Re: The Radon Cure!

[Schoenhofer <schoenho@via.at>]

At 10:44 08.10.1996 -0500, you wrote:
>        Reply to:   The Radon Cure!
>
>Hi RadSafers:
>
>Just a quick note.  I forget the name of the program, but did anyone else see
>this?  
>
>I was watching TV late last night, surfing the channels and happened across a
>program which was about the hormetic effects of Radon.  
>
>They were running an EPA ad which showed children playing in a home which then
>instantly froze to a black & white picture of their x-rayed skeletons!  This
>is what caught my eye and I thought "Oh no, here we go again" but, as I
>watched it was actually one of these pseudonews/science shows and evidently
>they were establishing the governments case for the Radon hazard.
>
>The show then showed a Radon mine in Montana (I think?) where people actually
>paid to be exposed to the healthful effects of Radon.  The intrepid reporter
>was checked with a GM before he entered the mine and was at background.  He
>then went down the mine and there were quite a few believers down there
>getting the cure!  After he left the mine he was checked with the GM, which
>was offscale (on the lowest setting) when directed at his nose.  
>
>They showed one man, an old farmer,  who had a swollen elbow taking the cure
>and went back to see him a month later in Iowa and he was cured!
>
>Also, of interest they had a short interview with Bernie Cohen which mentioned
>his research on the subject and he said Radon at low levels might be good for
>you.  They also interviewed someone from the EPA who said it was a deadly
>carcinogen, of course!
>
>I bring this to your attention, because this is the first time I can recall
>seeing anything in the popular media which mentions the possible hormetic
>effects of radiation.   
>
><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><
>Michael J. Bohan, RSO   |  e-mail: mike.bohan@yale.edu
>Yale-New Haven Hospital |    Tele: (203) 785-2950
>Radiological Physics    |     FAX: (203) 737-4252
>20 York St. - WWW 204   |    As usual, everything I say may be plausibly
>New Haven, CT    06504  |    denied at my employer's convenience ...
>><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
>
>Dear Michael,

I read your message with - please excuse me - a kind of amusement. I have
seen the EPA ad at an excellent meeting in London some years ago, which
addressed all kind of aspects of radon in indoor air - from surveillance to
mitigation, from radiation protection to effects on the market. The meeting
was called "Radon 2000" and the proceedings have been published in a well
known journal - anybody interested please contact me and I will return the
right citation to you. I have also written a review in another journal,
which I think is still valid. 

I do not know much about the situation in your country, but the question of
radon spas is not new to us Europeans. Shortly after the discovery of
radioactivity serious attempts have been made to identify water sources with
high radon content. Some time ago very interesting discussions about old
devices using radon for "health purposes" took place at radsafe. Radon and
radium were considered to be a remedy for a lot of diseases and a general
contributor to wellness. Surprisingly (or not?) quite a number of spas which
had been used for centuries turned out to show a high concentration of radon
in their water. Isn't it human to attribute their positive effect on health
to radon? Whether it is justified or not? 

There are a lot of theories about the positive effect of radon in these
spas, which I do not want to discuss. Whether one believes in the positive
effects or not (I do not), these spas offer: Warm water, absence from
everyday life, from the office, from ones wife or husband...., from
telephone and stress, and especially providing physical therapy - which I
believe in, since this cured my paralysed foot, so that I am able to play
basketball again at my biblical age. 

It actually  i s  funny that on one side we try to prevent high radon
concentrations in indooor air and even spend a lot of money for mitigation
because of their (real or calculated?) danger to health and on the other
side people claim the positive effect of high radon concentrations. Please
be aware that in radon spas the concentrations are not low and it might be
difficult to attribute to them the hormesis effect of  l o w   doses!

I know that it is not possible from a scientific point of view to justify
the use of radon in radon spas, but: If a few weeks at a spa helps people to
regain their wellness or at least a more optimistic view on their future
health conditions, we might let them believe what they want on the positive
effects of radon. 

Let me finally remark that I know the work of Bernie Cohen and I even had
the good luck to meet him personally. I like his style and I appreciate his
way of showing that certain elaborate studies are wrong. I know also that
these lines will not meet the appreciation of all radsafers - hopefully they
will not create personal attacks.

Hi to all!   Franz
Schoenhofer
Habichergasse 31/7
A-1160 WIEN
AUSTRIA/EUROPE
Tel./Fax:	+43-1-4955308
Tel.:		+43-664-3380333
e-mail:		schoenho@via.at