Professor Wade Allison recently gave a lecture to his Oxford colleagues titled “How dangerous is ionizing radiation”. He has concluded that excessively restrictive rules are more dangerous than the radiation. On Wednesday, 27 December, I woke up bright and early so that I could have a chat with Professor Wade Allison, who teaches physics at […]
Health Effects
Atomic Show #21 – Interview with Mary Mycio, author of Wormwood Forest: A Natural History of Chernobyl
On Atomic Show episode 21, I interviewed Mary Mycio, the author of Wormwood Forest: A Natural History of Chernobyl. The book is fascinating, and as expected, Mary has some unique views on the use of nuclear power and on the ability of nature to adapt to radioactivity. Please go and check out the interview! Podcast: […]
Health Effects of Low Level Radiation: When will we acknowledge the reality?
Health Effects of Low Level Radiation: When will we acknowledge the reality?
Dr. Zbigniew Jaworowski – CHERNOBYL: THE FEAR OF THE UNKNOWN?
Zbigniew Jaworowski (Professor Emeritus of the Central Laboratory for Radiological Protection, Warsaw Poland) has written an excellent column titled Chernobyl: The Fear of the Unknown? It was commissioned by a group that received the draft from Dr. Jaworowski in February, 2006 and then took so long to review it that they missed the deadlines imposed […]
Atomic Guests: CHERNOBYL: THE FEAR OF THE UNKNOWN?
For twenty years the drama of the Chernobyl accident at the end of April 1986 has persisted. Vivid worldwide in the memory of the public, even now it affects millions in Belarus, Russia and Ukraine. On the night of 25-26 April 1986, an enormous quantity of radioactive dust was released into the air from the […]
A Report on the RSH Symposium on the Medical Benefits of Low Dose Radiation
Reprinted with permission of the author by Dr. Jerry Cuttler, Cuttler and Associates A symposium on this subject was held in Washington, November 15, near the ANS/ENS Winter Meeting. It was sponsored by Radiation, Science and Health (RSH), an international non-profit organization, and the Center for Nuclear Technology and Society at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), […]
Chernobyl Accident: Advice and Sources
Here is our best advice in case of a reactor accident that releases large amounts of radioactive material. If there is evidence of increased radioactivity in the air, stay indoors and breath filtered air. Forced evacuations make taking this action far more difficult. It is worth the effort to take sensible precautions against inhaling or […]
Chernobyl Health Effects: Best Available Data
The health effects of the accident at Chernobyl have been the subject of numerous intensive studies. Here are the results. Two people died during the accident itself; one was killed by the explosion and one suffered a heart attack. A third person died early the next morning from thermal burns (he was scalded by steam.) […]
Long Term Exposure: Health Studies of Nuclear Pros
Large populations of people have been exposed to carefully measured quantities of radiation in their professional work with nuclear power plant systems. These long term exposures to low level radiation offer a unique opportunity to determine what risk, if any, this new industry has added to the general level of risk in people’s daily lives. […]
Learning from the Past: Lesson from Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Following the end of World War II, an extensive study was performed on the survivors of the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The study involved 91,230 people; 37,173 of whom were far enough from the explosion that they received virtually no radiation. This group served as the control group because their living environment […]
Letter from the Editor: Exaggerated Truths are Falsehoods
The dose makes the poison. Almost anything can be a poison or health hazard if the dose is high enough. Most people are aware of this idea and use it in their daily decision making. Unfortunately, people do not often question just what constitutes a small, harmless dose and what constitutes a poisonous dose. Over […]
How Deadly is Plutonium?
Rarely is the word “plutonium” published in a major news source without the adjective “deadly” nearby. Ralph Nader, noted activist and lawyer, once claimed that plutonium was “the most toxic substance known to mankind.” Hundreds of millions of dollars are being spent each year in the United States doing studies of the characteristics of a […]
