Dr. Robert Peter Gale and Eric Lax Help Demystify Radiation

In the wake of the accident at Fukushima, the world once again got a chance to know Dr. Robert Peter Gale. One of the world's leading authorities on the biological effects of radaition, Dr. Gale first came to prominence in the late 1980s when he coordinated medical and relief efforts for victims of the accident at Chernobyl.

And in the wake of Fukushima, the world turned once again to Dr. Gale when it came to rationally gauging the immediate and long-term health effects of the accident in Japan. Perhaps we should be grateful then that Dr. Gale, along with co-author Eric Lax, has just written a new book aimed at demystifying radiation and its potential health effects. Radiation: What It Is. What You Need to Know, was just published by KnopfDoubleday and is available at Amazon.com and bookstores nationwide. Here's a thumbnail review that appeared earlier today in the New York Times:

Dr. Gale, a leukemia expert who advised governments in the wake of the nuclear disasters at Chernobyl in Ukraine and Fukushima in Japan takes a measured look at the health risks of radiation. He and Mr. Lax, a medical writer explain how mild doses of background radiation may be harmless, while extreme levels can cause cancer. In a twist, Dr. Gale reveals that most of the increase in our exposure in the last half century is not because of nuclear weapons or power but because of medical diagnostic tools like X-rays and CT scans.

Looks like I've got something new to download onto my Kindle.

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