Article on Contaminated NIH Researcher

[Elizabeth Brackett <ebracket@freenet.columbus.oh.us>]

The latest issue (March/April) of Health magazine has an article about the
NIH researcher who ingested P-32 during her pregnancy.  The article is
titled "Who Poisoned Maryann Ma?" I have been reading this magazine for
several years and in the past was impressed with their apparent ability to
be objective and to present balanced information on an issue.  An earlier
article on food irradiation was well written.  This current article
carefully avoids taking sides on the issue of who caused the
contamination, presenting both sides equally.  However, while not as
alarmist as some of the other articles written on this incident, the
information on the contamination itself and possible consequences could
have been researched a little better.  

P-33 is called "a relatively harmless, low-level radioactive chemical"
while P-32 is referred to as "a highly radioactive phosphorus isotope."
The article implies that exhaustion and pains in her abdomen and back were
due to the radiation exposure (this is a pregnant woman they're talking
about - I'm not an expert on the subject, but wouldn't these be common
problems during a pregnancy?).  It states that the dose she received
doubles her risk of getting cancer and, "of course," puts a fetus at much
greater risk.  An associate professor of radiation health sciences at
Johns Hopkins School of Public Health is quoted as saying, "We assume that
no dose, no matter how small, is safe.  And for something like childhood
leukemia, we assume that there is a risk, no matter what the dose."
(Apparently a firm believer in the linear, no threshold model.)


Liz Brackett, CHP
ebracket@freenet.columbus.oh.us