PTSD

["Field, R. William" <bill-field@uiowa.edu>]

Mike,



My point was directed specifically at what were the initiating events that 

may have caused PTSD around TMI.   At the time of the accident, it was 

indeed a nightmare for many people.  The points I made speak directly to that.



I know of no instance where the government is handing out sacks of money 

related to PTSD following TMI.  And if they were, I would hope that only 

people with clinically diagnosed PTSD related to the event would show up at 

the drive through window.  We need to learn by the mistakes made and turn 

our attention to contingency planning and education to minimize the errors 

that previously occurred.



Bill



R. William Field, M.S., Ph.D.

College of Public Health

Department of Epidemiology

Department of Occupational and Environmental Health

N222 Oakdale Hall

University of Iowa

Iowa City, Iowa  52242

bill-field@uiowa.edu



At 12:19 PM 03/11/2002 -0600, Michael Stabin wrote:

>Dear Bill,

>

>I concede the point that in the first days after the incident, no one knew

>what the consequences might be. But now, years later, knowing very well that

>the highest off site dose was 0.8 mSv, less than a third of what is received

>from natural radiation each year, the antis and the networks still describe

>this in terms of "nightmare", "catastrophe", "terrible nuclear accident",

>etc. and scare people about deformed children, strontium in baby teeth,

>epidemics of cancer sweeping the northeast, etc. I'm just saying let's be

>fair - if the government has to hand out sacks of money, these folks should

>have to hand out sacks of money, too, if we're talking about PTSD. Please

>give me the address of the drive thru window, people in my family have died

>of cancer, and it could have been related to these "terrible" press releases

>(I'm sure it wasn't the radiation from TMI).

>

>Mike

>

>

>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) 343-0068

>Fax   (615) 322-3764

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