Letter to Newsweek

[Bernard L Cohen <blc+@pitt.edu>]

	I sent the following letter to Newsweek to supplement the other
letters some of you sent about inaccuracies in their article

Date: Tue, 19 Oct 1999 11:00:13 -0400 (EDT)
From: Bernard L Cohen <blc+@pitt.edu>
To: Letters@newsweek.com
Subject: Your article on "The next Chernobyl"

	I am very disappointed by the lack of perspective in your lengthy
article "The Next Chernobyl". It implies that every exposure to radiation
is a tragedy, ignoring the fact that all of us are constantly exposed to
radiation from natural sources, and millions of Americans are exposed to
more than ten times the national average due to radon gas in their homes
(Neighbors of Three Mile Island get more exposure from radon in their
homes every day than they got in total from the 1979 accident you
discuss).
	Your article also ignores the dangers of the principal
alternative to nuclear power, coal burning plants, which are killing many
thousands of Americans every year with their air pollution, whereas
U.S. nuclear power power plants have never killed anyone.There is no
mention of the fact that nuclear power avoids the "Global warming' and
"Acid rain" problems that are caused primarily by coal burning.
	Without this kind of perspective, how can your readers really
understand the situation?

Bernard L. Cohen
Professor of Physics and of Environmental and Occupational Health
University of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, PA 15260
Tel: (412)624-9245
Fax: (412)624-9163
e-mail: blc+@pitt.edu



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