[ RadSafe ] LNT Dogma? Calabrese mis-reported?

Wed Aug 26 18:50:28 CDT 2015

According to his e-mail below, Prof. Calabrese did NOT write the "Rocky
Flats Nuclear Power Plant" error. I'm still curious as to who did.

His paper is a very detailed historical review of who knew what and when in
the promulgation and adoption of the failed LNT hypothesis. He convincingly
demonstrates that untruths, artful dodges and blind faith have been factors
in the politics of science as well as in the politics of government.

I'd be happy to individually forward a copy of the referenced 2015 LNT paper
to anyone interested. 

Bob Cihak, M.D.

-----Original Message-----
From: Edward Calabrese [mailto:edwardc at schoolph.umass.edu]
Sent: Monday, August 24, 2015 5:54 PM
To: Robert Cihak <rjcihak at gmail.com>
Subject: RE: [ RadSafe ] LNT Dogma? Calabrese mis-reported?

Dear Robert:

Here is the paper....please share with anyone you would like...

By the way, I have never worked on anything related to Rocky Flats and know
little about it.  I have never published anything on it, consulted about it,
offered an opinion to anyone one it. etc etc.
I did work on the  Rocky Mountain Arsenal as a consultant to the State of
Colorado from 1988 to 2002.  The principal issue that I worked on was the
toxicology of an agent called DIMP,  an unintended byproduct of the
synthesis of the nerve gas sarin.  Radiation was not an issue that I ever
worked on for the Arsenal.

Sincerely,	

Ed Calabrese

Quoting Robert Cihak <rjcihak at gmail.com>:

> I googled "I am familiar with the Rocky Flats Nuclear Power Plant 
> problem of questionable risk assessment and health warnings" and did 
> not get any results. What's the source for this quote?
>
> I did find the article "On the origins of the linear no-threshold
> (LNT) dogma by means of untruths, artful dodges and blind faith" at
> http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0013935115300311
> but can't afford the $41.95 to buy it.
>
> In the second paragraph of the forwarded message below, I read "I can 
> show you where to find a new medical publication re: the history of 
> the flawed radiation risk assessment models...." which THEN refers to 
> the Calabrese article. At the bottom of the forwarded message, I read 
> "from a reporter - name withheld".
>
> This makes me suspect the Prof. Calabrese is NOT the person who 
> authored the "Rocky Flats Nuclear Power Plant" error. Even reporters 
> who do not withhold their names often make mistakes.
>
> I have found Dr. Calabrese's other articles very helpful. His 
> presentations at the Doctors for Disaster Preparedness (DDP) meeting 
> in Ontario CA on August 1 this year were illuminating. He provided 
> more details about the Muller scandal. He'd written about this in
> 2013 - cf.  
> https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rj
>
a&uact=8&ved=0CCQQFjAAahUKEwinxrCh68LHAhWDL4gKHR0wC4M&url=http%3A%2F%2Flink.
springer.com%2Farticle%2F10.1007%252Fs00204-013-1105-6&ei=EKTbVaf-G4PfoASd4K
yYCA&usg=AFQjCNGp3nARrNPqRgwOegwAvELC5VkJXw&sig2=E9BKNMAjT6NYdpbQZqSPAw I
somehow received a .PDF of this article plus two follow-up letters in the
same journal which I could forward to interested people individually as I
don't think this list supports attachments.
>
> I'm forwarding this to Dr. Calabrese and hope that he can clarify the 
> origin of the forwarded message.
>
> Bob Cihak, M.D.
> Seattle area, WA
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu
> [mailto:radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu] On Behalf Of Roger Helbig
> Sent: Monday, August 17, 2015 9:41 PM
> To: RADSAFE <radsafe at health.phys.iit.edu>
> Subject: [ RadSafe ] LNT Dogma?
>
> Here is someone who I think is not known for quality research being 
> pushed out to journalist and public records access community.
>
> "On the origins of the linear no-threshold (LNT) dogma by means of 
> untruths, artful dodges and blind faith"
> Edward J. Calabrese Department of Environmental Health Sciences, 
> School of Public Health and Health Sciences, University of 
> Massachusetts, Amherst,MA01003,USA
>
>
> ---------- Forwarded message ---------- I am familiar with the Rocky 
> Flats Nuclear Power Plant problem of questionable risk assessment and 
> health warnings; and Congressional direction to investigate.
>
> I can't provide a sample of a good FOIA request.  But I can show you 
> where to find a new medical publication re: the history of the flawed 
> radiation risk assessment models and how it has impacted public 
> policies over just about all chemical and environmental exposures.
> This paper, its author, and like-minded researchers are shaking up how 
> chemical and environmental risk assessments are done when setting 
> Permissible Exposure Limits.
>
> "On the origins of the linear no-threshold (LNT) dogma by means of 
> untruths, artful dodges and blind faith"
> Edward J. Calabrese Department of Environmental Health Sciences, 
> School of Public Health and Health Sciences, University of 
> Massachusetts, Amherst,MA01003,USA
>
> Article history:
> Received 2 June 2015
> Received in revised form 16 July 2015
> Accepted 17 July 2015
> Environmental Research 142 (2015) 432?442 Science Direct
>
> Abstract:
>
> "This paper is an historical assessment of how prominent radiation 
> geneticists in the United States during the 1940s and 1950 
> ssuccessfully worked to build acceptance for the linear no-threshold(
> LNT) dose? response model in risk assessment,significantly impacting 
> environmental,occupational and medical exposure standards and 
> practices to the present time.
> Detailed documentation indicates that actions taken in support of this 
> policy revolution were ideologically driven and deliberately and 
> deceptively misleading; that scientific records were artfully 
> misrepresented;and that people and organizations in positions of 
> public trust failed to perform the duties expected of them.
> Key activities are described and
> the roles of specific individuals are documented. These actions 
> culminated in a1 956 report by a Genetics Panel of the U.S. National 
> Academy of Sciences (NAS) on Biological Effects of Atomic Radiation 
> (BEAR). In this report the Genetics Panel recommended that a linear 
> dose response model be adopted for the purpose of risk assessment, a 
> recommendation that was rapidly and widely promulgated. The paper 
> argues that current international cancer risk assessment policies are 
> based on fraudulent actions of the U.
> S. NAS BEARI Committee, Genetics Panel and on the uncritical, 
> unquestioning and blind-faith acceptance by regulatory agencies and 
> the scientific community."
>
> One really needs to read the whole paper to get the gist of how it 
> impacted Rockey Flats workers and others.
>
> "Collectively,these deceptive actions became highly significant when 
> they facilitated an unchallenged and blind-faith adoption of the 
> Linear Dose Response (LDR) model for cancer risk assessment of 
> ionizing radiation and later of chemical carcinogens"...This paper 
> follows an historical timeline, starting with the 
> professional/scientific relationship between Hermann Muller and Curt 
> Stern and their subsequent collaborations on ionizing radiation during 
> the Manhattan Project."
>
> from a reporter - name withheld
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