Media and radioactivity

[Susan Gawarecki <loc@ICX.NET>]

Norm and other activists,



I joined the RadSafe list because it has long been clear to me that the

media is not good at accurately covering technical issues.  I'd dealt

with them on previous occasions in my geology and hazardous waste

careers.  Reporters rarely have any background in science or the

technology they are trying to cover and are prone to take quotes out of

context and edit explanations so that key disclaimers are lost.



If you cite the media in order to justify your position, you are falling

into the trap of believing material of questionable accuracy.  What is

perhaps more galling to those of us in the technology fields is that

"self-taught" activists then deliberately feed mis-information to the

media to further their own agendas.



I read RadSafe because I'm interested in learning the facts about

nuclear science and radiation safety.  I make better decisions when I've

got a grasp of what the science says, instead of the media presentation,

which ultimately is designed to hold a viewer's or reader's interest and

keep them coming back for more.  Scare tactics work well in that

respect, don't they?



Regards,

Susan

-- 

.....................................................

Susan L. Gawarecki, Ph.D., Executive Director

Oak Ridge Reservation Local Oversight Committee

Please visit our Web site - http://www.local-oversight.org

.....................................................

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