----- Original Message -----
Sent: Wednesday, February 13, 2002 3:02
PM
Subject: RE: dose limits for members of
the public
Yeah, and if you hold a pencil at shoulder height and
let go of it a hundred million times and it drops to the floor every time, you
haven't proven that it will drop the next time, but a) that's the way to bet,
and b) most reasonable people would consider that adequate proof that pencils
drop to the floor when you release them.
The
difference between the "Chicken Little" syndrome and reasonable people is
chicken little's always ask "what if" forever, while reasonable people reach a
point where they've seen enough proof to believe there are no more "what
ifs" that need to be asked.
Having taken over 18 rem in one year without any
evidence of harm, and having come out of it healthier than I went in, I have
no more what ifs to ask. I can say 5 rem per year does no harm, because
my experience convinces me that the statement is correct.
Les
Aldrich, CHP
What would constitute "evidence" of
"no harm" at any given dose level? If a hundred million persons received a 5.0
dose with no observed resultant harm. how could we be positively assured that
if that dose were given to just one more person, harm would not occur. You
can't prove a negative! Except in areas of radiation protection, most people
are already aware of that.
I also don't agree that we can say that there is no harm to a
worker when they have received 5 rem for each year of their
employment. There is no evidence to support that.
There's not really evidence to support that there's
harm either.
Barbara L. Hamrick