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Re: The Secret Word - a possible answer
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Fritz,
I assume the Linear Mafia (LM) you refer to includes ICRP, NCRP,
BEIR, UNSCEAR, EPA, and others in positions of authority with a
vested interest in maintaining the status quo. I have friends who are
part of the LM and have discussed these matters with them, at least
to the extent where rational dispassionate discussion is possible.
In the world of the LM, the LNT concept is essentially sacred,
hormesis is a dirty word, and people must be protected from any
harmful consequence of radiation exposure. If there are any
beneficial effects from low dose exposure such as stimulation
of immune response, it is no concern of theirs. Unfortunately,
IMHO, there really is no dose threshold below which effects
involving DNA aberrations (mutations) do not occur. In any
case it would be impossible to prove their absence.
As discussed in a previous note, there is no reason why both
beneficial and harmful effects cannot occur simultaneously.
If, at low doses, the beneficial effects should overwhelm
the harmful effects producing a net benefit, it would be irrelevant
to the LM since their mission is only to protect against the harmful
effects. It is a good thing that this philosophy is not applied in the
practice of medicine, or no drugs would be approved if there were
any possibility that they might produce a harmful effect.
- ----- Original Message -----
From: Fritz A. Seiler <faseiler@NMIA.COM>
Cc: <radsafe@list.vanderbilt.edu>
Sent: Monday, March 19, 2001 7:46 AM
Subject: Re: The Secret Word - a possible answer
Jerry Cohen wrote:
> Nick,
> Your suggestion is good, but it won't work. Why? Because:
> [1] It would be impossible to PROVE absence of harmful effects at
> low dose levels. You can't prove a negative!
Hi All,
I have to take exception with Jerry's point # 1. This is what the
Linear Mafia would like us to believe and respond to. But that is not
the low-dose problem at all. It is only true if the cause-effect function
is a more or less monotonic function of dose that rises up from zero
effect at zero dose to uniformly positive values.
But that is NOT our problem. What we have is a situation that
goes from zero excess effect at zero dose to significantly negative, i.e.
hormetic values and then via a zero effects point (ZEP) to positive risks.
The
hormetic values are clearly different from zero so there is no problem in
measuring them.
Also, there are plenty of experimental data that show clearly
negative
values, far below data that would be compatible with zero. Some refs. are:
1) S. Kondo, Health Effects of Low-Level Radiation (Medical Physics
Publishing, Madison, WI, 1993).
2) Z. Jaworowski, "Radiation Risk and Ethics," Physics Today. 52, 24-29
(1999).
3) T.D. Luckey, Radiation Hormesis. (CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, 1991).
4) E.J. Calabrese, L.A. Baldwin, and C.D. Holland. "Hormesis: A Highly
Generalizable and Reproducible Phenomenon With Important Implications for
Risk
Assessment." Risk Anal. 19, 261-281 (1999).
5) J. Muckerheide, et al. Low Level Radiation Health Effects: Compiling
the
Data (Radiation, Science, and Health, Inc., Box 843, Needham, MA 02194,
March
1998).
6) J. Muckerheide, et al. Compiling Data on Low Level Radiation Health
Effects: 2000 Supplement(Radiation, Science, and Health, Inc., Box 843,
Needham,
MA 02194, March 2000).
7) J.L. Alvarez and F.A. Seiler, "New Approaches to Low-Dose Risk
Modeling." Technol. J. Franklin Inst. 333A, 33-51 (1996).
9) B.L. Cohen, "Test of the Linear-No Threshold Theory of Radiation
Carcinogenesis for Inhaled Radon Decay Products." Health Phys. 68, 157-174
(1995).
10) B.L. Cohen, "Validity of the Linear-No Threshold of Radiation
Carcinogenesis in the Low Dose Region." Technology, 6, 43-61 (1999).
11) U.S. Department of Energy. Health Effects of Low Level Radiation in
Shipyard Workers. DOE Contract No. DE-AC02-79EV10095, Final Report, June
1991.
12) E.J. Calabrese, L.A. Baldwin, and C.D. Holland. "Hormesis: A Highly
Generalizable and Reproducible Phenomenon With Important Implications for
Risk
Assessment." Risk Analysis, 19, 261-281 (1999).
13) F.A. Seiler and J.L. Alvarez, "Is the 'Ecological Fallacy' a
Fallacy?."
Hum. Ecol. Risk Assess. 6, 921-941 (2000).
So let's not play the Linear Mafia's game but use available experimental
data.
Have a nice week,
Fritz
- --
" The American Republic will endure until the day Congress
discovers that it can bribe the Public with the Public's money."
Alexis de Tocqueville
Democracy in America
***************************
Fritz A. Seiler, Ph.D.
Sigma Five Consulting
P.O. Box 1709
Los Lunas, NM 87031, USA
Tel. 505-866-5193
Fax. 505-866-5197
e-mail: faseiler@nmia.com
***************************
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