-Caveat Lector- http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns229440 Against the collective Should we care what happens to people a thousand years from now? >From New Scientist magazine A RADICAL overhaul of the international safety regime governing radiation would give the nuclear industry a licence to pollute the seas and air, warn scientists. It might mean a worldwide rise in cancers in the long term. The International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP), the world advisory body based in Stockholm, Sweden, wants to make big changes to the way safety levels are decided for people exposed to radiation from nuclear plants, industrial sources and medical X-rays. But its plans, outlined for the first time last week, have already fallen foul of experts who see no reason to change the system agreed in 1990. That system relies on measuring the "collective dose" of radiation received by large populations of people over extremely long time periods. Some regulators believe this is important because it means they can estimate the worldwide cancer risk from releasing radioactive isotopes into the environment with half-lives of thousands of years (New Scientist, 24 March, p 17). But the ICRP says that the notion of collective dose has proved "unsuitable". Often it covers the threat posed by radiation to the entire world population for the rest of time. Instead, the 17-member commission is thinking of introducing a "group" or "workforce" dose limited to measuring the exposure of smaller numbers of people over shorter timescales, though it hasn't yet specified how many or how long. This amounts to "a green light to continuing pollution", according to Ian Fairlie, a consultant in environmental radioactivity who has worked for regulatory agencies and anti-nuclear groups. Under the new system, it may be possible to quantify the risk to a few specific individuals from radioactive waste pumped into the sea, for example. But it doesn't take into account the risk of more cancers in the population sometime in the future. "This sits uneasily with growing awareness about the effects of radiation on the environment," Fairlie says. Britain's advisory Committee on the Medical Aspects of Radiation in the Environment (COMARE) has also told ICRP that it would be "very reluctant" to abandon collective dose. COMARE chairman Bryn Bridges says the concept gives governments and the public an estimate of how future health will be affected by radioactivity--but he thinks the collective dose should cover just 500 years. ICRP points out that the current system is founded on the risk that ionising radiation poses to society as a whole. It wants to shift this to a regime that concentrates on an individual's risk. But for the moment it is not planning to abandon the underlying assumption that any level of exposure to radiation, however small, carries a potential risk. ICRP chairman, Roger Clarke, denies the new system would be a licence to pollute because it would reduce the radiation doses of the most exposed groups of individuals. It will also make it simpler to enforce safety limits--10 different limits, as well as collective doses, are in operation at the moment, he says. "The proposal is to try and rationalise this complex and widely misunderstood system." But radiation scientists defend the existing system. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it," says Geoffrey Webb, president of the International Radiation Protection Association. More at: Journal of Radiological Protection (vol 21, p 113) ======================================================= Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh, YHVH, TZEVAOT FROM THE DESK OF: *Michael Spitzer* <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> The Best Way To Destroy Enemies Is To Change Them To Friends ======================================================= <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. 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