Both the great Truths and the great Falsehoods of the twentieth century lie hidden in the arcane, widely inaccessible, and seemingly mundane domain of the radiation sciences

Thursday, November 11, 2010

The Trial of the Cult of Nuclearists: EXHIBIT F continued


What follows is the continuation, in serial form, of a central chapter from my book A Primer in the Art of Deception: The Cult of Nuclearists, Uranium Weapons and Fraudulent Science.



EXHIBIT F continued:




Further cracks in the ICRP barricade against truth have surfaced as a result of research conducted on nuclear workers. The ECRR mentions a study conducted by Roman et al. of prostate cancer risk in nuclear workers who were monitored for internal contamination. Results suggested an error of up to 1000-fold in the ICRP model for this disease. The CERRIE Minority Report cites a study by Beral et al. of prostate cancer in UKAEA workers, which provided evidence that the risk factors for a number of radionuclides including zinc-65 and tritium were in error by at least three orders of magnitude. The Report also mentions in passing a number of other studies of nuclear workers that revealed greater numbers of cancer than those predicted by the ICRP risk factors. These were conducted by Carpenter et al. [1], 1998; Muirhead et al. [2], 1999; Draper et al. [3], 1997; and Omar et al. [4], 1999. Of these studies, the CERRIE Minority makes an interesting observation: “Many of these effects in nuclear workers have been discounted by the authors on the basis of their failure to conform with a linear dose response relationship.” This is truly startling. Rather than trust the veracity of their data, researchers will discount findings that are in violation of established dogma, never questioning that the dogma itself might be based on faulty premises. In the case of low levels of internal contamination, as this work has attempted to demonstrate, there is no evidentiary basis for the belief that biological effect is linearly related to the quantity of energy deposited in tissue.



Bibliography


[1} Carpenter L.M., Higgins C.D., Douglas A.J., Maconochie N.E.S., Omar R.Z., Fraser P., Beral V., Smith P.G. Cancer Mortality in Relation to Monitoring for Radionuclide Exposure in Three Nuclear Industry Workforces. British Journal of Cancer. 1998; 78(9):1224-1232.


{2] Muirhead C.R., Goodill A.A., Haylock R.G., Vokes J., Little M.P., Jackson D.A., O’Hagan J.A., Thomas J.M., Kendall G.M., Silk T.J., Bingham D., Berridge G.L. Occupational Radiation Exposure and Mortality: Second Analysis of the National Registry for Radiation Workers. Journal of Radiological Protection. 1999; 19:3-26.


[3] Draper G.J., Little M.P., Sorahan T., et al. Cancer in the Offspring of Radiation Workers-- A Record Linkage Study. NRPB R298. Chilton: NRPB; 1997.


[4] Omar R.Z., Barber J.A., Smith P.G. Cancer Mortality and Morbidity among Plutonium Workers at the Sellafield Plant of British Nuclear Fuels. British Journal of Cancer. 1999; 79:1288-1301.