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Re: Relevance of experts
>Why do you exclude ICRP, NCRP, etc. from the "fearmongering" category?
I do not accept, and in fact find quite objectionable, the position put
forth by some on this list of a moral equivalence between these fine
scientific committees and the organizations and individuals bent on
disseminating disinformation for political purposes. We have drawn parallels
before to other periods in history where scientific theories were replaced
or amended by overwhelming evidence. In the case of LNT, there may be
evidence against it, but it is not overwhelming to the point that the
scientific community as a whole, or these committees in particular, have
been swayed to embrace them and the wholesale changes in radiation
protection philosophy and practice they suggest. Equating this cautious
attitude with the irresponsible anti-nuclear fearmongering of the Sternglass
types is, I think, also irresponsible. Such emotional and off-target
accusations cause those who make them to lose credibility in my book. We can
be critical of committees, public agencies, and individuals who we feel may
be overly conservative or who err, that's fine, if it's done constructively.
The more strident criticisms that I often see on this list along the lines
you mention do not interest me even for discussion purposes, because I find
them so patently untenable and unfair.
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
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