Re: NCRP 136

["Michael Stabin" <michael.g.stabin@vanderbilt.edu>]

> That says to me that this committee ignored the growing body of new

> evidence, and looked at the TOTAL WEIGHT OF EVIDENCE as it stands at the

> moment.



I would like to speak in defense of the committee; I do not find their

conclusion to be irresponsible or politically motivated. Disappointing,

perhaps, to advocates of hormesis, but I think scientifically responsible.

The question here is "how does prevailing scientific opinion change?" There

is no single answer, as conditions vary. Pasteur, in a single experiment in

1859, refuted the prevailing scientific opinion on the idea of spontaneous

generation (although a tiny minority of stubborn proponents continued

advocating the obviously erroneous theory into the early 1900's). Quantum

theory grew in acceptance over a period of years, through experimental

evidence and mathematical proof consistent with experimental data. It did

not so much replace earlier theories as it complemented them. For the

prevailing scientific opinion to swing radically from one position to

another, either convincing proof must be given, or, as Bob says, the

"weight" of evidence at some point will shift, to completely favor one

theory over the other, or perhaps to give place to both theories under

different circumstances. To say that "the weight of evidence...suggests

that...the possibility of a linear-nonthreshold dose-response relationship

at low radiation doses cannot be excluded" is I think, a fair reading of ALL

currently available data. Yes, there is a growing body of evidence that

**points to** but does not conclusively refute this relationship. So more

time and more data, or a "Pasteur of hormesis" is needed to write a

different final chapter to this report.





Michael G. Stabin, PhD, CHP

Assistant Professor of Radiology and Radiological Sciences

Department of Radiology and Radiological Sciences

Vanderbilt University

1161 21st Avenue South

Nashville, TN 37232-2675

Phone (615) 322-3190

Fax   (615) 322-3764

e-mail  michael.g.stabin@vanderbilt.edu







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