[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]
Tooth Fairy project in Florida [FW]
> http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/local/sfl-zturkey18xjul18.story?coll=
> sfla%2Dbusiness%2Dheadlines
>
> Environmentalists, regulators debate safety of Turkey Point nuclear plant
>
> By Antonio Fins
> Business Writer
> Posted July 18 2001
Copyright © 2001, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
> A public forum to discuss an environmental study of the Turkey Point
> nuclear power plant on Tuesday turned into a scientific face-off over
> radioactive fallout and baby teeth.
>
> The focus of the hearing called by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission was
> supposed to be a wide-ranging study by federal regulators. The draft of
> the report issued last month concluded that Florida Power & Light Co.'s
> two southern Miami-Dade reactors do not have an adverse effect on nearby
> neighborhoods and national parks. The study is part of the process of
> extending the reactors' operating licenses through 2033.
>
> The discussion at the hearing was dominated by another piece of research,
> the so-called "Tooth Fairy" project, which links the Turkey Point units to
> alleged high levels of radiation in South Florida baby teeth and a
> purported increase in cancer among children.
>
> The study was not part of the NRC report.
>
> Instead, two researchers from the tooth program, Jerry Brown from Florida
> International University and Ernest Sternglass from the University of
> Pittsburgh, were given an opportunity to report their findings during the
> public hearing.
>
> The two said examinations of 500 baby teeth collected in South Florida
> show higher levels of Strontium-90, a radioactive substance, than in other
> areas of the country. Plus, the two researchers claim the carcinogenic
> element has led to greater incidences of cancer and is the result of
> radioactive emissions from Turkey Point.
>
> Brown said the NRC report fails to find Strontium-90 because it does not
> properly test for it. "That is what we see as the serious flaw in this
> report," he said.
>
> The Tooth Fairy report was immediately challenged by officials from the
> Florida Department of Health. They said they indirectly test for
> Strontium-90 and other emissions and have not found significant traces.
> And they said their analysis of the same statistics used by the Tooth
> Fairy project show that cancer rates have not increased in South Florida.
>
> "What we do out there, we feel, is accurate," said Harlan Keaton, a health
> department official. "We have, to date, not found any emissions that would
> affect or harm the citizens of Florida."
>
> Another scientist, former Harvard professor Dade Moeller, charged that the
> tooth project troubles him because it does not account for error margins
> in the statistics or for a slew of variables, and it rushes to make
> conclusions that are irresponsible.
>
> "The Tooth Fairy project is a fairy tale," he said. "It is unadulterated
> gobbledygook."
>
> Officials from FPL also spoke out against the report.
>
> "Let me assure you that these claims are just not true," said Bob Hovey,
> the senior official at the plant. "I would never in good conscience work
> for a facility that is harmful to children."
>
> Others at the meeting were also divided on the issue.
>
> Steve Dan, a 37-year-old software engineer from Pinecrest, said he was
> very concerned about the findings.
>
> "I have two small children and when you hear about this it really makes
> you worried," said Dan, who criticized the NRC for holding the meeting on
> a weekday afternoon in Homestead instead of a more accessible time and
> place. "And there are other issues, too. They don't know what they are
> going to do about nuclear waste."
>
> But another participant said he was not concerned. Hialeah engineer Arnold
> Velasquez, 60, said he felt the Tooth Fairy findings were an exaggeration.
> He said the report doesn't take into account significant details about who
> is contracting cancer and who is not.
>
************************************************************************
You are currently subscribed to the Radsafe mailing list. To unsubscribe,
send an e-mail to Majordomo@list.vanderbilt.edu Put the text "unsubscribe
radsafe" (no quote marks) in the body of the e-mail, with no subject line.