policy statement

[Holloway3@aol.com]

Norm,

I received the newsletter of the Health Physics Society today and will quote 
here a portion of a policy statement that appears in this week's issue.  I 
hope that you realize by now that the managers of the Tooth Fairy Project are 
way outside of the mainstream of professionals on the question of health 
effects from reactors.  A more mainstream view of the general issue of 
radiation and disease is as follows:
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Radiation and Disease

"Our knowledge about the potential health effects of ionizing radiation is 
extensive. It is known that radiation cannot cause all types of disease.  It 
is also known that for those diseases observed to be caused by radiation, the 
likelihood that radiation will cause the disease increases as the dose 
increases.  In other words, any particular disease's likelihood to have been 
caused by radiation is dependent on the dose to the individual.  This 
relationship of increasing likelihood of disease with increasing dose has 
only been observed for doses greater than approximately 0.1 Sv (10 rem).  The 
likelihood of radiation-induced disease below this level, if it exists at 
all, is so small that is not measurable, it is not a matter of scientific 
fact, and it can only be estimated utilizing hypothetical mathmatical 
dose-response models.  

Presumption of causation has no scientific or medical basis without 
consideration of dose. That is, the simple fact that some radiation exposure 
occurred is not a measure of hazard.  The amount of exposure (i.e. dose) is 
the only measure of the hazard and the only measure of the likelihood a 
disease or injury has been caused by radiation.  In addition, everyone is  
exposed to natural sources of ionizing radiation every day without any 
observable effects.  Therefore, exposures that are potentially hazardous, 
justifying consideration of compensation, must significantly exceed exposures 
from normal life activities." 
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Norm,

As you can see from the above, it offers no support for the idea that 
man-made radiation is somehow more dangerous than natural radiation.  Note 
also, that radiation effects that have been measured start at about 10 rem.  
This is about 50 times more than the average annual dose (0.20 rem) that a 
person normally gets from natural and medical sources.  It is extremely 
unlikely that the total Sr-90 dose in teeth will be even a few percent of the 
average annual dose (0.20 rem).  Therefore, the Tooth Fairy Project is trying 
to detect health effects at levels several orders of magnitude lower than 
anyone else has observed health effects - and to attribute them to a reactor 
source for which the connection is dubious at best and most likely 
non-existent. 



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