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Re: OLD Portsmouth Naval Shipyard Study -History
Hi Linda:
I was living in the Boston area when the Boston Globe so-called "Spotlight Team" broke the story of the
supposed excess of cancers at Portsmouth NS. The story got banner headlines, page one above the fold,
Boston Sunday Globe [it was around 1976 as I recall -old files somewhere on this].
I followed the story closely, because at the time I was working for Yankee Atomic Electric Company's
Nuclear Services Division as a Health Physicist and was very involved in radiation risk assessment study
critiques given my training in Public Health and Biostatistics. The study was based on anecdotal sampling
of health outcomes and relied on recollections of next of kin as to who was a "radiation worker". Dr.
Najarian was intimately involved in making extreme, unprofessional, and ultimately totally
unsubstantiated claims about the risk of radiation being far higher than anyone had ever predicted.
Feel free to call me and I'll share what I know about the early history of this fiasco. When years later
a good look at the actual health outcomes for those who were radiation workers was published with
negative findings, the study was buried by the Boston Globe in a small story on an inside page. Not
surpisingly the followup story by the Boston Globe failed to mention the role of the Boston Globe
"Spotlight Team" in making the original, false claims about health risks from Portsmouth Shipyard.
Stewart Farber, MS Public Health
Consulting Scientist
[203] 367-0791
==============
6/17/03 12:12:46 PM, "Sewell, Linda" <LMS1@PGE.COM> wrote:
>Hi All,
>
>I had a weird experience on Friday that I wanted to pass on. Also, any information would be
appreciated. I am not trying to start a LNT debate thread, so let's not go there. I had a Dr.
appointment and arrived a bit early. When I walked in, the first thing anyone would notice was an
article posted on the wall. It was from a Boston area paper and concerned a study done in the 70's on
Portsmouth Naval shipyard workers. The article said that the study showed that even the federal limit
exposures of 1.25 Rem were too high and that workers should get far less. Apparently the study looked at
a fairly small population of workers and the incidence of certain kinds of cancers. It turns out the
study was done by this doctor I had an appointment with, Dr. Thomas Najarian. Needless to say, the
office visit was somewhat different, particularly since he knew what a health physicist was. He wanted
to know if I had known Karl Morgan and if I knew Dr. Sternglass. He said he was no l!
>onger concerned with this since workers were getting well less than 500 mrem a year now. I talked to
him briefly about the status of the science, but his answer was "well that is just what you've been
taught". I realized discussion was pointless and went back to the medical stuff that brought me to him.
>
>So, a couple of questions to the group out there. Does anyone have any details on this early Portsmouth
Naval Shipyard study? Does anyone have any information on Dr. Najarian's involvement with this study? I
did an internet search that took me to Ernest Sternglass's website, but that only led me to a footnote
reference. Otherwise, the internet didn't appear to turn up much information.
>
>Thanks All,
>
>Linda
>
>
>Linda M. Sewell, CHP
>Dosimetry Supervisor
>Diablo Canyon Power Plant
>MS 119/1/122
>PO Box 56
>Avila Beach, CA 93424
>805.545.4315 (voice)
>805.545.2618 (fax)
>mailto:lms1@pge.com
>
>
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