More on Radiation Risks-Letter to the Editor

[Judd Sills <sillsj@GAT.COM>]

Last week, an article from the Washington Post was posted
on the listserver for Radsafers.  The article was entitled
"Atomic Split:Data Recharge Debate on Low-Level Radiation
Risk."  This morning, the Washington Post has a letter to
the editor from our own Health Physics Community from the
well known, Ralph Lapp.  For those who care to follow this
line of interest, I have attached Mr. Lapp's letter for
your reading:
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Who's Afraid Of Atomic Radiation?
Tuesday, April 22 1997; Page A18
The Washington Post 




Joby Warrick [April 14] brings a realistic perspective to the health 
risk of atomic radiation. For almost a full half century, 120,000 
survivors of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombings have been 
studied for adverse health effects. Over this time period about 400 
"excess" cancer deaths have been observed and attributed to radiation 
exposure. That's less than one percent. The dominant cancer risk for the 
Japanese is due to smoking and diet. Atomic radiation is a mild 
carcinogen that simply should not incite fear.

Nuclear power workers, for example, need not fear daily exposure to 
atomic radiation. Their lifetime exposure is monitored and sums to less 
than 1 radiation unit (rem). Over 70 years of exposure to the natural 
radioactivity in our environment, each of us accumulates about 20 rem.

The truth about Hiroshima is not how many died from radiation effects 
but rather how few. Below the 20 rem exposure at Hiroshima the available 
data are blurred. There may be no effect at all. If there is one, it is 
very small

RALPH E. LAPP

Alexandria


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