TFP: Radium vs. Sr 90 not distinguished? Error in TFP claim

[SAFarberMSPH@CS.COM]

Radsafe:


For those who desire to be abused further about the Tooth Fairy Project 

[TFP], the web site for the so-called Radiation & Public Health Project [RHP] 

has a copy of a published paper about the TFP, 


STRONTIUM-90 IN BABY TEETH AS A FACTOR IN EARLY CHILDHOOD CANCER

Jay M. Gould, Ernest J. Sternglass, Janette D. Sherman,

Jerry Brown, William McDonnell, Joseph J. Mangano

International Journal of Health Services

Volume 30, Number 3, Pages 515-539, 2000

Copyright Baywood Publishing Co., Inc.

   

This paper is accessible in it's entirety at:


http://www.radiation.org/ijhs092000.html

Click here to TFP paper noted above


This paper does not have any details about the specifics of the Sr-90 baby 

tooth sample prep and analytical procedures [it does mention samples are sent 

to a lab in Canada, and the website mentions the TFP has purchased another 

liquid scintillation counter for counting more teeth beyond the 2900 or so 

counted to date], but a very quick read is  revealing about how they reach 

some of their "conclusions" regarding what they term "excess" Sr-90 levels 

now vs. what is "expected". The TFP paper's authors assume the cited 14% 

annual decline in Sr-90 in teeth [in a US Public Health Service Study] noted 

from 1964 thru 1970 should have continued to present. 


This unjustified, and clearly erroneous,  assumption leads them to conclude 

that the much higher [six fold they say] levels seen today vs. what they 

claim should be seen,  is due to nuclear power plant emissions. This is 

clearly a major error. The  fall in Sr-90 levels in baby teeth from 1964 

[after the open air testing ban was in effect] to 1970 reflect rapid declines 

as the stratospheric inventory of fission products fell, such that more than 

95% of all atmospheric inventory was removed by 1968 as I recall.  


Accordingly, the  levels of Sr-90 in milk from the air==>grass==>cow pathway, 

the major source of Sr-90 in children, would be expected to fall sharply as 

well from 1964 to the late 1960s. Subsequently, after fresh airborne 

deposition ceased, the expected levels of Sr-90 in milk would be due to soil 

to grass transfer which would decline primarily with the half life of Sr-90 

and some loss from the growing layer at a rate of a few percent a year, 

certainly not 14%. 


Accordingly, the TFP claim about excess Sr-90 in baby teeth is based  on a 

completely erroneous and insupportable assumption even if their data is 

valid, which is questionable if they are not separating radium from Sr.


The website link does have a great deal of information about the TFP, the 

RHP, et. al. which may be of interest to some. Among the authors of the paper 

cited above on the TFP is Jerry Brown, who is not the former governor of 

California, despite the interest of California's Illuminati including Alec 

Baldwin and Christie Brinkley in stopping nuclear power. When the lights go 

out in the next rolling blackout in California, perhaps those people without 

lighting can go stay with Baldwin, Brinkley, and Streisand who can afford to 

have solar photovoltaic panels on their homes.




Stewart Farber

Public Health Sciences

Warren, VT

email: SAFarberMSPH@cs.com

In a message dated 6/15/01 2:36:09 AM Pacific Daylight Time, 

bcradsafers@HOTMAIL.COM writes:



> As I read through some "old" emails I just noticed that it seems like the 
>
> tooth fairy project people haven't separated Sr 90 from radium (thanks to 
>
> those who posted one or two messages about it). Has this been independtly 
>
> confirmed? Is it true for all the TFP stuff? Where can we learn more about 
>
> it? How about a TFP for spa areas?