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Doses from 1950s Fallout in Idaho



A several column article headlined "In Idaho, Anger over 1950's Nuclear
Tests", replete with prominent photos of two persons whose thyroids were
removed in 1951 and 1977 respectively, appeared in today's (8/13) New York
Times. Although it is bylined by a Times reporter, I suspect that similar
articles may appear in other newspapers.
Filed at Challis on 8/6 by James Brooke, it consists principally of personal
reactions to the NCI study which, according to the article, "was in the
center of the region most contaminated by radioactive iodine" from the 1950s
tests. Among the few quantitative data in the article are that according to
the NCI study "of 23 counties where the average thyroid doses were 9 rads or
more, 5 were in Idaho and 14 in Montana". In the Idaho counties, "average
thyroid doses to people ranged from 13 to 16 rads. Some children may have
received 100 rads". 

The article goes on to state that NCI Director Dr.Richard Klauner said data
on thyroid cancers often dod not correlate with fallout exposure. The report
also states "In a further complication, some studies indicate that exposure
to low levels of radiation could actually be beneficial to health.  (It
seems to me that we have some cognitive dissonance between these cautions
and the general tone of the article, but at least it seems to reflect some
balance).