Re: Hormesis in the news

[John Jacobus <crispy_bird@YAHOO.COM>]

I wonder who all of these scientist are who are saying

a little radiation is good for you?  I know there are

controversies about low dose radiation, LNT, and

hormesis, but I have seen more smoke than light.



Of course, I would expect that Dr. Zink, who probably

is not a biologist, biostatician, or epidemiologist,

may have an opinion.



--- Steven Dapra <sjd@swcp.com> wrote:

> 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

. . .



=====

+++++++++++++++++++

"The care of human life and happiness . . . is the first and only legitimate object of good government."

Thomas Jefferson



-- John

John Jacobus, MS

Certified Health Physicist

e-mail:  crispy_bird@yahoo.com



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