Re: Fear, etc.

[BLHamrick@aol.com]

In a message dated 02/14/2000 8:52:17 AM Pacific Standard Time, 
sandyfl@earthlink.net writes:

<< Our job is to protect the public from "real" 
 exposures to radiation and releases of radioactive materials. Dealing 
 with one's fears is a job for psychiatrists and those who deal with 
 social disorders. >>

The problem with this is that, as another poster pointed out, with respect to 
nuclear issues, psychiatrists are also members of the public and may often 
suffer from the same fears and misinformation as the rest.  If health 
physicists are the only ones that think the maniacal fear of radiation 
exhibited by the public is a "social disorder," then who besides us can lead 
the way to dispel the fear?

Barbara Hamrick
BLHamrick@aol.com
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