1994 UNSCEAR Report -Reply

[Jack Bell <JMB2@nrc.gov>]

Al,

We (Charlie Willis and I) don't seem to be able to reach you at your
INEL E-mail address, so will try this "scatter-gun" approach.

You wrote:

From: 	Al Tschaeche <xat@inel.gov>
To:	Multiple recipients of list <radsafe@romulus.ehs.u...
Date: 	8/12/96 5:48pm
Subject: 	1994 UNSCEAR Report

Table 1 in the UNSCEAR 1994 Report, Annex A sets forth the
countries with high cancer incidence and those with low cancer
incidence for certain specific cancers.  The difference between the
high and low for a particular cancer  varies between about a factor of
10 to a factor of 100.  Does anyone know of studies to explain such
large differences?  If there are explanations, should they be
considered by the NCRP Upton committee?
Al  Tschaeche xat@inel.gov phone: 208-526-3383, fax: 208-526-7291


From: 	Charles Willis
To:	JMB2
Date: 	8/14/96 2:09pm
Subject: 	1994 UNSCEAR Report -Reply -Forwarded

Jack, I tried to respond to Al but it did not work.  Could/would you
send my response to him?
From: 	Charles Willis
To:	ud1.internet3("radsafe@romulus.ehs.uiuc.edu")
Date: 	8/14/96 2:02pm
Subject: 	1994 UNSCEAR Report -Reply

These dramatic differences in cancer mortality rates (e.g. for breast
cancer the rate in England and Wales is about 6 times the rate in
China) are reported every year by the American Cancer Society in
their bookletts with titles such as "Cancer Statistics, 1995."  So far
as I know the reasons for the differences are unexpalained, although
factors mentioned in this regard include genetics, diet, lifestyle, and
medical practices.  To some extent these differences are recognized
but they seem to be taken into account more by hand-waving
discussions than anything substantative.  A closer look may be in
order, particularly for the Japanese-American differences.