more energy into covering the skunk than
they do anything else.  How many members of this list knew that HPS had a
Fukushima event in Washington at the National Press Club on March 1st?  I
do not recall seeing anything on this list and it was not on the journalist
list that I am on Investigative Reporters and Editors.  I am looking
forward to the video of that forum being widely posted.  Facts about
Fukushima do not abound and look at the news coverage; it stresses that the
plant is still leaking radiation, not that the amount is fairly small and
being contained within plant boundaries.  HPS needs to use the modern media
and use it extensively or the Occupy folks will shut down nuclear power.
They are more concerned with Indian Point becoming a disaster than they are
with the flooding of Manhattan if sea  level rises due to climate change.
Indian Point has no probability of being hit by a tsunami that does not
destroy much of the East Coast.  There is some thought of such an event if
a volcanic island on the other side of the Atlantic splits in half and
drops into the water.

Roger Helbig

Really interesting page on tsunamis in the Atlantic - lots of good stuff
from Maine Geological Survey

http://www.maine.gov/doc/nrimc/mgs/explore/hazards/tsunami/jan05.htm
Based on a study of past landslide deposits and existing geology of the
volcano, Ward and Day (2001) suggest that the west flank of the Cumbre
Vieja volcano may experience catastrophic failure during a future eruption,
resulting in a landslide of a block of 15-20 km in width and 15-25 km long
into the depths of the Atlantic Ocean. Computer modeling suggests that such
an event could trigger a massive mega-tsunami hundreds of meter in height
that would propagate to the north, south, and west. Within 9 hours, an
estimated 10-25 meter wave could reach the US east coast (Figure
15<http://www.maine.gov/doc/nrimc/mgs/explore/hazards/tsunami/jan05-15.htm>,
from Ward and Day (2001).

http://hps.org/newsandevents/societynews.html#767

Fukushima Panel at National Press Club

The Health Physics Society (HPS) convened a panel of leading scientific
experts on radiation safety at the National Press Club in Washington, DC,
on 1 March 2012 for the benefit of invited media personnel. The name of the
program was "Risks and Effects of Radiation: Putting Fukushima in Context."

As the world remembers the one-year anniversary of the 2011 tsunami that
devastated Japan and set off a tragic chain of events that included the
nuclear reactor incident in Fukushima, the panel of leading scientific and
medical experts reported on the risks and effects of radiation on the
Japanese and other populations. A first-hand account of the impacts on the
Fukushima population was provided by two members of the distinguished
panel. The discussions included the health effects of radiation immediately
following the event to present day and an analysis of future risks for the
population.

The panel consisted of John Boice, ScD; Robert Emery, DrPH, CHP, CIH;
Robert Peter Gale, MD, PhD, DS. (Hon); Kathryn Higley, PhD, CHP; and
Richard Vetter, PhD, CHP. It was moderated by Howard Dickson, CHP, CSP, and
CIH.

Members of the Washington panel agreed that while they considered the
physical health risks from the exposure too small to measure, the accident
would still have an impact. Psychological trauma from the evacuation and
months away from home could end up being the biggest health risk from the
accident.

Dr. Gale said he believed the exaggerated environmental and health risk
claims from alarmists could backfire by making it harder for people in
Fukushima Prefecture to resume their normal lives and businesses. "Already
we see a stigmatization of people from that area or products from that
area," he said. "It's very hard for them to survive. It's quite
unfortunate."

While the quake and tsunami killed an estimated 20,000 people, radiation
has not killed anyone so far, and members of the Health Physics Society,
drawn from academia, medicine, and the nuclear industry, suggested that the
doses were too small to have much effect. "There’s no opportunity for
conducting epidemiological studies that have any chance of success," said
Dr. Boice. "The doses are just too low. If you were to do a proposal, it
would not pass a scientific review."

On Fri, Mar 9, 2012 at 4:17 PM, Jerry Cohen <jjc105 at yahoo.com> wrote:

>  Ex-pres. LBJ stated it well when he advised,
>
> "Never get into a pissing contest with a skunk"
>
>
>
>
> ________________________________
> From: Maury <maurysis at peoplepc.com>
> To: The International Radiation Protection (Health Physics) Mailing List
> <radsafe at health.phys.iit.edu>
> Sent: Fri, March 9, 2012 3:40:23 PM
> Subject: [ RadSafe ] The Dangerous Myths of Fukushima
>
> Is there an HP on here willing to take the trouble to draft a response to
> this
> article -- I'd like to circulate it. I don't have the references at hand to
> compose a good response -- I suspect little is correct and a lot other not
> --
> probably goes well with his baby tooth project .... Thanks if anyone would
> undertake something along this line
>
> Maury&Dog
>
> =====================================
>
>
> Weekend Edition March 9-11, 2012
> http://www.counterpunch.org/2012/03/09/the-dangerous-myths-of-fukushima/##[link
> to source]
>
> Share on facebookShare on twitterShare on googleMore Sharing Services24
>
> Exposing the "No Harm" Mantra
> The Dangerous Myths of Fukushima
>
> by JOSEPH MANGANO and JANETTE SHERMAN
>
> The myth that Fukushima radiation levels were too low to harm humans
> persists, a
> year after the meltdown. A March 2, 2012 New York Times article quoted
> Vanderbilt University professor John Boice: “there’s no opportunity for
> conducting epidemiological studies that have any chance for success – the
> doses
> are just too low.” Wolfgang Weiss of the UN Scientific Committee on the
> Effects
> of Atomic Radiation also recently said doses observed in screening of
> Japanese
> people “are very low.”
>