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RE: DOE low dose research funds
Colleagues, John Jacobus wrote:
>I believe that DOE is sponsoring funding for research in low dose
>effects. See
>http://www.ans.org/pi/news/index.cgi?d=987026192 half-way down the page.
DOE has had a low dose research support program for several years as
described on their web page at http://www.lowdose.org. DOE may have
changed the rules but originally their research support was only to
look for risks from low doses. I contacted them about doing a double
blind study of increased background to senior citizens in the Gulf
States. They replied that they could not support research for
radiation benefits. They also pointed out that they can't support
epidemiological studies because of their low statistical power.
It is ironic that the best human data to show health benefit
from low dose rate radiation is the 1980-1988 DOE supported U.S.
nuclear shipyard worker study. The non-cancer death rate was 16 std
dev lower than the controls. Since the details of this important
study has never been published it is not surprising that many on the
radsafe list server are unaware of its results.
DOE only knows how to look for cancer. Even there the
nuclear workers had a cancer death rate 15% lower (p<0.01) than the
controls. I agree with DOE that it is a waste of money to look for
radiation risks via epidemiology but it sure looks OK to look for
benefits.
Best wishes,
John Cameron
>
>
>--- "Flood, John" <FloodJR@NV.DOE.GOV> wrote:
>> I had the good fortune of hearing Dr. Lucky speak on
>> this subject - most
>> entertaining, in addition to being informative - he
>> made his case very well.
>> Given the low dose levels at which hormesis may
>> exist, it seems to me that a
>> definitive study to prove or disprove the theory
>> would require test and
>> control populations that should be impossibly large,
>> and thus the study can
>> never be done. That would mean that hormesis is
>> destined to remain no more
>> than a theory. Do others concur on this? Or might
>> there be a way to test
>> for and prove/disprove hormesis in humans?
>>
>> Bob Flood
>> NTS Dosimetry
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: jjcohen [mailto:jjcohen@PRODIGY.NET]
>> Sent: Tuesday, January 20, 2004 2:57 PM
>> To: Franz Schoenhofer; RuthWeiner@AOL.COM; "Joan
>> Stovall"; "Karl Ellison";
>> radsafe-digest@list.Vanderbilt.Edu
>> Subject: Re: Radiation Hormesis
>>
>> In following this string on "radiation hormesis"
>> it occurs to me that
>> there must be some radsafers who are reasonably
>> familiar with the scientific
>> evidence supporting hormesis, but are unconvinced
>> that it is a valid
>> phenomenon.
>> Just out of curiosity, I wonder what kind, or
>> quality of evidence would
>> it take to convince you that hormesis is for real
>> and ought to be taken
>> seriously in formulating radiation policies? Would
>> anyone care to take a
>> crack at that?
>>
>>
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>>
>>
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>
>
>=====
>+++++++++++++++++++
>"I have sworn upon the altar of God, eternal hostility against every
>form of tyranny over the mind of man."
>Thomas Jefferson
>
>-- John
>John Jacobus, MS
>Certified Health Physicist
>e-mail: crispy_bird@yahoo.com
>
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--
John R. Cameron (jrcamero@wisc.edu)
2678 SW 14th Drive, Gainesville, FL 32608 Phone: (352) 371-9865 (until 5/10/04)
E2571 Porter Rd. PO Box 405, Lone Rock,WI 53556 Phone: (608)
583-2160 (after 5/10/04)
Visit the Virtual Radiation Museum (VRM), the first "Wing" in the
SCIENCE MUSEUM at "http://www.sciencemuseum.us";. My web page is
http://www.medphysics.wisc.edu/~jrc/
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