STAR Symposium

[Steve Musolino <musolino@bnl.gov>]

There are my recollections on most of the speakers. A few of the
speakers not summarized were activists and they make impassioned
presentation that were political and not scientific.

Helen Caldicott – Introduced the program to the attendees and made it
very clear early in her diatribe of everything nuclear that health
physicists were dupes of management and do not act in the interest of
safety. (There was at least nine Health Physics Society members, eight
from the Greater NY Chapter members plus Otto Raabe.)

Alice Stweart – Contents that the Japanese studies are wrong because the
radiation causes early fatalities from non-cancer diseases in a
sensitive subset of the population. Therefore the standards we use today
need revision. This was one of the very few talks in the program that
was aligned with the topic and made an argument that defended the
hypothesis of the symposium.

Hal Morganstern – Discuss his study of the Rocketdyne workers but did
not propose how to apply his study to support or dispute the current
standards. Noteworthy is he has deleted the claim, which was made in the
draft version of the report that the risk was 6-8 time greater than the
current accepted values. His work has been submitted for formal peer
review and publication.

Eric Wright – Presented a study of irradiation of a mouse cells with one
alpha particle. The cells were then cloned and studied for many
generations. He shows effect in later generations of cells not
previously believed to be at risk, such that a “genetic instability” is
carried through generations. He did not claim to have found a link
between the phenomenon and health effects.

Steven Wing/David Richardson – conducted a study of 14,000 Oak Ridge
worker. A person was included in the study if they were monitored for 30
day or more (one badge). The study showed excess cancer mortality. No
dosimetry or controls were shown. So if a worker wore a badge for one
month and later died of cancer they appeared to have gotten counted.

Otto Rabbe – Presented his work on alpha irradiation of bone in beagle
dogs.

Greg Wilkinson – Presented results of studies of uranium minors. He did
not make it clear that the data was the same old stuff we know already
or something new. It did not appear new.

Asaf Durakovic – Professor of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine claims he
has diagnosed a small group of Gulf War veterans with kidney disease due
to uranium exposure. Durakovic did not present and data or urine
bioassay measurements. In the discussion period a urologist got up and
pointed out his diagnosis was wrong and Durakovic conceded he was wrong.

Richard Clapp – presented a study of morbidity near the Pilgrim plant.
He showed a “Sternglass-like” plot of infant mortality that except for
two consecutive years was less than the state average. On year the data
point was above the average and the next it was well below both
averages. He called his analysis technique “blipology” and thought the
high point may have significance and did not no how to interpret the
lower point. There were no error bars on the data and his report was
appear to be unpublished data and jus a report he wrote while working
for the State.

Myron Pollycove – Presented a data that supported the current estimates
of risk and he argued that low doses any even be protective.

Michio Kaku – Maintained that the use of Pu based batteries in space
probes is a risk to “millions” of people if an accident happens. He
equated the risk of a large-scale disaster with a booster rocket failure
and an errant trajectory during the fly-by resulting in a supersonic
re-entry. Kaku also make fun of the scientific objectives to study the
solar system.

Arjun Makhijani – Made one of the other few presentations that were
relevant to the topic. He showed data from Fernald where lung doses
exceed the 15 rem/yr standard. I spoke with him later and requested a
copy of the full report.

Bernie Goldstein – Decries a model for a “stakeholder base approach to
risk.”

Mavin Resikoff – Described how the transportation of nuclear waste and
MOX fuel presents great risks to society and a risk to democracy. His
last two slides were a schematic of a US and a Russian made anti-tank
missile launcher, implying a terrorist is going to fire one at a truck
containing rad material.

Steve Fishman- A geologist who believes that Yucca Mountain is not an
appropriate place for a High Level Waste disposal site.


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