Rancho Seco

[Holloway3@aol.com]

>>>>>>>This new allegation was raised by Joseph Mangano in October 1998 and 
again earlier this year in an article - "Improvements in local infant health
after nuclear power reactor closing"- in Environmental Epidemiology and
Toxicology.  In the article, Mangano said:  "Immediately after the (Rancho
Seco) reactor closed, local rates of deaths from all causes, deaths from
congenital anomalies, and cancer cases declined faster than the U.S.
average.<<<<<<<<

The above reasoning is a great deal like trying to use the outcome of the 
Superbowl to predict the fate of the Dow Jones Industrial average for a given 
year.  Quite often it is possible to find a high correlation between two 
events even when there is no plausible connection between the two events. 
There is no reason to think that the outcome of the Superbowl has any effect 
on the stock market and yet a high correlation has often been noted - after 
the fact of course.  Those who place high confidence in correlation without 
requiring substantial additional proof of a connection are practicing voodoo 
and not science.  A great weakness in the arguments of the activists such as 
Mangano is the absence of measurements of radionuclides in foodstuffs and the 
environment and the absence of a plausible mechanism to introduce 
radionuclides into people.   It has been said that a great deal of junk gets 
published and I certainly think that is the case in this instance.  For more 
information on various debates between activists and those in the nuclear 
industry, see the following web site: 
http://www.ntanet.net/nta/publicinfo.html

R. Holloway
Nevada Technical Associates
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