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Re: Taiwan Co-60 Accident; US Agency Involvement
If anyone can summarize the data in the following paper, I'd be interested
(or a copy of the paper :-)
Thanks, Jim
jmuckerheide@cnts.wpi.edu
> From: "Michael Stabin" <michael.g.stabin@vanderbilt.edu>
> Organization: stabinmg = VU Net ID
> Reply-To: "Michael Stabin" <michael.g.stabin@vanderbilt.edu>
> Date: Mon, 9 Jul 2001 15:30:14 -0500
> To: "Radsafe" <radsafe@list.vanderbilt.edu>
> Subject: 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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