Re: Re[3]: Radon therapy versus questionable medical uses -Reply

[RADPROJECT@aol.com]

On 98-10-19 10:53:02 EDT Ruth Weiner wrote: 

     <<Peanut butter is pretty far from ionizing radiation.  ...  I think we
should always be careful of      the "It's not as bad as...." arguments.>>

Some years ago [1980 time frame?] Dr. Bernie Cohen authored a very relevant
paper comparing ionizing radiation to the theoretical excess cancer mortality
of various other agents-- including aflatoxin in peanut butter. 5 mR was
equivalent to some few tablespoons of peanut butter.  

These kind of risk comparisons seem perfectly reasonable to me and may help
the general public understand that a small increment of ionizing radiation is
not the only cancer risk faced, or the major risk some would have them
believe.

Stewart Farber
Public Health Sciences
radproject@usa.net
************************************************************************
The RADSAFE Frequently Asked Questions list, archives and subscription
information can be accessed at http://www.ehs.uiuc.edu/~rad/radsafe.html