Re: Iowa Radon Study

[maury <maury@WEBTEXAS.COM>]

Is the "pooling" mentioned below intended to become some kind of giant meta-analysis? If so, it might work wonders to increase the mysticism

surrounding the threat of radon. I recall watching Carol Browner present the meta-analysis of passive smoking to the Waxman committee. It was

entertaining and instructive - a great lesson in straining at statistical gnats in an attempt to document an issue without supporting data and with

inappropriate analyses. The CRS statistician who followed her destroyed the scientific credibility of the study. But no matter, scientific evidence

and legal evidence often are totally unrelated. EPA "won" that controversy; maybe EPA can "win" on radon with another grand meta-analysis; then we can

get on with the next magnificent extravaganza for (this time) FDA with fatty foods.  Maybe another meta-analysis?      (sigh)



I sincerely hope you folks are not headed down that path. I don't think we can afford it.

Maury Siskel              maury@webtexas.com

PS  No arbitrary slur is intended against meta-analysis. It can be a fine analytical tool, but as with all scientific methods, meaning is a function

of how the work is done.

======================================================



> >From: RuthWeiner@AOL.COM

>

> Finally, I, for one, read the radon posts with great interest.  I do have a

> couple of questions: (1) what agency funded the Iowa Study.



Rad health wrote:



> Ruth, I am interested on why you ask that question?

> If you read the Iowa paper, it says in the acknowledgements that the study

> was funded by the National Institutes of Environmental Health Sciences.

> It also says the views expressed in the paper do not necessarily reflect

> those of the NIEHS.  The NIEHS also funded the combined Conn, Utah and S.

> Idaho Radon Study.

>

> Ruth, I agree that these issues should be approached with common sense.

> There has probably been more research on radon health effects than almost

> any other carcinogen or non carcinogen. The upcoming pooling is the largest

> pooling ever done on any chemical or radioactive material.



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