The below-mentioned article on "Radiation Risk and Ethics" looks 
     interesting and I'll try to get a copy.  However, I believe that 
     some people have a fear of radiation (for whatever reason) 
     similar to fear of heights, flying, open spaces, etc. and that 
     fear is not going to be dispelled by education or establishment 
     science.  Does anyone out there (and this may not be the right 
     forum) have any insight or papers on the genesis of radiophobia?  
     I think it is a psychological manifestation that is not going to 
     go away, and is not necessarily driven by activists who use fear 
     of radiation for other purposes.  In other words, no matter what 
     research tells us about the efficiency of DNA repair and the 
     statistics of low-dose epidemiology, some folks are never going 
     to accept human-imposed radiation.  Any thoughts?
     
     Eric Goldin
     <[log in to unmask]>




Dear Colleagues
  "Radiation Risk and Ethics" is the title of a new
informative article on the radiophobia and the health 
effects of low-level ionizing radiation.
"However, the fear of small doses, such as those absorbed 
from the Chernobyl fallout by the inhibitants of central and 
western Europe, is about as justified as the fear that
an atmosphere temperature of 20C may be hazardous 
because at 200C, one can easily get 3rd degree burns" 
Source:
Jaworowski Z. Physics Today, September 1999.
Zbigniew Jaworowski is a professor at the central lab 
for radiological protection, in Warsaw, Poland.
     



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