Re: A good Hormetic Effect of Background Radiation is shown in a1973 AEC report.

[Doug Aitken <daitken@sugar-land.oilfield.slb.com>]

At 06:34 PM 9/1/2004, you wrote:

>Hi all,

>...........

>I once took a publication by the American Cancer Society on data on death

>rates from cancer as a function of state.  I then looked up the mean

>altitude of each state (and D.C.).I plotted the CA death rates vs. altitude,

>and the anti-correlation was amazing. ...........

>Since background tends to increase with altitude one might start to jump to

>conclusions.

>However, the confounding factors are huge. ................ However,

>it does indicate that the low level exposure to radiation is not a strong

>factor in causing cancer compared to the other causes.



One factor that I have not seen discussed in the hormesis debate is natural 

selection. Since man has for ever been exposed to natural radiation, is it 

not reasonable to assume that natural selection has reinforced our 

resistance to any deleterious effects? Is it possible that the native 

population of Kerala, for instance, has a greater resistance to radiation 

than areas with low natural radiation?



My personal (uneducated!) feeling is that reasonable levels of natural 

radiation (and occupational exposures to similar types and energies of 

radiation) is something the human organism (and all other terrestrial 

organisms) has adapted to. And that, as Dale states, the confounding 

factors are so numerous (and over-riding) that confirmation, or otherwise, 

is extremely difficult.



Risk management seems to be something the general population (and the 

politicians who answer to it) do not care to understand. Leading to 

ridiculous constraints on many activities that would benefit mankind. NIMBY 

and the latest temporal constraints tossed at Yucca Mountain storage would 

seem to bear this out......



Doug



Doug Aitken             Schlumberger Drilling and Measurements QHSE 

Advisor

Phone (Sugarland):      281 285-8009

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Schlumberger E-mail: daitken@sugar-land.oilfield.slb.com

Mail:   300 Schlumberger Drive MD2, Room 111

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