Re: The TFP: Belief vs. knowledge

["Bjorn Cedervall" <bcradsafers@hotmail.com>]

>If the tooth fairy project is convinced that nuclear
power plants are emitting Sr90 at such levels, why  do they not sample the 
water, air, soil and vegetation around  all nuclear power plants?   >
>Well, one possible answer is that the search is for publicity, not the 
>truth.
---
Since the "radiation injured" children from Chernobyl arrived to (northern) 
Sweden last week I have had contacts with several other people. As some of 
you remember the eight "Chernobyl children" measured about 7 years ago had 
an average of about 6.9 Bq Cs-137/kg.

Now, I earlier today I discussed this topic with a friend on the Swedish 
west coast (southwestern Sweden) and he told me that "Chernobyl children" 
had been there too about two years ago. Some people who understand 
radioactivity had then suggested wholebody Cs-137 measurements of the 
children (at the Univ. of Gothenburg (rather than Ringhals NPP to get a 
"neutral and trustworthy" evaluation). It turned however that the organisers 
did not want to have the children measured.

This reminds me of the time some four-five hundred years ago or so when one 
of the astronomers (Galileo?) tried to explain to some church people that 
the Earth is a sphere. The priests refused to look into the telescope 
however - because they knew that the Earth was flat (some people still 
believe that).

My personal reflections only,

Bjorn Cedervall   bcradsafers@hotmail.com

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