Re: Frontline Comment

[JMUCKERHEIDE@delphi.com]

It was erroneous and misleading for the show to blame the media. Fear of
radiation is the result of extreme gov't regulatory and program positions. The 
media only reports them. 

Until the HPS Position Statement that the data shows no justification to
calculate risks below 5 rem/year, the only gov't position is that any
radiation is harmful. EPA stated Monday afternoon in an open meeting with the
NRC that NRCs standards would cause (something like) a 1 in 250 additional
cancers over the EPA standards. NCRP and BEIR are committed to foster this
perception in the absense of receiving a dose of scientific integrity.
Richardson for the EPA, at the Risk Conference in Washington last week, said
again that the science would make no difference, EPA will not abandon
linearity. EPA will continue to misrepresent the radon data (its own data, not 
just Bernie Cohen's more rigorous, comprehensive, and uncontroverted analysis) 
in order to promulgate fear of radiation, including the secret and
unscientific promulgation of the BEIR VI report now going on. 

DOE suppressed the evidence of the Shipyard Workers Study, including its
inclusion in the IARC study; and Hanford gets $100 million on "dose
reconstruction" and "health effects research" from the release of (8-day)
I-131 designed with a "public outreach program" with the sole purposeof
promulgating public fear. After all, Hanford gets $1.5 Billion/year to "clean
up" the site. They tell the Congress that they are protecting Oregon, without
pointing out that r'vty down the river is millions of times less than the
operating site, and billions of times less than natural r'vty down the river. 

Don't blame the media for simply reporting what our appointed gov't officials
and "scientists" tell them is truth. 

If you want to bash ignorance, we can start closer to home :-)

Regards, Jim Muckerheide
jmuckerheide@delphi.com

> This show demonstrated the ignorance of the general public in regards to
> radiation safety, and more importantly the POWER of that ignorance.  In
> most cases it would seem to be a "fear of the unknown".  The media has
> produced this deeply embedded fear of nuclear technology, as "EXPERTS" in
> the field, I believe it is our responsibility to eradicate those fears
> through education.
> 
> Just my unsolicited opinion,
> 
> Jonathan Dyer
> Radiation Safety Specialist
> Brown University
> 
> >I couldn't believe the woman who was anti-nuclear stating that "natural"
> >radiation wasn't the problem, it was the "manmade" stuff that she was
> >concerned about.
> >
> >How many more of them are out there who don't understand?