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Re: Genetic Effects of Radiation
i meant to add this comment to this message
below is the reason i wanted to see the national geographic issue. you
might find the comments by tosh to be interesting.
paul
> Date sent: Tue, 1 Aug 95 16:48:11 -0500
> Send reply to: radsafe@romulus.ehs.uiuc.edu
> From: "USHINO, TOSH" <ushinot@songs.sce.com>
> To: Multiple recipients of list <radsafe@romulus.ehs.uiuc.edu>
> Subject: Re: Genetic Effects of Radiation
> Susan Mcelrath wrote:
>
> >In the most recent National Geographic there is an article on the
> >A-bombings in Japan. It was interesting to note that the article said (my
> >paraphrase) A-bomb survivors were discriminated against occupationally (bad
> >health, risk of cancer) and "socially" due to the fear of genetic effects
> >in offspring if a spouse is an A-bomb survivor. The article even went on to
> >say families of engaged couples sometimes hired private investigators to
> >find out if their future in-laws were A-bomb survivors.
> >
> >I wonder if the populations studied for genetic effects of ionizing
> >radiation were smaller than normal because A-bomb survivors didn't produce
> >offspring at a normal rate - not because of physical damage, but because
> >they couldn't find a willing mate. I don't see the issue specifically
> >addressed in BEIR V. (If it is and I missed it please enlighten me.) Could
> >it be there were only a few isolated incidents of "social" discrimination
> >so it wasn't a significant factor?, or is this a new twist on the way
> >genetic effects are studied?
>
> I had to do a lot of soul-searching before I decided to respond to
> Susan. My father is one of the Hiroshima "hibakusha." He was a cadet
> in Imperial Navy Officer School (like Annapolis). He was lucky he did
> not receive disfiguring injury. His friend standing next to him
> facing toward the blast was not so lucky. My father is not a
> registered survivor, not because he feared discrimination, but because
> he did not want to be a statistic and be "pestered" by researchers....
> he wanted anonymity. When he married my mother, everyone know he was
> in Hiroshima.
>
> The National Geographic article intimated that private investigators were
> hired solely to findout if the prospective bride or groom was hibakusha.
> This is not true. It was a common practice then to hire a private
> investigator to check the background and the family of future in-laws,
> not just because of the bomb. This practice continues to some extent
> today, particularly in well-to-do families. What bothered my maternal
> grandfather most was not that my father was hibakusha, but that my
> mother's family was samurai class and my father's family was peasant
> class. Today, my 73 year old father is very healthy for man of his age,
> and my brothers and I are normal (some of my friends and coworkers may
> beg to differ on this point).
>
> I'm certain that lot of survivors, particularly those with disfiguring
> injuries, had a hard time finding a mate, if at all. But my impression
> and my wife's recollection (my wife is from Hiroshima) was that
> eventually most of them had been able to get married and raise a family.
>
> I've been asked if my father is opposed to my chosen career. The
> answer is not at all. In war, people, combatants and civilians alike,
> die horrible death. Such is the nature of war. In his view, the fact
> that nuclear weapon was used does not make it more or less humane.
>
> I've already wasted lot of your time. If anyone wants to ask me specific
> questions, please contact me privately.
>
> Tosh Ushino
> ushinot@songs.sce.com
>
>
PAUL SKIERKOWSKI OOOOO
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