RE: Radon in the News -Reply

[BRZGV@CCMAIL.CECO.COM (Glen Vickers)]

Anyone who knows anything would have to agree with your thoughts.  I guess at
the time, someone wanted a "risk number" and that was probably the best data
point with significant exposure that was available.  I would think that more
accurate risk assessments would reduce the risk from radon, but trying to
convince others that radon isn't as dangerous as once thought might be difficult
to do.  It  just goes against human nature.  People tend to believe bad news,
but often times become suspicious when something sounds too good to be true.
Politicians and persons on regulatory boards would probably feel uncomfortable
changing an assigned risk to a less conservative value.

Doesn't this seem analogous to the Linear-no-threshold model?...  I thought
consistency was always supposed to be a good thing...

Sincerely,
Glen

-----Original Message-----
From:     Michael S Ford <MFORD@pantex.com> at INTERNET
Sent:     Wednesday, September 16, 1998 12:25 PM
To:     Multiple recipients of list <radsafe@romulus.ehs.uiuc.edu> at INTERNET
Subject:     Radon in the News -Reply

Since I'm feeling *particularly* dense today, would someone from
radon community please explain to me how radon has been
singled out as the only causative agent for lung cancer deaths in U
miners when:

1.  At the time of the studies (beginning circa 1875 to 1960's), U
miners did not (and still don't for the most part) wear respirators.

2.  If they did not wear respirators, the were then exposed to U dust,
other types of ore dust, exhaust fumes with known carcinogens and
other sundry harmful agents.

I asked this of folks in the US Mine Safety and Health
Administration following their recent Federal Register release on
radon exposure records and got no response whatsoever to my
query.  Hmmmm....

Thanks for getting me spun up, Andy!  ;-)
v/r
Michael
*************************
Michael S. Ford, CHP
Texas Radiation Advisory Board
Address:
Radiation Safety Department
Battelle Pantex
Amarillo, TX
806.477.5727 phone
806.477.4198 fax
mford@pantex.com
*************************
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