COMMENTARY ON THE APPROPRIATE RADIATION LEVEL FOR EVACUATIONS

This commentary reviews the international radiation protection policy that resulted in the evacuation of more than 90,000 residents from areas near the Fukushima Daiichi NPS and the enormous expenditures to protect them against a hypothetical risk of cancer. The basis for the precautionary measures is shown to be invalid; the radiation level chosen for evacuation is not conservative. The actions caused unnecessary fear and suffering. An appropriate level for evacuation is recommended. Radical changes to the ICRP recommendations are long overdue

COMMENTARY ON FUKUSHIMA AND BENEFICIAL EFFECTS OF LOW RADIATION1

Approximately 160,000 people evacuated the area around the Fukushima Dai-ichi NPP shortly after it was damage by the earthquake and tsunami. The evacuation order applied to 70,000 of them, while the other 90,000 left voluntarily and returned soon afterward. After more than two years, most of the 70,000 are still not allowed to return to their homes. The 1100 disaster-related deaths caused by the evacuation order show that this pre- cautionary action, taken to minimize cancer risks, was not “conservative.” In this paper, recent studies are reviewed on the consequences of the radioactive releases and on the benefits of many medical treatments with low doses of radiation that were carried out until the 1950s, before the radiation scare was created. Recent research has shed light on the high rate of spontaneous double-strand breaks in DNA and the adaptive protections in cells, tissues and humans that are up-regulated by low radiation. These defences prevent, repair, remove and replace damage, from all causes including external agents. Cancer mortality is reduced. The ICRP’s concept of radiation risk is wrong. It should revert to its 1934 concept, which was a tolerance dose of 0.2 roentgen (r) per day based on more than 35 years of medical experience

REMEDY FOR RADIATION FEAR — DISCARD THE POLITICIZED SCIENCE

Seeking a remedy for the radiation fear in Japan, the author re-examined an article on radiation hormesis. It describes the background for this fear and evidence in the first UNSCEAR report of a reduction in leukemia of the Hiroshima survivors in the low dose zone. The data are plotted and dose-response models are drawn. While UNSCEAR suggested the extra leukemia incidence is proportional to radiation dose, the data are consistent with a hormetic J-shape and a threshold at about 100 rem (1 Sv). UNSCEAR data on lifespan reduction of mammals exposed continuously to gamma rays indicate a 2 gray/year threshold. This contradicts the conceptual basis for radiation protection and risk determination established in 1956-58. In this paper, beneficial effects and thresholds for harmful effects are discussed, and the biological mechanism is explained. The key point: the rate of DNA damage (double-strand breaks) caused by background radiation is 1000 times less than the endogenous (spontaneous) rate. It is the effect of radiation on an organism’s very powerful adaptive protection systems that determines the dose-response characteristic. Low radiation up-regulates the protection systems, while high radiation impairs these systems. The remedy for radiation fear is to expose and discard the politicized science

Investigation of Neurexin 2 as a Candidate for Parkinson's Disease

Biomedical Sciences: Molecular Biology and Human Genetic

Producing Molybdenum-99 in CANDU Reactors

Abstract This paper discusses the recent problems with Canadian supply of molybdenum-99 for medical diagnostic scanning. It proposes an alternate method that exploits the on-power refueling capability of CANDU reactors to produce large amounts of Mo-99. An extraction and refining plant near the used fuel bay of a multi-reactor station could process one standard fuel bundle per day (after irradiation for 5 days). This method avoids using enriched uranium. The plant might cost less than 50 million dollars and be constructed within several years. The radioactive residue would be managed in conjunction with the existing methods of used fuel management

Variability of Suspended-Sediment Concentration in the Connecticut River Estuary

Thesis advisor: Gail KinekeTurbidity maxima are areas of elevated suspended-sediment concentration commonly found at the head of the salt intrusion in partially-mixed estuaries. The suspended-sediment distribution in the Connecticut River estuary was examined to determine where turbidity maxima exist and how they form. Areas of enhanced suspended-sediment concentration were found to exist at all phases of the tide near the head of the salt intrusion as well as downstream of this point in deeper parts of the estuarine channel. These areas are locations where peaks in the longitudinal salinity gradient exist, suggesting the presence of a front, or zone of flow convergence. During flood conditions there is a layer of landward-flowing water in the middle of the water column that decelerates upon entering deep parts of the estuary; thus enhancing particle settling. During ebb conditions, stratification and therefore settling from surface waters is enhanced. The combination of processes acting throughout the tidal cycle focuses and, potentially, traps sediment in the deeper parts of the Connecticut River estuary.Thesis (BS) — Boston College, 2012.Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences.Discipline: College Honors Program.Discipline: Geology & Geophysics Honors Program.Discipline: Earth and Environmental Sciences