RE: Love Canal: Understanding nonscience

["Stabin, Michael" <michael.g.stabin@vanderbilt.edu>]

>video made by John Stossel called "Are We Scaring Ourselves to Death?"

... modern contradictory attitudes toward hazardous substances.



There is already clear evidence that mental attitude has much to do with

cancer survival. The mechanics of cancer induction and promotion are

still under debate, but it is not a big leap to assume that many

psychological factors, including depression and fear, may be cofactors.

I have always been interested in thinking about how many cancers may

have been caused over recent decades by the public fear induced both by

organizations who intentionally misrepresent risks for political gain

and by media organizations who intentionally or unintentionally scare

the public unnecessarily. This may one day represent a very substantial

class action lawsuit. All that is needed is some model of this effect,

or some story in the popular press, e.g. "Fear mongering may have caused

up to 250,000 cancers in the US between 1970-2000". [Note the qualifiers

"may have", "up to".] We know of course that confirmed deaths were

caused at TMI by people fleeing in fear (of radiation exposure of less

than a mSv) and dying in car accidents.



Mike





Michael G. Stabin, PhD, CHP

Assistant Professor of Radiology and Radiological Sciences 

Department of Radiology and Radiological Sciences 

Vanderbilt University 

1161 21st Avenue South

Nashville, TN 37232-2675 

Phone (615) 343-0068

Fax   (615) 322-3764

Pager (615) 835-5153

e-mail     michael.g.stabin@vanderbilt.edu 

internet   www.doseinfo-radar.com



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