Talking Back: Radiation promotes better health

["Sandy Perle" <sandyfl@earthlink.net>]

John had the following "letter to the editor" published in the 
Gailesville Sun. In conversations with John, I told him that I would 
make this letter available to the various professional listsevers.

Monday, February 28, 2000

Talking Back: Radiation promotes better health  

By JOHN R. CAMERON  

A recent editorial in The Gainesville Sun ("The long, long wait," 
Feb. 18) lamented the lack of a scientific solution to the nuclear 
waste problem. The scientific solution was found years ago, but has 
never been publicized.  

The small amount of radiation to the public from nuclear waste will 
improve their health. However, there is no obvious solution to the 
political problem of "not in my back yard."  

There is no health risk in storing nuclear power waste in dry cask 
storage, as is done at the Northern States Power nuclear plant in 
Minnesota. The radiation exposure to the public in a year is less 
than you get in one jet flight.  

The recent statement of health damage to early nuclear workers by 
Secretary Richardson of the Department of Energy (DOE) was not based 
on facts. He gave no data and quoted no studies.  

He did not mention a $10 million unpublished DOE study of nuclear 
shipyard workers -- probably the best study of radiation workers ever 
done. It showed that radiation was beneficial to the health of 
nuclear shipyard workers. Radiation not only reduced the incidence of 
cancer, but also reduced death from other causes.  

The study is described in DOE report DE-AC02-79 EV10095, 1991: 
"Health effects of low-level radiation in shipyard workers" by 
professor G.M. Matanoski of the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health 
in Baltimore, Md.  

The health of about 30,000 nuclear workers with the largest lifetime 
radiation doses was compared to the health of 33,000 non-nuclear 
workers with the same ages and jobs. I was a member of the Technical 
Advisory Panel (TAP) that met regularly to review the progress of the 
study. The chair of TAP was the distinguished radiation scientist, 
professor Arthur Upton.  

The study was completed in 1987. TAP members approved the final 
report in early 1988. However, the final report was not submitted 
until late 1991. No reason was given for the delay.  

Nuclear shipyard workers had a significantly lower cancer death rate 
than non-nuclear workers and much better general health. The death 
rate from all causes of the nuclear workers was an amazing 24 percent 
(16 standard deviations) lower than the death rate from all causes of 
the non-nuclear workers.  

This improved health was probably due to stimulation of the immune 
system by the increased radiation.  

Health improvement from increased radiation has been known since1974. 
Dr. Norman Frigerio at the Argonne National Laboratory near Chicago 
(a DOE facility) published a study showing that states with high 
natural background radiation -- comparable to the increased dose to a 
nuclear worker -- had a 15 percent lower cancer death rate than the 
average for all states.  

Scientific evidence for improved health from the high natural 
radiation was also shown in a recent study. (See "Natural Background 
Radiation and Cancer Death in Rocky Mountain and Gulf Coast States," 
by John Agger in Health Physics, Oct. 1998.)  

The cancer death rates in three mountain states with high natural 
radiation were compared to the cancer death rates in three gulf 
states with only one-third the natural radiation. The cancer death 
rate was about 25 percent lower in the mountain states. I suggest the 
increased cancer death rate in the gulf states is due to radiation 
deficiency.  

The DOE should sponsor a study of health benefits from increased 
radiation. It would be easy to increase the background radiation by 
placing sacks of uranium ore under the bed. The control group would 
have sacks of ordinary sand. The radiation level of the exposed group 
would be well below the level known to cause cancer.  

I would be happy to volunteer for the study. I believe that in 
another generation, radioactive waste will be incorporated into 
building materials in the gulf states to increase the background 
radiation. This would be similar to the added vitamin D in many foods 
and added iodine in our salt.  

John R. Cameron is a Professor Emeritus of the University of 
Wisconsin-Madison and a visiting professor at the University of 
Florida's departments of Radiation Oncology & Physics.  

John R. Cameron
2678 SW 14th Drive,
Gainesville, FL 32608-2050
jrcamero@facstaff.wisc.edu
352/371-9865; FAX 352/371-9866

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sandy Perle					Tel:(714) 545-0100 / (800) 548-5100   				    	
Director, Technical				Extension 2306 				     	
ICN Worldwide Dosimetry Division		Fax:(714) 668-3149 	                   		    
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Personal Website:  http://www.geocities.com/scperle
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