The current practice for controlling ionizing radiation exposures is ALARA – (As Low As Reasonably Achievable). This practice is based on acceptance of the 1950s vintage assertion that all exposure to radiation, down to a single low energy gamma ray, carries a greater than zero probability of causing a genetic mutation that might result in […]
Health Effects
Nobel Prize winner Dr. Rosalyn Yalow, nuclear medicine pioneer and fierce critic of “no safe dose” myth
For International Women’s Day, we’d like to honor a pioneering medical physicist who developed one of the most important medical tools still in use today – radioimmunoassay. Dr. Rosalyn Yalow was a fearless pioneer in the medical physics profession. In 1977, she shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for her contributions in developing […]
Dear Scott Pruitt – Please establish modern scientific basis for radiation regulations
Scientists for Accurate Radiation Information (SARI) recently delivered a petition to Scott Pruitt, the new Administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The letter, signed by 34 members or associate members of SARI, requests that Mr. Pruitt direct his Agency to revise the basis of risk-based radiation regulations. SARI members believe that regulations should be […]
Value of low dose radiation research ignored by DOE Office of Science managers
The first installment of this series, Inconvenient Low Dose Radiation Science Axed Under Obama Administration, described actions taken by Department of Energy (DOE) managers to ensure that the Low Dose Radiation Research Program that they had eliminated from their budget remained dead. They planned to prevent information about the program’s successes and future opportunities from […]
DOE execs killed respected science program studying radiation health effects. Fired PM who tried to protect science
Senior Department of Energy executives, several of whom were “Acting” Obama Administration appointees in roles that normally require Senate advice and consent, made decisions that eliminated unique research into the biological effects of low dose radiation in the United States. Early research results from the program are arguably sufficient to support decisions with globally important […]
Nuclear highlights of Rick Perry’s confirmation hearing plus a suggested action
The Senate Energy and Environment committee, chaired by Senator Lisa Murkowski, held a confirmation hearing yesterday for former Texas Governor Rick Perry, the Trump Administration nominee for Secretary of Energy. Sam Britton, the nuclear waste specialist from the Bipartisan Policy Center, produced a valuable resource by watching the full hearing and producing a series of […]
Journal of Nuclear Medicine article: Fear of medical radiation is based on bad science
Radiology and nuclear medicine subject matter experts have published an article in the January 2017 issue of The Journal of Nuclear Medicine that provides numerous reasons why people should never worry about properly controlled radiation doses used in medical imaging. The doses used are many times lower than the lowest dose at which harm might […]
Debating validity and effects of assumption that all radiation adds risk
Medical Physics recently hosted a point/counterpoint debate about the effects of assuming that all radiation carries a risk that justifies application of the ALARA (As Low As Reasonably Achievable) principle. Here is an overview of the debate proposition. The ALARA (As Low As Reasonably Achievable) principle is based upon the assumption that low doses of […]
Giant new cover for Chernobyl is an engineering marvel – and a monumental waste of money
A couple of days ago, one of the largest movable structures ever built was rolled into place to surround Chernobyl Unit 4, the infamous power plant in Ukraine. That plant was destroyed more than 30 years ago when it suffered a steam explosion and fire after the operators violated a number of operating procedures with […]
Change at EPA could reduce the high cost of nuclear energy & improve grid cleanliness
During a recent conversation with a successful career employee of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), the topic of radiation protection limits came up. He reminded me that the NRC’s role in radiation protection is limited to enforcing the standards that are set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). In light of President-elect Trump’s statements about […]
Can Radiation from CT scans help patients suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease?
Computed tomography (CT) scans may be able do more than just take high resolution pictures inside human bodies. They might provide a useful treatment modality for certain neurodegenerative diseases. A recently published case report suggests that the adaptive response of a human immune system stimulated by a short series of standard, painless, simple to administer […]
You’ve been told lies. Low dose radiation isn’t harmful. It can improve health
Biological Theory has published the equivalent of a “bunker buster” salvo in a decades-long war of words between scientists. On one side are people who believe that there is no safe dose of radiation. They assert that radiation protection regulations should continue using a linear, no threshold model. The other side includes those who say […]
