Re: EPA: Types of Radiation

["Ryan D. Alexander" <ryanalex@lamar.colostate.edu>]

Colleagues:

I whole-heartedly agree with B. Cedervall's comments concerning the issues
with radiation sematics when communicating our science to the "layperson":

>Browsing through the "educational" EPA page about radiation
>http://www.epa.gov/radiation/students/
>one finds "Radioactive alpha particles" and "Radioactive beta particles"...

As a husband of a middle school science teacher, I'm just appalled by my
wife's stories and examples of what I call "scientific ignorance and
mis-information" passed on by government agencies, textbook authors, and
parents to the children she's trying to teach.

Yes I know I'm preaching to the choir here, but it is imparitive for us to
communicate our science in the clearest sense if we ever hope to extinguish
this "anti-radiation" fire burning in the US today...

Oh, & also according to the EPA, these "radioactive alpha particles" are
also "sub-atomic" particles... When did the EPA plan to reveal this finding
to the high energy physics community???

** Just my comcerns & ramblings **
-- Ryan
=========================================================
Ryan D. Alexander, CSU-LBNL NSCORT Ph.D. Trainee
Colorado State Univ., Dept. of Radiological Health Sciences
E-mail: ryanalex@lamar.colostate.edu
Office Ph: 970-491-0520, Dept. Fax: 970-491-0623
=========================================================


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