Issue 2020 – 5 Hello students, parents, professionals in 121 countries. This newsletter and its related website, allaboutenergy.net are dedicated to understanding the importance of energy, energy by-products and energy related sciences for the modern world. We cover many topics on the website. In each issue of the newsletter we focus on one or a few topics.
In this issue, we focus on understanding low dose radiation and its health benefits, including for the COVID-19 pandemic. The biological effects of low dose radiation are a particularly important field of science related to nuclear energy. In the first half of the 20th Century low dose radiation was used to treat many health problems. With the development of the nuclear bomb in the 1940s, alarmists developed a campaign to misrepresent radiation, saying that it was bad and should be prohibited. It was called the Linear No-Threshold Hypothesis with Collective Dose Corollary or LNT for short. It is represented by the straight white line between the orange and light green areas in the graphic to the left. This is what the world has been forced to use for guidelines since the 1950s. It has hampered the use of nuclear energy and nuclear medicine. It has destroyed lives by unnecessarily relocating people near Chernobyl and Fukushima. It has caused early deaths by limiting use of diagnostic nuclear medicine. The vertical axis is biologic response to radiation. The horizontal axis is radiation dose. The left side of the graph is how life has prospered bathed in natural background radiation. Alarmists demand technology have no man-made radiation or man-made radiation far below background levels. As radiation increases moving right on the graph, biological processes respond. Biological reality is represented by the J shaped white line between the blue and maroon areas. It says that low dose radiation provides beneficial effects on living things - the large blue area. For design of nuclear power plants, the twolegged straight graph between the green and blue areas would be simple to follow and eliminate tremendous unnecessary costs.
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The difference in using the single straight line and the two-legged straight line as guidelines means tremendous difference in cost for nuclear power and whether the right low dose radiation is permitted to be used in diagnostic and therapeutic nuclear medicine. We already successfully use high dose radiation in treating cancer. Why not low dose radiation for many more health benefits. Just because the alarmists say NO! It is obvious to all that low dose radiation can be beneficial and should be permitted. Low dose radiation alarmists like Helen Caldicott and the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation, UNSCEAR have a tight control to permit only the LNT model be used as a radiation safety guideline. LNT has caused thousands of lives to be ruined and premature deaths. LNT caused unnecessary evacuation from homes, communities, schools, and loss of employment. LNT prohibited vital nuclear medicine diagnostics and therapeutic treatments. It has caused nuclear power to be many times more expensive than necessary. LNT must go. That will require a change in leadership in nuclear regulatory agencies and change of thinking among the public. An interesting development in use of low dose radiation is treating life-threatening side effects of the COVID-19 virus. The side-effects are the actual killers. Some of them can be treated with low dose radiation that will save thousands of lives. Nuclear scientist, Jerry Cuttler is a lead advocate and promoter of clinical studies of low dose radiation treatment to reduce inflammation in the lungs and other parts of the body. This will increase survival from COVID-19 and pneumonia and give the body a chance to fight the source of these diseases. Low dose radiation is easy to use, readily available, low cost, low tech. It does not need rapid development of miracle vaccines for billions of people. See Dr. Cuttler’s articles about benefits of low dose radiation and the harm of LNT posted on this website, click here. One of the main points Dr. Cuttler makes is that low dose ionizing radiation, LDIR, stimulates the immune system. Radiation alarmists say that LDIR is bad for people. A horrible difference of opinion. For all articles about radiation on this website, click here. The universe is bathed in all kinds of radiation. Fear mongers ignore that. They are determined to deprive humanity of the most important energy source - nuclear and demand complete control of your lives. Norwegian Bio-Physics Professor Thormod Henriksen and his team of scientists at the University of Oslo have written a wonderful book, “Radiation and Health.” There are 14 easy to read, easy to understand chapters. Chapter 9 – Radiation used for diagnostic purposes. This shows the tremendous benefits of low dose radiation to find out what is causing sickness.
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Chapter 10 – Radiation used for therapy – radiation therapy. The first proven successful x-ray treatment of verified cancer was reported in 1899 by Thor Stenbeck and Tage Sjogren in Sweden. In 1903, Alexander Graham Bell wrote: “There is no reason why a tiny fragment of radium sealed in a fine glass tube should not be inserted into the very heart of the cancer, thus acting directly upon the disease material.” From the beginning of life on earth, all living things have been exposed to radiation. Life started and developed in spite of, or possibly because of, radiation. Radiation fear monger, Helen Caldicott demands planet Earth be free of man-made radiation. She wants solar panels on every home and wind turbines everywhere. “Nuclear industry proponents often assert that low doses of radiation (eg below 100mSV) produce no ill effects and are therefore safe. But, as the US National Academy of Sciences BEIR VII report has concluded, no dose of radiation is safe, however small, including background radiation; exposure is cumulative and adds to an individual's risk of developing cancer.” There is no scientific basis for these claims except special purpose fear mongering. At allaboutenergy.net, we work to have plentiful energy, well designed cities, clean industry, a beautiful environment and preserve wildlife.
Subscribe to this newsletter. Support sound nuclear energy and nuclear medicine guidelines for the best possible modern living for your family and community. John Shanahan Civil Engineer Editor – allaboutenergy.net E-mail: john.shanahan@allaboutenergy.net Denver, Colorado, USA
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