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RE: precautionary principle
George,
None of the examples you cite support your position (unless I misunderstand your
position). You wrote:
If we could regulate
> society on the basis of purely scientific risk, we would outlaw
> tobacco, alcohol, gas-guzzling SUVs, and trans-fatty acids outright,
> establish mandatory physical fitness and a whole bunch of other things
> that would cause a societal revolt.
All of these are examples of outlawing things that are proven to be harmful or
dangerous. However, unlike tobacco and your other examples,
**** LLR can not be shown to be harmful, and may be beneficial ****
Legislating down to 100 mrem/year has much more in common with an established
state church, because we are passing laws on the basis of faith in the unseen.
-Gary Isenhower
From: "George J. Vargo" <vargo@physicist.net>
To: "'John Jacobus'" <crispy_bird@YAHOO.COM>, "'Jerry Cohen'"
<jjcohen@PRODIGY.NET>, <radsafe@list.vanderbilt.edu>
Subject: RE: precautionary principle
Date sent: Sat, 16 Aug 2003 22:19:29 -0400
Send reply to: "George J. Vargo" <vargo@physicist.net>
> John,
>
> You have found the kernel of reality that evades much of the
> discussion on this list. At the very best, radiation protection
> standards will be science-informed public policy decisions (recall
> that oft-forgotten part of the definition of ALARA ...socioeconomic
> and other factors taken into account..."). If we could regulate
> society on the basis of purely scientific risk, we would outlaw
> tobacco, alcohol, gas-guzzling SUVs, and trans-fatty acids outright,
> establish mandatory physical fitness and a whole bunch of other things
> that would cause a societal revolt. Ultimately, many of these
> decisions come down to value judgments, like it or not, and it's easy
> to put a high price on something when you don't have to pay the bill
> (at least directly).
>
> George J. Vargo, Ph.D., CHP
> Senior Scientist
> MJW Corporation
> http://www.mjwcorp.com
> 610-925-3377
> 610-925-5545 (fax)
> vargo@physicist.net
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-radsafe@list.vanderbilt.edu
> [mailto:owner-radsafe@list.vanderbilt.edu] On Behalf Of John Jacobus
> Sent: Saturday, August 16, 2003 8:43 PM To: Jerry Cohen; John Jacobus;
> radsafe@list.vanderbilt.edu Subject: Re: precautionary principle
>
>
> Jerry,
> You probably misunderstood my comments. Apparenty
> this individual has never had to deal with the many
> faceted aspects of scienctific research. There are
> many groups that believe they are know what is best
> for society, be they scientist, environments, pro-LNt, anti-LNT, etc.
> Scientific principles work well in the laboratory, but in the society,
> scientific "truth" have to compete with the viewpoints of others. As
> I have said before, the laws are what govern our regulations. You
> should certainly contact your representatives about your concerns,
> since they can the laws you want.
>
> I certainly believe that research should continue. It
> is up to organizations like NCRP, BEIR, etc., to
> review the various results and try an present a
> reasonable view of what the data suggests. As you
> pointed out in a previous post, in some cases we may
> not be able to know, at least, all of the aspects of
> low level radiation. By we need to continue the
> search. After all ". . a man's reach should exceed
> his grasp, Or what's a heaven for?"
>
> --- Jerry Cohen <jjcohen@PRODIGY.NET> wrote:
> > John,
> > Maybe you are correct. Scientists may be wasting
> > a lot of
> > time in laboratories, data analysis, technical
> > literature review,
> > and similar frivolities when they should be out
> > taking public
> > opinion surveys to learn the way things really are.
> >
> > BEIR uses this approach in seeking input from
> > public
> > interest group to determine of low-dose radiation
> > effects.
> > Jerry
> >
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: John Jacobus <crispy_bird@YAHOO.COM>
> > To: Jerry Cohen <jjcohen@PRODIGY.NET>; <radsafe@list.vanderbilt.edu>
> > Sent: Friday, August 15, 2003 1:44 PM Subject: Re: precautionary
> > principle
> >
> >
> > > And who is S. Fred Singer? Has he heard that
> > science
> > > does not work in a vacuum, but is also responsive
> > to
> > > the forces of society (the public) and politics?
> > >
> > > --- Jerry Cohen <jjcohen@PRODIGY.NET> wrote:
> > > > some words of wisdom from S. Fred Singer:
> > > >
> > > > "Public-health officials and media alike prefer
> > to
> > > > err on the side of
> > > > sounding the alarm when faced with ambiguous
> > risks,
> > > > but this "precautionary
> > > > principle" does more to protect them - ensuring
> > that
> > > > they get attention and
> > > > that they can't be accused of complacency in the
> > > > face of danger - than to
> > > > protect a vulnerable and bewildered public. What
> > the
> > > > public truly needs is
> > > > a responsible, balanced view of scientific
> > research.
> > > > If the public health
> > > > community continues to let out cries that are
> > not
> > > > rooted in scientific
> > > > principles, there may come a day when a real
> > crisis
> > > > arises and they find
> > > > that no one is listening."
> . . .
>
> =====
> -- John
> John Jacobus, MS
> Certified Health Physicist
> e-mail: crispy_bird@yahoo.com
>
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