Re: Why study baby teeth?

[Bernard L Cohen <blc+@pitt.edu>]

On Wed, 9 Aug 2000, Norman & Karen Cohen wrote:

> Sorry Bob,
> I live near Toms River, and there are cancer clusters there, clusters recognized
> by the US and New Jersey Governments. The question we are trying to answer with
> the TFP is - to what degree did the low level radiation emitted and leaked by
> Oyster Creek Nuke contribute to these clusters, especially in combination with

	--Any scientist would tell you that the way to determine this is
to determine the radiation doses received by emissions from Oyster Creek
-- Health Physicists know very well how to do this, based on measured
emissions -- and determine how many cancers could be caused by these
radiation doses, using a conservative theory like linear-no threshold. As
a check, the radiation doses should be compared with natural radiation and
medical exposures. Another check would be on the Sr-90 content of milk 
consumed in the area, which is presumably the source of the Sr-90 in
the baby teeth. This procedure would be very much cheaper
and faster than the tooth fairy approach which has many uncertainties.
	The only advantage of the tooth fairy approach is in the public
relations aspects. 

Bernard L. Cohen
Physics Dept.
University of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, PA 15260
Tel: (412)624-9245
Fax: (412)624-9163
e-mail: blc+@pitt.edu


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