No need to fear radiation.

 

RE: Town under radiation microscope (January 22, 2005)

 

Dear Editor,

 

Dr. Asaf Durakovic may be an “internationally recognized nuclear medical expert” and the Uranium Medical Research Center certainly sounds impressive.  I can tell you right now what the results of his upcoming radiation study of Port Hope citizens will be.  In the story mentioned above he ranked Port Hope “with other sites close to nuclear facilities in the former Soviet Union, the United States and China where "unsuspecting populations" have been poisoned.”  All this before the study has commenced?  I wonder where the bias of this doctor lies!

 

I also wonder when 12 people became a representative sample?  In November if the U.S. election had been decided by asking 12 John Kerry supporters who they would vote for we would be living in a different world!

 

I’m not going to deny that mistakes were made by El Dorado in the past.  In the dawn of any new scientific venture mistakes will inevitably occur.  Remember thalidomide?  But do you have any apprehensions about the last tablet of Aspirin you took?  I have also seen pictures of old-time beach goers being sprayed by tanker trucks full of poisonous DDT.  The point is these things do not happen today.  In the same manner, the peaceful pursuits of the Canadian nuclear industry are regulated and monitored with more stringent requirements than any other industry in the country.

 

Another group mentioned in the story was Families Against Radioactive Exposure.  While I am certain they have the best of intentions I must say their endeavour is certainly fruitless.  Radioactivity is just about as natural and abundant as it gets.  We are all exposed to radioactivity every single day of our lives.  I wonder if the families of FARE realize that the sun that shines, the ground they walk on, the bananas they consume and the wallboard they build their houses with all expose them to radioactivity.  Perhaps most poignantly, only two human beings contain enough radioactive material to fall under the jurisdiction of the Canadian Nuclear Safety commission!  In fact, the nuclear industry exposes the average Canadian to only one tenth of one percent of their yearly radioactive dose.  As anyone who works around radioactivity can tell you, if you treat it with respect radioactivity from nuclear applications is nothing to fear.

 

The real question every Canadian should ask is can we afford not to have this industry?  Consider the fact that nuclear power in Canada prevents the release of six million tonnes of greenhouse gas and air pollution every month and it is clear that it is an essential tool if we want to move forward into a clean air future.

Andrew Daley

Toronto, On