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RE: ARTICLE: Fallout likely caused 15,000 deaths



Ruth,

Fear is like pain.  It is subjective.  And the question is how much does

interfere with your life.  If fear of radiation is severely interfering with

your life, then the condition should be recognized as a medical disease and

be treated.  If you respond to a poll and say the you are afraid of

radiation, that is something else.  For the people around Chernobyl, there

may be a lot of problems from which the people suffer.  Poverty, alcoholism,

malnutrition, unemployment, and maybe even post traumatic stress associated

with the accident.  They should be given the support they need to move on

with their lives.  No matter what the problem, if they get support they may

get better.



And you are quite right.  I think that most of the people around TMI do not

suffer the same anguish.  I do not think they suffered the same trauma.

Again, I think they fear radiation and TMI when they are asked about it.

Ted Rockwell alluded to this phenomenon.  Unfortunately, I think some in

this country look for things to worry about.  Look at all of the

pharmaceutical advertisements on television.



Again, get a grid on it!



-- John 



John Jacobus, MS

Certified Health Physicist

3050 Traymore Lane

Bowie, MD  20715-2024



E-mail:  jenday1@email.msn.com (H)      

-----Original Message-----

From: RuthWeiner@aol.com [mailto:RuthWeiner@aol.com]

Sent: Friday, March 08, 2002 1:26 PM

To: Jacobus, John (OD/ORS); radsafe@list.vanderbilt.edu

Subject: Re: ARTICLE: Fallout likely caused 15,000 deaths





I am not questioning that post-traumatic stress syndrome exists.  However,

actually being mugged and being in a battle in a war is far, far more

frightening and stressful than hearing about TMI on the radio or reading it

in the newspaper and never noticing any physical health consequence at all.

Even if the person fears cancer, the FEAR is likely to fade with the passage

of time.  And what would trigger post-traumatic stress in someone who lived

in Harrisburg when TMI happened?  A radio program?  A newspaper?   



I just do not think one can compare having lived in Harrisburg, PA, or even

in the Chernobyl fallout, AND HAVING SUFFERED NO PHYSICAL HEALTH EFFECT AT

ALL, with shell-shock, or battle stress, or being a crime victim. 

Ruth Weiner, Ph. D. 

ruthweiner@aol.com 

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