In a recent ANS Nuclear Cafe post, I mentioned the radiation hormeis theory proposed more than three decades ago by Dr. Don Luckey, a biochemist and nutritionist who wrote a book in 1980 titled Hormesis With Ionizing Radiation. According to Dr. Luckey and a number of other researchers in the field, a small dose of…
Yesterday, I received a copy of a letter from Ted Rockwell, a member of the New York Academy of Sciences (NYAS), to the leaders of that organization. After a year of counseling others to be patient while he works through channels, he has decided to take off the gloves and directly challenge the decision processes…
This is a guest post by Ted Rockwell. He wrote it in 1998, but the information and opinions remain valid today. The words between the lines below are Ted’s. Begin guest post FEAR OF RADIATION IS KILLING PEOPLE AND ENDANGERING THE PLANET TOO Theodore Rockwell MPR Associates, Inc., U.S.A. ABSTRACT We are permitting tens of…
An old friend shared this classic speech on a nuclear energy focused email list. I tracked down Margaret Maxey and obtained her permission to reprint it for you. The thoughts expressed are too important to keep hidden in private emails. Begin guest post. The LNT Hypothesis: Ethical Travesties Presenter: Margaret N. Maxey, Ph.D. Professor, Biomedical…
Steve Kirsch is Silicon Valley entrepreneur (inventor of the optical mouse) and philanthropist who was once strongly opposed to the use of nuclear energy. About three years ago, he began seriously studying the technology and has completely changed his mind. I spoke with him on the Atomic Show in December 2008 and have maintained contact…
The overreaction and stoked fears about the events at Fukushima continues. One month ago today, I wrote an article titled Nuclear plant issues in Japan are the least of their worries that exposed my ignorance of the differences between various kinds of containment designs and was a bit too optimistic about the eventual releases of…
With each passing day, I gain a greater measure of respect for the hard headed rationality with which George Monbiot approaches controversial topics. He was a long time opponent of the use of nuclear energy, but began a personal journey of discovery several years ago as a result of his search for real solutions to…
My friends who are naval aviators have a saying that seems appropriate here – “tis easier to seek forgiveness than to ask permission.” For the past couple of days, I have been trying to ask permission to publish the below speech text, but have been unable to make contact with the originator. I will keep…
There are times when a discussion turns from somewhat painful to entertaining theater. This conversation between George Monbiot and Helen Caldicott, featured on the March 31, 2011 edition of Democracy Now! entered that realm. Update: (Posted at 0500 on April 1, 2011) After some overnight thought, I realized that I needed to add some more…
There is no doubt that ionizing radiation at high enough levels can cause illness or even death. It is, after all, a form of energy that has the ability to do work. Anything that can do work and move physical objects – including tiny physical objects like chromosomes – can also do damage. However, since…
In December of 2009, the Annals New York Academy of Sciences provided publication services for a book titled Chernobyl: Consequences of the Catastrophe for People and the Environment. Here is how the book is described on a web page with the HTML title of Chernobyl | The New York Academy of Sciences: (The HTML title…
Ted Rockwell, Michael Stuart, Robert Margolis and Rod Adams discuss the Linear, No Threshold radiation dose assumption, the political controversy that it has generated, the costs it imposes and the people who think of the costs as a valued revenue stream. There is an assumption that underlies most of the world’s radiation protection standards called…