Times Article

[Al Tschaeche <antatnsu@pacbell.net>]

Here is the text of the Times article.  Not too shabby!  Al Tschaeche
antatnsu@pacbell.net

Small doses of radiation can improve health 

                  by Steve Connor 
                Science Correspondent 


   SMALL doses of radiation are harmless and may do you
   some good. Several studies on people who have suffered
   radioactive exposure, ranging from nuclear workers to
   atomic-bomb survivors, are beginning to support the idea
   that low doses may improve the body's ability to resist fatal
   disease. 

   The findings challenge the conventional wisdom that no
   dose is safe ­ a view that has led to the tightening of
   regulations governing radiation exposure to the public. 

   Among the scientific bodies reappraising radiation risks are
   the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, which
   has set up an inquiry into the latest research, and the Health
   Physics Society, representing radiation experts in the
   United States, which has rejected the established belief that
   even the smallest radiation doses are harmful. 

   The reversal is based on studies of people exposed to
   varying levels of radiation. They include: 

     Survivors of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs in
   1945. Those nearest the blasts suffered higher levels of
   cancers but those further away, who received much lower
   doses, appear to be living longer than Japanese who
   received none. 

     American shipyard workers who handled nuclear
   material. Those who experienced small radiation doses
   appeared to have no ill-effects and may be better off than
   non-exposed workers. 

     Canadian women who had mild radiation exposures in
   hospital suffer a breast-cancer rate two-thirds the national
   average. 

     Inhabitants of parts of the world where there are larger
   than normal levels of natural background radiation showed
   no significant increases in cancer rates and frequently live
   longer than people elsewhere. 

   Professor Myron Pollycove, a supporter of the low-dose
   "heresy" and visiting medical fellow at the American
   government's Nuclear Regulatory Commission which
   oversees all uses of radioactivity, said the evidence for
   health benefits was overwhelming. 

   He supported the "hormesis" theory to explain
   improvements in health. The idea is that small levels of
   radioactivity can stimulate the machinery of a cell dedicated
   to mending damage to its genetic material. "We have
   grown up in a world of natural radiation and low doses
   stimulate our cells to handle mutations in huge numbers.
   When radiation increases, it acts like exercise to make our
   cells function even better," he said. 

   Not all scientists are happy with what they see as a
   distortion of the complicated data. In private they even
   suggest the hormesis theory is being hijacked by the
   nuclear industry which is concerned about the costs of
   implementing tougher standards on radiation exposure
   levels. 

   Dale Preston, head of statistics at the Radiation Effects
   Research Foundation in Hiroshima, said that although some
   limited research suggested a possible benefit, the bulk of
   the data did not. 

   "Our own data on 90,000 survivors suggests low doses
   can cause cancer, although the probability is very small.
   Since cancer and leukaemia risks are increased in
   low-dose survivors and there is no evidence of a
   radiation-related decrease in non-cancer risks, it is quite
   unlikely that low-dose survivors are outliving their peers,"
   he said.