tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2981197052686065994.post7778701984492018371..comments2023-10-01T04:36:19.806-07:00Comments on medicine: facts and fictions: Do Xrays and Cosmic Rays Cause Cancer?Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2981197052686065994.post-17561533854867002292012-10-01T09:01:15.541-07:002012-10-01T09:01:15.541-07:00In answer to several comments: I am NOT stating th...In answer to several comments: I am NOT stating that Xrays are not carcinogenic---quite the opposite. What I am saying is that there is no clinical evidence as to what the safe (i.e. non cancer-inducing or cancer-promoting) dose of gamma rays is at any given energy. We have no evidence one way or another as to whether there is a safe threshold dose for xrays of any energy, below which there is no evidence that the incidence of cancer is increased. We do not know if the linear extrapolation downward from exposure to atom bomb gamma rays is valid.george thomashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14810516710667919032noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2981197052686065994.post-89283123595865921882012-08-21T12:16:16.239-07:002012-08-21T12:16:16.239-07:00Added note: Denver residents have three times the ...Added note: Denver residents have three times the annual radiation dose that flatland residents do, and yet the incidence of cancer in Denver is lower than in the flatlands---a result that no one has been able to explain satisfactorily.george thomashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14810516710667919032noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2981197052686065994.post-3483445026567462712012-08-08T16:30:36.523-07:002012-08-08T16:30:36.523-07:00Several readers have asked about the dangers of th...Several readers have asked about the dangers of the radioactive gas, radon. Radon is an alpha emitter, and alpha rays, unlike gamma rays (aka Xrays) cannot penetrate the skin and damage organs. However, if radon gas is inhaled, as it is in uranium mines, the presence of the gas in the lungs appears to increase the rate of (only) lung cancer, especially in smokers.george thomashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14810516710667919032noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2981197052686065994.post-75143843942843570602012-08-06T16:06:35.643-07:002012-08-06T16:06:35.643-07:00One piece of evidence that the government does not...One piece of evidence that the government does not even believe its own radiation safety recommendation: An airline crew receives 5 to 10 times the amount of radiation that is recommended as an annual safe maximum for the public, but yet the government does not classify the crew as having an employment that is a "radiation hazard".george thomashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14810516710667919032noreply@blogger.com