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RADIATION STANDARDS, INCLUDING FALLOUT
Dr. Comar. Some of them do. Cesium behaves in the body like
otassium and is turned over relatively rapidly whereas strontium
haves much like radium andis sequestered in the bone.
I wanted to drive home the point that for years we have been consuming radioactivity in the diet and these are the relative amounts.
Many people don’t seem torealize this.
Chairman Ho.irrevp. Is there a different deleterious effect, however, between the potassium or the amountof radiation in the potassium and the amountin the strontium 90 or the cesium 137,
Dr. Comar. Yes. I was going to add that one has to take into
account many other factors besides the amount ingested. We can’t
get into this here. This, again, is a rewording of the old problem
of trying to comparetheeffects of natural background with theeffects
of an addition to the natural background, expressed in a slightly
different way.
Chairman Horirretp. When you don’t know what the natural backgroundeffect is?
Dr. Comar. Thatis right.
Chairman Ho.iriexp. It is a theory that the whole problem of
natural background radiation having deleterious effects 1s a theory
that has never been proved in a laboratory; is that not true?
Dr. Comar. I think that is a fair statement. There is no evidence.
Chairman Horirieip. They are trying to work it out. The point
involved is that it is of such a low level that observable or detectable
deleterious effects are not observable.
Dr, Comar. They are not observable; that. is correct.
Chairman Hourrierp. And the only way that you can get observable
and detectable effects is to raise the rate of radiation much higher
than background radiation; is that a fact?
:
' Dr. Comar. Yes. One would haveto either do thator increase tremendously the number of individuals on which observations were
made. It has been impossible to do this on an experimental basis.
Chairman Hoxirieip. It is not proved, however, because we can’t
observe it and detect it, that there might not be damage involved.
It is merely a matter that we have not been able to prove.
Dr. Comar. That is right. If one wants to make a deduction you
have to invoke the linear hypothesis and extrapolate downward.
Chairman Houirtetp. Extrapolate into theory beyond the area of
proven knowledge.
Dr. Comar. Thatis right.
Representative Prick. You do not have iodine 181 on that list.
Whatis the reason for leavingit off ?
Dr. Comar. In this particular study the samples were taken when
there was no iodine 131in thediet.
Representative Prick. How long ago were they taken?
Dr. Comar. These were taken in January and in Mayof 1961, the
samples that are represented by these values.
Chairman Horirretp. Before the Russian tests?
Dr. Comar. Thatis right.
Representative Hosmer. Since you are eating food every day, I
take it, then, that the amount of radiation to which the body is sub-
jected is equal to 4,006 picocuries, being the total of the potassium,
lead, and radium from natural sources as against 6+ picocuries from
the test-created elements.
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