RE: Radiation damage to immune system?

["Björn Cedervall" <bjorn_cedervall@hotmail.com>]

>I would be suspicious of any title that includes "Atomic ... Legacy." 
>I personally never heard of the guy, though.

I made a quick search in Medline and saw a few hits. The two copy-pasted 
texts below indicate that there may be reason to look closer at the 
Mangano stuff. To me it seems like one of these "collecting data 
according to ones interests and points of view"... (clearly my own 
thoughts).
Noticed the "NY 11215" in Brooklyn. Is there really an institution there 
and if so - which one? Or in other words - what does the "Radiation and 
Public Health Project" stand for? (sponsor?)

bjorn_cedervall@hotmail.com
-------------------------
Int J Health Serv 1995;25(2):333-44; discussion 345-9 
Comments on "Cancer Mortality near Oak Ridge, Tennessee".
Sharpe CM
Tennessee Medical Management, Inc., Oak Ridge 37830, USA. 

A recent article by Joseph Mangano concluded that changes in cancer 
mortality near Oak Ridge (Anderson County) in Tennessee over a 40-year 
period (1950-1989) suggest an increase in cancer deaths linked to 
radiation contamination. These conclusions are not supported by 
available, representative data.
In his analysis, Mangano selected for comparison two three-year periods 
(1950-1952 and 1987-1989) that are not representative of the entire 40 
years. An analysis by decade of the 42-year period from 1950 to 1991, 
using U.S. mortality rates from the National Center for Health 
Statistics and Tennessee mortality rates from the NCHS and the Tennessee 
Health Department, shows that the relation between expected
and actual cancer deaths for the white population of Anderson County 
does not differ from that for the State of Tennessee. In addition, 
changes in methods of reporting death statistics during the 40-year 
period invalidate any attempt to compare current cause-specific 
mortality data (such as cancer deaths) with data from the 1950s. 
Relevant comparisons that can be made for the period 1970-1991 again 
show that cancer deaths for whites in Anderson County have been 
statistically equivalent to the expected rates. 
----------------------------------------------
Eur J Cancer Prev 1996 Feb;5(1):75-81 
A post-Chernobyl rise in thyroid cancer in Connecticut, USA.
Mangano JJ
Radiation and Public Health Project, Brooklyn, NY 11215, USA. 

Recent analyses of children in Belarus and the Ukraine are the first to 
document large numbers of excess thyroid cancer cases only 4 years after 
exposure to radiation. In Connecticut (USA), a thyroid
cancer increase of a much smaller magnitude occurred in 1990-93, 4-7 
years after the Chernobyl accident, for both children and adults. 
Similar changes also occurred in the states of Iowa and Utah,
which like Connecticut were exposed to low levels of radionuclides from 
Chernobyl fallout during May and June of 1986. Historical data from 
Connecticut also reveal substantial increases in thyroid
cancer incidence about 5 years after large releases of iodine-131 from 
distant US nuclear weapons plants, after the largest atmospheric US 
atomic weapons tests in Nevada, and after substantial releases
of iodine-131 from the Millstone nuclear power plant in Connecticut. 
Further analysis of this apparent 5-year latency period will enhance 
understanding of ionizing radiation's effects on thyroid function
and on human health in general. 

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