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FW: Taiwan Co-60 Accident; US Agency Involvement
The following from Ted Rockwell. Send replies to his e-mail, shown below:
Reply-To: <tedrock@cpcug.org>
From: "Ted Rockwell" <tedrock@cpcug.org>
To: "RadSafe" <radsafe@list.vanderbilt.edu>
Subject: FW: Taiwan Co-60 Accident; US Agency Involvement
Date: Mon, 9 Jul 2001 16:25:22 -0400
> Was a study done or not? If so, please cite it. If not, stop giving us
conjecture.
John:
I don't see why I should be the only person on this list denied conjecture
:-) But yes, of course there are studies. Below are a few from a while
back. The HPS journal has run at least one detailed dosimetry analysis
recently. I repeat: This situation is much more appropriately applicable to
rad protection standards than a-bomb survivors or miners.
I have deleted Dr. Luan's pdf attachment, since it will not be forwarded by
Radsafe.
Ted Rockwell
-----Original Message-----
From: Jim Muckerheide [mailto:jmuckerheide@delphi.com]
Sent: Friday, August 27, 1999 4:11 PM
To: Peter Lyons-Domenici; Alex Flint-Domenici; Duane Fitzgerald;
Muckerheide
Cc: Dr. Ted Rockwell; Dr. Myron Pollycove; Dr. Yuan-Chi Luan
Subject: Taiwan Co-60 Accident; US Agency Involvement
Pete Lyons, Alex Flint,
cc: Duane Fitzgerald, Ted Rockwell, Myron Pollycove
You have received the following email from Dr. Luan in Taiwan. I am
forwarding my response to him FYI, esp. regarding the US agencies that
have been involved with the Taiwan contamination incident since 1992.
I have found, among others, the following important descriptive sources
on the Co-60 contamination/studies which reflect both some technical and
strident anti-nuclear information that seem, as Dr. Luan indicates, to
show that there are essentially no related adverse health effects, and
even the expectation that the number of deaths must be lower than the
unexposed population, pending a report on the age-adjusted population
(with "chromosome aberrations" having no significance to health, which
can be readily confirmed if necessary):
http://tean.formosa.org/chinanews/chinanews.html
(See esp. the last 20% "Threating (sic) Taiwan's Radiation Victims,"
esp. Dr. Chang's conclusions.)
http://tean.formosa.org/radio/radio7.html
"A 'FIRST RADIOACTIVE BUILDING BOY" DIED FOR BLOOD CANCER'
"A young lovely boy died for HEAVY RADIOACTIVELY CONTAMINATED BUILDING's
kindergarten iron/steel bar window cage on Dec.14,1996.
"A brief written article was appeared on LIBERTY TIMES, a TAIWAN's
leading newspaper on Dec. 18, 1996."
... "Written by: Prof. Wushou P. CHANG, Ph.D.
"Translated by: Smith S. M. HSU, Secretary General
"RADIATION SAFETY ASSOCIATION, TAIWAN (ROC)"
http://tean.formosa.org/radio/radio5.html
"Co-60 CONTAMINATION IN RECYCLED STEEL RESULTING IN ELEVATED CIVILIAN
RADIATION DOSES: CAUSED (sic) AND CHALLENGES
"Written by Professors Wushou P. Chang,* Chang-Chuan Chan,+ and Jung-Der
Wang+"
(Retyped from a 1997 HPJ paper (Figs, Table, and Refs omitted)
Also Abstract from medline:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/htbin-post/Entrez/query?uid=9287087&form=6&db=m&;
Dopt=b
Involvement of NIOSH and NIEHS are identified.
See also Abstract in 1997 HPJ by Cardarelli of NIOSH Cincinnati:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/htbin-post/Entrez/query?uid=9030836&form=6&db=m&;
Dopt=b
There are 6 other Abs. in medline from 1997-1999. The one 1999 is:
Lee et al, Appl Radiat Isot 1999 May;50(5):867-73
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/htbin-post/Entrez/query?uid=10214706&form=6&db=m
&Dopt=b
Let me know if you want the others.
Thanks.
Regards, Jim
=========
Subject: Re: low dose radiation
Date: Wed, 25 Aug. 1999 22:16:10 -0400
From: Muckerheide <muckerheide@mediaone.net>
To: yuan-chi luan <nbcsoc@hotmail.com>
CC: tedrock@cpcug.org, mxp@nrc.gov
Dear Dr. Luan,
Thank you for the copy of your message to Senator Domenici. I notice
that you have addressed other health effects than cancer. Have you
succeeded in getting any better source of the health effects data of
the individuals in the exposed population?
As I had indicated before, the potential interest of persons who
could help want to know more about the status of the data. Have you
gotten any more data? or do you have any more specific information
about who has the relevant data? Do you have any correspondence that
indicates your attempt to obtain the data, and any responses that do
not allow that data to be made available. Do you have specific
correspondence with Dr. Chung? Does he have access to most of the
population, or only a select group? I noticed that his papers
referred to doing blood work, etc. on only a few hundred or so
people, though these were earlier papers. Do have all published
papers on this research? also the media sources and statements by
the "Victims Association" advocates that indicate the (limited)
adverse effects in this population?
I found indications from a few years ago that various organizations
are doing substantial research. Do you have any documents that show
what work/objectives are/were being done by what
organizations/projects? Did you get any more specific information
about what work the various US agencies have done? and who are the
responsible groups or investigators in those agencies? We can ask
those agencies for specific results of any analyses that they have
performed, or for the relevant data, or even just specific
information about all of the relevant the data sources and research
projects for the programs.
I am sending this also to the GAO investigators for their
information and potential action. I will also send them your paper
for the ANS Boston and WONUC Versailles meetings. However, it would
be important to obtain and provide them as much information as we
can get about the specific work and contacts of the US agencies
activities in Taiwan.
Thank you very much again. I have your fax of the original proposal
to DOE. However, as indicated by DOE reviewers it does not contain
some of this key information. To develop the research plan that they
are looking for would require this information to provide the
necessary basis for the work scope. Perhaps the US agencies that
have been involved can provide enough information to pursue a
preliminary assessment, and undertake a more detailed age-adjusted
epidemiological analysis, perhaps incorporating physiological and
immunological results.
If you can provide any more substantial data and/or status of
current "research" in Taiwan, and especially any results of your
efforts to obtain the relevant data and undertake the relevant
analysis, I would very much like to have you join us for a Low-Level
Radiation Health Effects Committee meeting, and a Panel technical
session, at the Winter ANS meeting in Long Beach CA, Nov. 17-18.
Please let me know when you can.
It strikes me that we should also invite either Dr. Peter Lyons or
Alex Flint from Senator Domenici's staff, and Dr. Fitzgerald from
the GAO study, to discuss these matters at our November session.
Otherwise, we should at least plan to have a more formal session at
the June ANS Annual meeting (in San Diego?) although the GAO report
is due June 30 so that may be too soon to be able to have a formal
presentation on that report (though it would have gone to the
agencies and had comments returned to the GAO). This might be up to
Senator Domenici.
Please give my regards to Dr. Chen.
I hope we are able to see you again soon (in November?).
I would appreciate a copy of your abstract for the IRPA Conference.
I would distribute that again to our friends and associates to keep
them aware of the importance of this effort.
My best wishes, Jim Muckerheide
Radiation, Science, and Health
===============================
yuan-chi luan wrote:
>
> Dear Jim Muckerheide:
>
> I have submitted our abstract of 'The health effects observed in the
> incidence of the co-60 contaminated apartments in Taiwan' with other
authors
> from NBCsoc NuStA, ATF and CENS.
>
> I wrote also a letter to senator Domenici about chronic radiation, you
may
> interest the content in the following:
> Domenici@domenici.senate.gov
>
> Dear Senator Domenici:
>
> I am a retired health physicist of INER (The Institute of Nuclear
Energy
> Research) and now in charge of the radiation protection researches of
NuSTA
> (The Nuclear Science and technology Association ) in Taiwan. As you
are so
> concerned whether the the low dose radiation can cause detrimental
effects
> based on LNTH or it doesn't produce any effects to human beings when
the
> dose under the threshold, as many recent documents reported. And you
have
> use your influence to push US GAO and DOE to study and clarify this
problem
> for the purpose that will be helpful in eliminating the doubt and fear
of
> radiation of nuclear workers and public surrounding the nuclear
facilities,
> and to reduce the tremendous costs for radio-waste disposal and
> radio-contamination clean-up, therefore I would like to present you
some new
> message concerning this problem for your reference.
>
> After many decades studies on whether low dose radiation has harmful
health
> effects , it is still hard to obtain a succinct conclusion of true
facts,
> because we can never conduct a experiment with a large number of human
> beings in receiving a large amount of radiation dose. Unfortunately
there
> was an unbelievable incidence of Co-60 contamination happened in
Taiwan, a
> large scale of radiobiology experiment with human beings was
unintentionally
> accomplished which impossible to be conducted purposely by any science
> community. A piece or pieces of Co-60 source were incidentally melted
in a
> mill and drawn into steel bars and used in construction of quite an
amount
> concrete reinforced buildings in 1982~1984 in northern Taiwan. Most
> buildings were partitioned into apartments for residing purpose. More
than
> 10,000 residents lived in more than 1700 contaminated apartments, have
> received tremendous radiation unknowingly for about ten years, after
the
> contamination was known since July 1992, more than 90% of the
residents
> still lived in the contaminated houses for about 16 years until today,
due
> to nobody want to buy their contaminated apartments and they can't
afford to
> buy the new ones. So in fact, the large scale of radiobiological
experiment
> with human beings was completed and still going on. The individual and
> accumulated doses received by the residents were tens to hundred times
> greater than the nuclear workers have received. So no matter the
health
> effects of radiation were harmful or beneficial to human beings,
should be
> easily observed in 16 years and will be valuable for the radiation
> protection reference. The AEC, health ministry of Taiwan, and the
Taipei
> city had taken various actions and measures based on ICRP
recommendation for
> comforting the residents. The public welfare societies, associations
and
> foundations were deeply concerned with health effects would result to
the
> residents. The residents living in the contaminated houses have
suffered
> great anxiety and worry of their health, and lost of their property,
due to
> nobody want to buy their contaminated houses; But unbelievable
fortunately,
> their health were not harmed, but greatly benefited. This result
completely
> contradicted the LNTH of ICRP that derived from the data of the acute
> radiation received by the atomic bomb survivors in Japan. According to
the
> LNTH and the collective dose of residents of about 3000 man-Sv., there
> should be about 30 leukemia deaths and 21 severe hereditary defects
> observed; but there was only one leukemia death and no hereditary
defects
> observed at all, and on the contrary, the Hormesis of the chronic
radiation
> received had reduced the spontaneous cancer deaths and congenital
defects of
> residents sharply. The averaged cancer deaths of the public was 106
> persons/100,000 person-year during 1983~1998, the cancer deaths of the
> residents observed was only 3.7 persons/100,000 person-year at the
same
> period, it was reduced to only 3.5% of that of the public. The
congenital
> defects of residents under the age 16 should be about 79, actual only
3
> congenital heart diseases were observed, it was reduced to only 3.8%
of the
> general population. The conclusion we obtained from our observation of
the
> health effects of residents lived in the contaminated apartments is :
The
> chronic radiation is always beneficial to human beings, the higher
dose the
> higher benefit, when the dose is high enough, it might be effective
immunity
> from cancers, hereditary diseases and may be other diseases. This
result is
> completely different from the LNTH of ICRP derived from the acute
radiation
> in Japan. The radiation from nuclear industry is also chronic
radiation, so
> the nuclear energy workers and general public should never fear of
> radiation, and the governmental expenditure for radio-waste and
> decontamination of course can be greatly reduced. The radiation
protection
> policy and measurements of course should be modified as soon as
possible.
> .
> The really reason for me talk to you about low dose radiation is due
to our
> research project on the low dose radiation research program of DOE.
>From the
> web site of DOE , we learned DOE Notice 99-14 offer the low dose
radiation
> research program for application. After we submitted a primary
explanation
> of the health effects we observed in the residents of the co-60
> contamination, we were encouraged to submit a formal application. Our
formal
> application was reviewed by three anonymous reviewers and indicated
that the
> project can provide valuable data and information for radiation
protection
> purpose and would be a good project if it can work together with
> international and US scientists. Of course we told DOE that we want
the
> project to be conducted by more international experienced and
> acknowledgeable scientists. We are looking forward to the final
decision of
> DOE. The situation we worried about is that the facts of health
effects of
> low dose radiation is not considered solely based on science ground, a
lot
> other factors can affects it. We have informed UN about what we have
leaned
> in the incidence, because this will be valuable to UNSCEAR, IAEA and
WHO;
> but when I presented my paper about our finding in the final session
of
> WONUC meeting in Paris, the moderator from UNSCEAR of the session
suppressed
> me by telling me to stop my presentation in two minutes, and give no
time to
> the audience to ask question, Is there possibility for DOE considers
the
> result of project impacting the normal activities of ICRP, NCRP, and
other
> organizations? Our concerns on this projects is only that will benefit
the
> nuclear industry, and more important on the welfare to human beings if
it
> really can be used as immunity against cancers, hereditary defects and
other
> diseases.
>
> Do you think the health effects observed in the incidence of
contaminated
> apartments in Taiwan will make people understand better of the low
dose
> radiation? Do you think our discovery will benefit US in treatment of
> radio-waste and radio-decontamination, and will be a welfare to human
> beings? Would you like to do something to help with this matter?! US
GAO is
> trying to evaluate the true facts of the low dose radiation, do you
think
> our message will help them, do you want talk with them?
>
> Sincerely yours Y.C. Luan Head of radiation protection Div. of NuSTA
> Consultant of NBCS and INER
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