Re[2]: Coal vs. Nuclear -Reply

[BYRPV@ccmail.ceco.com]

Paul,

You make a very interesting point here.  However, the doses being 
purported as beneficial are low, chronic doses to the whole body.  
These doses, it is believed actually exercise the cells' repair 
mechanisms and make thme better able to detect and correct flaws than 
their less-well exercised counterparts in other systems.

Doses from exposure to radon daughters can be fairly high (many rem 
per year), chronic doses concentrated in pulmonary epitheliar cells.  
In addition, the cancer causing effect of these concentrated doses is 
well documented.

Still, you may have a point since some members of the public may be 
exposed to dose from radon daughters which is in just the right range 
to cause the repair mechanisms in their epithelia to be exercised and 
may, in fact reduce certain kinds of lung cancers in select groups of 
people.

On the third hand, since most people are already exposed to radon in 
their homes and workplaces in a spectrum of doses ranging from the 
beneficial to the harmful, any added radon from power production is 
bound to push peoples radon doses up scale moving some who were in the 
beneficial band into the harmful.

Does anyone have any more hands?  I've run out.

Paul Vitalis
byrpv@ccmail.ceco.com

P.S.  Paul, I'm still awaiting a response on the EPRI address you requested.


______________________________ Reply Separator _________________________________
This type of argument is good if you believe, as I do,  that low doses 
of radiation probably (not certainly) carry a risk.  If you believe, 
as Al has stated he does, that low doses (and especially those from 
radon which is what we are talking about here) are beneficial, then 
this particular argument should be made in favor of coal. Not so?


Best wishes

Paul Frame
Professional Training Programs
ORISE
framep@orau


Bernie Cohen wrote in part:

>The dominant consideration in radiation hazards from coal vs. 
>nuclear is from release of U, Th, and Ra that will eventually become 
>radon. The coal releases will eventually cause about 30 deaths per 
>GWe-y while nuclear power, by removing uranium from the ground, will 
>eventually save hunreds of lives per GWe-y.