=======================Electronic Edition========================
RACHEL’S HAZARDOUS WASTE NEWS #184
—June 6, 1990—
News and resources for environmental justice.
——
Environmental Research Foundation
P.O. Box 5036, Annapolis, MD 21403
Fax (410) 263-8944; Internet: erf@igc.apc.org
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BAD NEWS ABOUT LOW-LEVEL RADIATION.
Radioactivity was first discovered in 1896, and its development
for medical purposes has been one of humanity’s proudest
achievements. By various means, the nucleus of an atom can be
made unstable and it becomes “radioactive.” Once something
becomes radioactive, it continuously gives off energy in small
packets or “rays.” These bundles of energy (called nuclear or
atomic radiation, or, more generally, ionizing radiation) have
many useful characteristics; for example, they can pass through
the human body and thus allow shadowy pictures of our bones to be
created on sensitized film; these are called “x-rays” and nearly
everyone in the U.S. has benefited from an x-ray at one time or
another. [The ionizing radiation from X-rays is produced by a
high-energy electric source, not by a radioactive source such as
uranium, which gives off ionizing radiation spontaneously and
continuously without any external source of power necessary.]
The penetrating power of ionizing radiation makes it useful but
also makes it dangerous. When radiation penetrates human tissue
(which is composed of billions of cells), the radiation pierces
the cells like a tiny but powerful bullet, disrupting the
structure of any cells that take a direct hit. Under certain
circumstances, which are still not understood, some disrupted
cells start multiplying without limit, and this is a condition
known as cancer. By direct observation of humans exposed to
radiation, it has been definitely proven that radiation causes
cancer in humans; only the exact mechanism of causation remains
in doubt.
Americans began creating radioactive wastes shortly after 1896,
but no special precautions were taken for handling such wastes
until 1954 when the federal Atomic Energy Commission began
licensing all radioactive materials. During this period of
neglect, many places, including large sections of whole states
(for example, New Mexico and Colorado, where uranium mining
occurred), were contaminated with low-level radioactive trash.
As radiation became more widely used in industry and even in
consumer products, the public has become concerned about possible
hazards and about the carelessness of the people who handled and
regulated radioactivity in the past. Since tighter restrictions
on radioactivity could result from such concerns, and since
tighter restrictions would inevitably cost money, people who
profit from radioactivity have mounted a campaign in recent years
to convince the world that there is some “safe” dose of ionizing
radiation. These people argue that there is a “threshold” dose of
radiation below which no damage occurs, and above which someone
might be hurt. Existence or non-existence of this threshold is
the key point in the radiation debate today. Pictures explain
this story best.
Figure 1 represents the “threshold theory.” Look across the
bottom of Figure 1. As you move your eye from left to right, the
numbers represent an increasing dose of radiation. However, until
you get to a dose of 4, the line doesn’t begin to move upward.
When you get to 4 or more, the line moves upward, representing an
increase in the number of cancers being caused by the dose. Four
represents the “threshold dose” in Figure 1. If Figure 1
accurately represents reality, it means you could give everyone a
small dose of radioactivity without any ill effects whatsoever.
Many people in the nuclear power industry favor this theory.
Figure 2 shows a competing theory of how radiation affects
people. It is called the “linear theory” and it indicates that
any dose of radiation causes some consequences. Notice that, as
soon as you move your eye to the right across the bottom of the
figure, the line rises, indicating some cancer effect. The only
way to get zero cancer effect is to administer zero dose. (This
does not mean that a low dose will cause cancer in everyone who
receives the dose; it means that a low dose administered to a
large group of people will cause cancer in some number of those
people–but everyone in the group is at risk.) This is the theory
that health authorities have used to set today’s allowable limits
for radiation exposure.
Figure 3 represents a different theory (called the “supra-linear”
theory” of how radiation affects humans. It shows that low doses
cause greater damage, per unit of dose, than do high doses. For
example, look across the bottom of Figure 3 until you get to a
dose of 4; you can see that this causes a cancer effect of
between 6 and 7. But if you move your eye to the left, to a dose
of 2, the cancer effect has not been cut in half; it is still up
around 5. The “supra-linear theory” indicates that low levels of
radiation will cause more cancers, per unit of radiation, that
will large doses. This view of radiation chills the hearts of
those who profit from using radioactivity because it means “low
level” radioactive waste is more dangerous than previously
thought, and must be handled with greater care (and therefore
greater expense).
Two new books have just been published showing, from studies of
humans, that the supra-linear theory is the one that best
represents the actual facts. We will explore the human
consequences of this information as our series continues.
Get: John Gofman, RADIATION-INDUCED CANCER FROM LOW-DOSE
EXPOSURE: AN INDEPENDENT ANALYSIS (San Francisco, CA: Committee
for Nuclear Responsibility [P.O. Box 11207, San Francisco, CA
94101. First copy, $29.95; $15.00 each copy thereafter.], 1990).
This is one of the most careful and thorough pieces of technical
writing we have ever read.
And: Jay M. Gould and Benjamin A. Goldman, DEADLY DECEIT:
LOW-LEVEL RADIATION, HIGH LEVEL COVERUP (New York: Four Walls
Eight Windows Press [P.O. Box 548, Village Station, New York, NY
10015; $19.95]), 1990. A shocking revelation of U.S. government
efforts to hide evidence of human birth defects caused by
low-level radiation.
===================================== Increasing Number of Cancers (arbitrary units) . 12 * . * 10 * . Figure 1: Threshold * 8 Theory * . * 6 * . * 4 * . * 2 * . * 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 ===================================== Increasing radiation dose --> ===================================== Increasing Number of Cancers (arbitrary units) . 12 * . * 10 Figure 2: * . Linear * 8 Theory * . * 6 * . * 4 * . * 2 * . * 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 ===================================== Increasing radiation dose --> ===================================== Increasing Number of Cancers (arbitrary units) . 12 . Figure 3 * 10 Supra-linear * . Theory * 8 * . * 6 * . 4 * . 2 * . * 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 ===================================== Increasing radiation dose -->
–Peter Montague, Ph.D.
Descriptor terms: cancer; radiation; supra-linear theory; linear
theory; threshold theory; jay gould; john gofman; ben goldman;
ionizing radiation; risk assessment; health effects; aec;
uranium; nm; co;