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ABC’s ‘20/20’ Tackles Radiation Myths

ABC reporter John Stossel featured radiation in his series “Myths, Lies and Downright Stupidity" in the May 12 installment of the news program “20/20.” Stossel refuted the myth that “radiation will kill you” by citing a growing number of researchers asserting that low doses of radiation actually may be beneficial to immune system performance and longevity.

Stossel discussed Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Chernobyl and Three Mile Island. In each case, he said, predictions about death or deformity rates turned out to be grossly inaccurate. Co-founder and former leader of Greenpeace Patrick Moore agreed.

“Not a single person is being killed in the nuclear industry, and people are wanting to ban it. It's pure scare tactics," Moore said.

“So next time someone scares you about radiation,” Stossel concluded, “remember that you are exposed to it all the time without harm, and some people even want more of it.”

UPDATE: There's a discussion going on an ABC message board about Stossel's report. One supporter of nuclear is relying on the facts to take on several anti-nukes about Chernobyl. So stop by and add your thoughts. If you want to read up on the subject first, here are some links:

Background info about radiation in general.
Background info on Chernobyl, including the latest United Nations report on the effects of Chernobyl.
Previous blog post on Chernobyl.

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Comments

Anonymous said…
Should we take this to mean that the US nuclear industry accepts the so-called hormesis theory that ionizing radiation below certain levels is good for you? IE, does the US industry reject the "linear, no threshold" hypothesis which is the basis for all regulation of the US nuclear industry? And does this hormesis perspective inform industry's decisions on radiation safety matters?

If not, why is NEI promoting this hypothesis?
Eric McErlain said…
We're not promoting anything here, just passing it along as a news item. And in any case, Stossel's point about how anti-nuclear groups have distorted the facts about Chernobyl -- something we've noted before -- still holds.
Anonymous said…
OK, I retract my use of the word "promote." But I'd still like to get an answer to my original questions.

Does the US industry reject the "linear, no threshold" hypothesis which is the basis for all regulation of the US nuclear industry?

And does this hormesis perspective inform industry's decisions on radiation safety matters?
Eric McErlain said…
If you can hang on a bit, I'll talk to my health physicist to give you a definitive answer on this question.
Anonymous said…
Asking for an "industry position" is a red herring. My experience in US nuclear industry leads me to believe that most professionals accept the LNT theory as a useful and adequate basis for radiological control programs and to implement the ALARA philosophy in a risk based program. However, I also believe that most professional do not believe that LNT is technically correct and that there is, indeed, a threshold. As a result use of the LNT approach to extrapolate number of fatalities from an event like Chernobyl is very overconservative.

Instinctively, most people know this. That is why no one ever calculates the number of radiation related fatalities from airline travel, medical x-rays or living in Denver, although the LNT allows this to be easily calculated.
Anonymous said…
Thank you Eric, I will check back and look forward to the reply.

"Asking for an "industry position" is a red herring."

Not at all. The NEI represents the US nuclear industry; I'm asking for the NEI's position on the hormesis theory, and whether that hypothesis is used in any way in the industry's radiation safety programs.

"most professional do not believe that LNT is technically correct and that there is, indeed, a threshold."

Then why do BEIR and UNSCEAR consistently reject this notion?
Brian Mays said…
BEIR and UNSCEAR do not exactly "reject this notion." The merely acknowledge that there is not enough evidence to demonstrate it conclusively.

The LNT theory sticks around because there is not enough conclusive evidence to prove that the theory is wrong. This does not mean, however, that there is conclusive evidence -- or any evidence at all, for that matter -- that the LNT theory is correct.

It all boils down to this: nobody credible is arguing that low levels of radiation are more harmful than the LNT theory; therefore, it is the most conservative approach. Thus, it is used to extrapolate theoretical fatalities, even though it's applicability to the real world is completely unknown.
Anonymous said…
Health effects at low dosages, if they exist, are so small that studies do not conclusively prove or disprove their existence. As I understand the BEIR and UNSCEAR positions, the inability of studies to prove this one way or another lead one to take a conservative position. Again, my understanding is that BEIR and UNSCEAR are primarily concerned with control of radiation exposure in the workplace and extrapolation of these positions to large scale exposure of the public is not appropriate.
Eric McErlain said…
Anonymous,

I think my friends in the nuclear industry have answered your question. In addition, I just ran into Ralph Andersen, our health physicist, and he said the following: Hormesis is an interesting theory and we continue to monitor it, but we need to see more science.
Eric McErlain said…
Also, the closest the industry has ever come to an official statement in this area was a WNA position paper published in March 2005 which NEI helped prepare.
Anonymous said…
Thanks everyone for the very informative updates. I guess we all need to stay tuned for further developments.

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