RE: Leukemia in Astronauts

["CHASE,VINCE AD BIPUS" <vchase@bi-pharm.com>]

I am troubled by the Pavlovian responses to this thread.  Many
responders seem to have forgotten that all the volunteers for the
Mercury space program were fighter pilots and/or test pilots.  As such,
they were exposed for many years to a variety of fuels, chemicals,
rubbers and materials that we now know to be carcinogenic long before
they entered the Mercury program.  And let's not forget that some of
these guys were smokers, too.  How many times a week did they fill up
those commemorative Zippo lighters with everybody's favorite carcinogen,
benzene? 

My point... in ignoring the pre-space and ground-bound history of Alan
Shepard, or any astronaut, while focusing on the dose received during
space travel tends to designate space radiation as a major leukemia
inducer in astronauts.  This is neither "reasonable" nor "very
scientific".  It points to an almost unhealthy obsession to assign a
specific causation before considering history, all relevant facts and
alternative inducers.  The same obsession that we, as scientists,
disdain in the general public.

Regards,
Vince Chase
Radiation Safety Officer
vchase@bi-pharm.com
Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals
The opinions expressed here are those
of the author and do not represent the
opinions, policies or practices of
Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals.