Hormesis in the news

[Steven Dapra <sjd@swcp.com>]

Feb. 27, 2004



	"Some in the popular press may have just discovered what many scientists

have been saying for more than a decade:  a little radiation is good for

you." is the opening sentence of an article by John C. Zink, Ph. D., P. E.,

writing in Power Engineering (Tulsa, OK); in the Feb. 2004 issue (p. 26).



	Dr. Zink refers readers to a Wall Street Journal article (Dec. 19, 2003)

about U. of Mass. professor Ed Calabrese's findings in herbicide use; and

to an article about radon mines in Basin, MT (Jan. 2004 issue of National

Geographic).



	He notes the "large body of scientific work on radiation hormesis going

back more than 100 years and encompassing more than 1,000 scientific

papers, including animal studies and epidemiological studies."  Also noted

are the nuclear shipyard worker study, Dr. Myron Pollycove's work, and the

work of Prof. S. M. Javad Mortazavi of Kyoto University who "has proposed

three potential mechanisms for the radiation hormesis effect."



	Zink also informs readers that Professor Zbigniew Jaworowski has pointed

out that implementing NRC regulations on exposures costs $2.5 billion per

hypothetical life saved.



	It is not my intent to instigate a thread on hormesis, I'm merely

reporting the news for those who may be heartened to hear that hormesis

received some favorable publicity.



Steven Dapra

sjd@swcp.com





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