|
Perhaps we should define a "relative hysteria
index" (RHI). This raised "fears of a nuclear disaster" and sent "hundreds
of emergency workers racing to the scene"? Puh-lease. Some dirty tools spilled
on the road, and the RHI = 0.97.
For comparison
recently.....
Aug 11, 2002, "Two people died Sunday when a tanker
truck crashed on a bridge over Interstate 4, the main route to Sea World, and
erupted into flames, officials said... "
http://www.cnn.com/2002/US/08/11/tanker.crash/index.html
Aug 11, 2002, "A tractor-trailer carrying a cargo of peaches slammed into two cars and killed six people in Oklahoma, including a family of five from Nebraska, police said... " http://www.cnn.com/2002/US/08/11/oklahoma.crash.ap/index.html RHI = 0.0 for these incidents, apparently. I read
the second story over the weekend, but for some reason did not become fearful of
major peach disaster occurring.
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 internet www.doseinfo-radar.com
This article revealed several things, besides the rampant hysteria: 1. The differences in packaging are either not understood or deliberately distorted by the press and/or those who inform the press. 2. Why is "low level" in quotes? this is defined by regulation. Again, this is a nasty little (and I suspect deliberate) distorion, as in "well they are trying to tell us it's low level, but we know..." 3. The fact that there was no radioactive contamination is downplayed -- middle of the article -- "same as in the manifest" without saying what that was. Ruth Weiner, Ph. D. ruthweiner@aol.com |