revigator/radithor

[JMUCKERHEIDE@delphi.com]

Sharron,
> 
> 
> Paul Frame mentioned a request from an individual regarding Eben Byers 
> and Radiathor.  As an FYI, there was a very good article in Scientific 
> American, August 1993 (p94-99) entitled "The Great Radium Scandal" that 
> discusses some of the quackery and snake oil medicine that "promoted" 
> revigators, etc. and the death of Eben Byers that is very informative.  

It's interesting about the history, its not very informative about radiation
risks. After Dr. Maklis notes near the end that he was "treading in the
footprints of giants" with reference to Dr. Robley Evans work, he neglects to
point out that Dr. Evans' data on radium ingestion finds that there was never
a carcinoma or sarcoma at less than 1000 Rad (not Rem), and that Eben Byers'
death was from a dose of about 1000 Rad, at the low end because of the high
ingestion/dose rate (the scientific data shows a constant incidence rate over
1000 rads, with longer latencies for lower dose rates and doses). In a total
collapse of science at the end of the article he gratuitously refers to
lessons of Byers' death applying to indoor radon!?! 

> I've used parts of it to make some unique points about public concern and 
> radiation during training sessions, etc.  

Yes. He reports FDA used Byers' death to create public fear to meet its
political objectives of getting control of radiation/radioactive patent
medicines. He indirectly indicates FDA ignored/suppressed data on the lack of
adverse effects in the thousands of people who did not "overdose" on Radithor
and other lesser radiation sources. 

This is certain from the lack of health effects in the radium ingestion
population data - about 70 total carcinomas and sarcomas at dose ranges from
1000 to 80,000 Rad - which was suppressed by the Federal bureaucrats in the
'80s as the data became more embarrasing to the "linear model" they depend on
to ratchet their own power, authority, and funding, see e.g., Evans, "Radium
in Man", HPJ 1974; and Evans' conclusions at the 1981 conference, HPJ, Suppl.
44, 1983; and Maletskos, ANS Transactions, Nov 1994, reporting his current
work on the data, confirming the 1974 data, with Evans and others; Raabe's
current work; and Bob Thomas's current work from the dial painter population
original data, with current data that must now come from SSN death certificate 
searches despite the Federal government's efforts to suppress it - including
Rowland's (the program director since 1970) comprehensive report on the
Argonne program, completed in 1993, possibly continuing obfuscated data, and
not released by DOE. 

This is instructive on how bureaucracies today continue to use and abuse
"public concern" to support political action for their own political
power/authority and funding agendas, at the expense of science and the public
health and wealth. Other programs feel the pressure to obfuscate or be
defunded, including the RERF work on the Japanese data (others have to produce 
informative, factual data from the RERF limited reported sources without
access to the raw data to control 

> 
> Sharron Stenjem Daly, RSO

Regards, Jim Muckerheide