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(Fwd) Physics Symposium at LA Sierra
Dear Radsafers,
I received the following announcement from Dr. Ed Karlow,
Chairman of the Physics Department at La Sierra University in
Riverside, California and agreed to share it with our subscribers.
Maymie Chenoweth
University of Southern California
Radiation Protection Dept.
=========================================================
PRESS RELEASE information
Event: 28th Annual La Sierra University Physics Symposium
Theme: Nuclear Radiation, Electromagnetic Fields, and Your Health
Speakers: Dr.John Cameron and Dr. David Hafemeister
date: Sunday, March 9, 1997
time: 9:30 AM to noon with no-host reception following
place: Cossentine Hall room 103, La Sierra University, Riverside,
CA
phone: 909-785-2136 (physics department) (call for printed map)
909-785-2001 (public relations)
Featured Speakers:
John Cameron, Professor Emeritus, Departments of Medical
Physics, Radiology and Physics of the University of
Wisconsin-Madison, and
Visiting Professor, Departments of Physics and Radiation Oncology,
University of Florida, Gainesville
David Hafemeister, Professor of Physics, California
Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, CA
talks: "Is Radiation as Dangerous as They Say?" -- John Cameron
Radiation is dangerous in big doses at high dose
rates--such as from atomic
bombs. It can kill and increase ones chance of cancer. At the low
doses and
low dose rates encountered in everyday life, most of which comes
from inside
the human body, radiation is probably good for us. It appears to
reduce the
probability of getting cancer.
The radiation fear that grips the world is based on bad
science and
sensationalism. This talk will explain the basic facts about ionizing
radiation and its biological effects. Controversial aspects about
radiation
will be discussed, such as radiation experiments on humans,
including those
performed by the author. During the talk radiation dose will be
explained in
terms an ordinary person can understand. And finally, the case will be
made
why a real environmentalist should be for nuclear power!
"The Failure to Link Power-Line Fields and Cancer" -- David
Hafemeister
In April of 1995 the Council of the American Physical Society
made the
following declaration: "The scientific literature and the reports of
reviews by other panels show
no consistent, significant link between cancer and power line fields."
Over a year later in October 1996 the National Academy of
Sciences issued a
similar statement: "The current body of evidence does not show that
exposure to these [power-frequency electric and magnetic fields]
presents a
human-health hazard."
This talk will review these studies and explain how their
respective
conclusions were obtained. Consideration will also be given to the
current
fad of "prudent avoidance" which is costing billions of dollars to
mitigate
an unsubstantiated risk.
CVs:
John Cameron
John Cameron played a leading role in establishing the
Medical Physics
program at the University of Wisconsin Medical School in 1958. He is
credited with the invention of the first accurate method for measuring
bone
mineral in vivo (photon absorptiometry), the development of
thermoluminescent dosimetry (TLD) for measuring radiation clinically
and for
radiation protection, and the development of simple tools for Quality
Assurance in diagnostic radiology to improve the quality of x-ray
images.
In 1981 John was the founding chairman of the Department
of Medical
Physics at University of Wisconsin, among the first academic
departments of
this type in the US The department now boasts 20 faculty and 50
graduate
students has trained well over 400 medical physicists serving around
the world.
John retired from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in
1986 and started
the nonprofit organization Medical Physics Publishing which
publishes
technical books for medical physicists, health physicists and radiation
oncologists, and materials for the general public dealing with
radiation.
In addition to numerous scientific papers, he is the principal
author of
several books including Thermoluminescent Dosimetry (1967),
Medical Physics
(1978) and Physics of the Body (1992). He has earned an international
reputation by helping establish programs for medical physicists in
developing countries.
David Hafemeister
David Hafemeister is professor of physics at California
Polytechnic State
University in San Luis Obispo. He chaired the American Physical
Society's
Panel on Public Affairs (POPA) working group on "Power Line-Fields
and
Public Health" which resulted in the 1995 APS statement on that topic.
In
his talk, he will review the APS POPA study and the recent National
Academy
of Sciences study on the same topic.
He was a science advisor in the US Senate during 1975-77,
working on the
EPCA and ECPA energy laws. He spent part of 1985-86 in the Center
for
Building Sciences at the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory. In addition
he has
been a Professional Staff Member on the Senate Foreign Relations
and
Governmental Affairs Committee (1990-93) and a Visiting Scientist in
the
State Department, MIT, Princeton, and Stanford working on arms
control issues.
At Cal Poly, he teaches a course on energy, has co-edited
Energy Sources:
Conservation and Renewables, and has published in Scientific
American and
elsewhere on energy in buildings. He is presently on sabbatical leave
at
the University of Maryland, teaching a course on "the global
environment."
directions:
Going West on Riverside Fwy (91) from Orange County go
through
Corona and exit at Pierce Street; turn left onto Pierce and continue
approx
1.5 mile to La Sierra University main entrance; parking lots are
visible;
campus directory at kiosk
Going East on Riverside Fwy from San Bernardino go toward
wetsern
end of Riverside and exit at Magnolia; go to intersection of Magnolia
and
Pierce Street, and turn right onto Pierce; go approx 1.5 mile to La
Sierra
University main entrance; parking lots are visible; campus directory at
kiosk.