Radiation, Science, and Health
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Dr. John Cameron
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Is Radiation an Essential Trace
Energy?
by John Cameron, Ph.D.,
Newsletter of the Forum on Science & Society, of the American Physical Society,
October 2001
Radiation protection policy assumes the risk of a
radiation-induced cancer is linearly proportional to the dose: the linear, no-threshold
(LNT) model of radiation risk. No human data support this assumption for a short-term dose
below 0.2 Gy. If there is a threshold at 0.2 Gy (and much larger for low dose-rate
radiation) or benefits from the low dose-rate radiation received by many workers, billions
of dollars can be saved annually in the U.S. alone.
Two little known peer-reviewed human radiation studies strongly
support the hypothesis that ionizing radiation stimulates the immune system. The U.S.
National Council for Radiation Protection and Measurements (NCRP), has ignored these data,
and voluminous confirmatory data, in providing guidance on health effects of
radiation to the U.S. Congress and government agencies. These data suggest the need for
research on the benefits of low dose radiation. Currently, radiation research concentrates
on known cancer risks at large doses.
The U.S. Gulf States have higher cancer death rates, with much
lower background radiation, compared to the Rocky Mountain states. I suggest they have a
radiation deficiency. I propose a double-blind study using increased radiation to
stimulate the immune systems of senior citizens in the Gulf States. A beneficial result
would be quickly and easily apparent.
The idea that radiation is beneficial is not new. For centuries,
millions of people have visited health spas, where kings and emperors have built castles
and elaborate baths, which we now know to have high natural radiation levels. There
is an extensive literature on radiation health and medical benefits. (Luckey 1980; 1991;
RSH 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001)
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