RMI Nuclear Justice Documents

might be beneficial genetically because it tends to remove the veaker

members of a population.
10.

The report would have been improved if a Table 3 had been added

giving the estimated genetic damage.

The overall genetic risk was

given as 6 x 10 > to lel x 107 genetic mutation/gentically signifi-~
.

cant rem.

This upper value is greater than the upper value of cancer

risk so the reader should be given the final estimates of genetic
_
=

risk.
Cy

The report is in error in stating there are no human exposure

ata at low dose ranges, e.g. studies of in utero exposure and data on
Hanford radiarion workers are iow dose studies.
12.

The report uses only the linear and linear quadratic models, yet

much of the data on human population exposure conforms best with a
super linear model (e.g. effect = ¢

Vdose).

In other words, the

cancer coefficients are a power of dose less than unity in a number of
cases or the cancers induced per rem are greater at low doses than at.
high

doses

because

of

overkill

at

high

doses,

damage

to

the

reticuloendythelial system, etc.
It may not be a good assumption that the cancer risk on these
islands is the same as that in the U.S. because the natural background

radiation here is between 1/3 and 1/2 that in the U.S. and the Hanford
radiation worker data suggest that about half the cancer per year in
the U.S. are the result of natural background radiation.
14.

I question that leukemia is one of the best understood cancers.

The lack of leukemia induction by radiation in Olmstead County’ of

“Minnesota (Linos et al. - New Eng. J. Med. 111), May 15, 1980) and in
the Hanford worker data (Mancuso, Stewart, and Kneale) suggest that
low chronic exposure to normal population (those not subjected to
fire, blast, disease such an ankylosing spondylitis, etc.) die preferentially of forms of cancer other than leukemia.
15.

There is a peculiar statement on page 28 to the effect that the

BEIR III relative risk model gives a cancer risk 2 to 4 times the risk
estimates of UNSCEAR 1977 and so it seems reasonable to accept the

linear risk model instead.
16.

U.S.

Why was the life span of these islands chosen as 50 years?

life span is 70 years.

The