[ RadSafe ] Need a good nights sleep?

[Cowie, Michael I]

:-) LOL Franz, it was sent to highlight its absurdity......surely we all need a laugh now and again? Apologies if anyone thought I was actually offering advice to the sleep deprived ;-)

Mike
________________________________________
From: radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu [radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu] on behalf of Franz Schönhofer [franz.schoenhofer at chello.at]
Sent: 10 May 2015 20:55
To: The International Radiation Protection (Health Physics) Mailing     List
Subject: Re: [ RadSafe ] Need a good nights sleep?

Michael,

Gratulations!!!!! I have been reading masses of unbelievable silly things
forwarded to RADSAFE for months now, if not years, mostly originating from
messages of the world wide known nuclear scientist and hot Nobel-prize
candidate McPherson. But my gratulation is to you, because something lke
what you forwarded is - as was stated in a decade  old very popular Austrian
satyrical radioprogramme "such news are not only unbelievable, but they
cannot even be invented". This statement was wrong as regarding anything
nuclear todays news issued by folks like the constantly lying organisations
like Greenpeace show us.

It might be  a waste of time, but let me tell you that I myself have spent
several years on measuring radon in air and much more gifted persons have
done it almost all over the world. So what? Who are those "professors"
mentioned???
Four years of study? Four years of what? Financial support?????



This is unbelievable nonsense and it seems to me that this is a hoax. I
would have  believed that not even Greenpeace is able to distribute some
nonsense like this.

Please RADSAFErs refrain distributing nonsense like this. RADSAFE is
intended for Radiation Professionals not for antinuclear trolls.

Franz

-----Ursprüngliche Nachricht-----
From: Cowie, Michael I
Sent: Sunday, May 10, 2015 12:55 PM
To: The International Radiation Protection (Health Physics) Mailing List
Subject: [ RadSafe ] Need a good nights sleep?

Classification: Saudi Aramco Company General Use
Never noticed this when it came out originally, apparently a good dose of
radon helps you sleep ☺

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2942647/Mystery-Sleepy-Hollow-finally-solved-Villagers-unconscious-days-time-poisoned-radon-gas.html

Mystery of Sleepy Hollow finally solved: Villagers who were unconscious for
days at a time were poisoned by radon gas Scientists say nearby Soviet-era
uranium mines caused mysterious illness
Known to cause cancer, radon occurs naturally through decay of uranium
The 'toxic gas' induces its victims into a 'dream like state' said one
expert
Local officials are considering plans to MOVE the remote village of Kalachi
Professor Leonid Rikhvanov has been examining the village for four years
They failed to find traces of radon because it is difficult to detect in the
air
By Jay Akbar and Richard Gray for MailOnline
Published: 13:31 GMT, 6 February 2015 | Updated: 16:59 GMT, 6 February 2015


Scientists have finally discovered why residents in a remote Kazakhstan
village known as Sleepy Hollow are mysteriously falling asleep for days at a
time.
They claim radon gas from nearby Soviet-era uranium mines seeped up to the
surface and poisoned the residents of Kalachi.
Radon is a colourless, odourless and tasteless gas which occurs naturally
through the decay of uranium and breathing it is thought to cause lung
cancer.
Local government officials are considering plans to move the entire village
because they feel it is impossible to eradicate radon gas from the area.
Although radiation levels in the mines themselves are not thought to be
dangerous, they have left a deadly legacy for the villagers above.
'Sleepy Hollow': After four years of studies, scientists have finally
discovered the cause of a mysterious illness which caused people to fall
asleep for days
Radiation: Scientists say radon, which occurred naturally from uranium in
nearby mines, seeped to the surface and poisoned the residents of Kalachi
Deadly: Radon - a colourless, odourless and tasteless gas - is thought to
cause lung cancer and has affected around one in five people in Kalachi
(pictured)
Radioactive remains: Although radiation levels in the mines themselves are
not thought to be dangerous, they have left a deadly legacy for the
villagers above
Professor Leonid Rikhvanov from the Department of Geo-ecology and
Geo-chemistry concluded the local mines were to blame after ruling out a
virus or bacteria as the cause.
He said: 'The mines left open spaces underground which were slowly filled
with water that has risen upwards, driving pockets of gas inside them to the
surface.
'The gas has a toxic effect that pushes a person into a dream like state,
and the person then falls asleep.'
Professor Rikhavanov and Tomsk Polytechnic University have carried out
thousands of experiments on the area for over four years.
RELATED ARTICLESPrevious 1 2 Next  The village that fell asleep:
Kazakhstanis hit by mystery...  Mystery of the virus paralysing children in
the US: Rare bug...  'Ghost boy' who was trapped inside his body for eight
years... Share this articleShareThey failed to find radon because
conventional methods of measuring radiation do not detect it in the air.
He added: 'We eliminated viral and bacterial infections but also obtained
test results that ruled out the possibility of radiation sickness too.
'We also failed to find any evidence that toxic chemicals were buried in the
area as many locals claimed.'
Initially, medics who examined the dozing villagers found they were
suffering from excessive fluid in the brain but could not work out why.

Sleepy Hollow, Kazakhstan: Villagers suffer mystery brain ailment  Desperate
measures: Local government officials in Kalachi (pictured) are now
considering plans to move the village entirely
Infected: Children affected by the mystery illness are so dizzy they can
barely stand up by themselves and spend days at a time in bed
Nightmare: Professor Leonid Rikhvanov from the Department of Geo-ecology and
Geo-chemistry said the 'toxic gas' induces its victims 'into a dream like
state'
Doctor Egor Korovin, who examined the victims, said: 'In medical terms they
are suffering from encephalopathy, a disorder of the brain but the cause is
unclear.
'Scans have shown that many of the sufferers have excessive accumulation of
fluid in their brains.'
HOW TOXIC IS RADON?  According to the National Cancer Institute, radon
decays quickly, giving off tiny radioactive particles. When inhaled, these
radioactive particles can damage the cells that line the lung.
Long-term exposure to radon can lead to lung cancer, the only cancer proven
to be associated with inhaling radon.
There has been a suggestion of increased risk of leukemia associated with
radon exposure in adults and children however, the evidence is not
conclusive.
Radon is present in nearly all air. Everyone breathes in radon every day,
usually at very low levels.
However, people who inhale high levels of radon are at an increased risk of
developing lung cancer.
Last summer, 60 people were taken to hospital suffering from the condition
which leaves people feeling dizzy, unable to stand, fatigued and with memory
problems.
Children affected by the mystery illness could barely stand up by themselves
and spend days at a time in bed.
Scientists recently stepped up their investigation after locals complained
the situation was getting worse.
It is thought nearly one in five of Kalachi's 600 residents have been
affected by the strange sleep disorder.

Scientists stepped up the investigation recently after locals complained
that incidences of the strange sleeping disorder were getting worse, with
nearly one in five of the village's 600 residents now affected.
They said the fact that some miners remained unaffected because they have
built up a natural immunity to radon.
Alsu Shjeladeva, a local resident, said some men from the area had gone down
the shaft in one of the mines and detected a sweet smell while down there.
The 54-year-old told Russia Today: 'We are afraid of what lies in store.
We're afraid that we may all fall asleep.'


Ghost town: Kalachi's neighbouring town Krasnogorsk has been deserted since
the closure of the neighbouring uranium mine

Terrifying discovery: A Russia Today film crew found radiation levels at a
filled in mine shaft were 16 times higher than normal background levels
Top secret: In the Soviet era, Krasnogorsk was a secret and 'closed' uranium
mining town run directly from Moscow

Another resident Igor Samusenko, whose son suffers from the condition, said:
'He runs around and then he gets inert, starts staggering.
'When he turns his head his eyes stay fixed at what he was looking at. If
you try to wake him it seems the wants to open his eyes but can't. Sleepy
valley, sleepy hollow, that's what people call us.'
Lyubov Belkova, 60, claims to be the first resident to have fallen asleep in
April 2010 and has since suffered seven separate episodes.
She was diagnosed with ischemic strokes but then her neighbour began
displaying the same symptoms. Some have even reported suffering from vivid
hallucinations.
In September 2014, a Russia Today film crew reported radiation doses 16
times higher than would be expected from background radiation near the
entrance of the abandoned mine.
Some locals claimed wind and smoke coming from the mines may be responsible
for the illness. Others claimed toxic waste has been buried in the area.

Michael Cowie
Environmental Specialist
Radiation Protection Unit
Environmental Protection Department
Saudi Aramco

Tel:         +966 13 880 9747
Mobile:  +966 505892063

Email: michael.cowie at aramco.com<mailto:michael.cowie at aramco.com>


This email has been classified as Saudi Aramco: Company General Use on
Sunday, May 10, 2015 1:55:46 PM by Cowie, Michael I.

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