Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1956-10-29

lfallout is greater than the in
formation available to the COM
mittee led US to suppose. Sturte-
want recommended that his COM
mittee's conclusions on fallout
danger be revised upward"
Under these circumstances, to
issue reassuring statements on
the dangers of strontium-90 on
the assumption of a "continu-
ance Of the present rate of H
bomb testing" is irresponsible. 1t
is tantamount to a public health
officer announcing that the
population of a city need take
no precautions against small
pox epidemic since, for the mo-
ment. no more than three cases
had appeared. when there was
a practical certainty that, if pre-
cautions were not promptly
taken. the disease would spread
to many times that number. And
as a distinguished newspaper
columnist pointed out the other
day, it casts the United States
in suspicious light by its neigh
bors. 1t is like adding a little
arsenic to your neighbours coffee
each day, but assuring him that
it isn't enough to kill him.
Optimism Is Misleading"
But apart from the fact that
the rate of testing will certainly
increase, the administrators OPP
timism is misleading for another
reason - the supposition that
strontium-90 is absorbed uni
formly among human beings.
This is not true. From the Atomic
Energy Commissions own meas
turements, the people of certain
areas where the soil is low in
calcium are absorbing a concen-
tration of strontium-9 80 that is
five times above the average.
Even if further tests were dis
continued people in those areas
would be subjected to radiation
from strontium-90 that would
exceed by several times their
absorption from natural sources.
l repeat that the Presidents
memorandum fails entirely to
point out that when it compares
the dangers of radioactive fall
out from H-bomb tests to e
exposure from medical X-r&ys
or from natural sources. it is
basing its assertion exclusively
on report of the National Acad-
emy's Committee on Genetic
Effects of Atomic Radiation.
This has nothing to do with the
really serious danger-the path
illogical damage from strontium-
80 fallout. The Presidents mem
.orandum leaves out the most i'm
Iportant point: Pathological
damage.
Scientists agree that the
genetic damage from bomb
tests is of relatively minor con-
Germ compared with the patho-
logical damage from strontium-
80, which as has been previously
pointed out, is aSsimilated into
the bones, particularly of child
rem, and which can produce
blood changes and cause blood
cancer.
j X-Ray Peril Cited
! In attempting to minimize
the hazards of the effects of
radioactive fallout by comparing
them to an individuals expo
sure to medical X-rays, the
author of the report even neg
Ilects to mention that the Nation
al Academy regards the extent of
X-ray exposure as itself a pos
sible danger; in fact, in the same
Ichapter of its report. the Com
mittee on Genetic Effects makes
specific recommendations for
reducing the medical use of X
rays.
Presidents memorandum !:
six: There is radioactive fall
out, including strontium- 80, from
the testing of all nuclear weap-
ons. Of whatever size thus,
the idea that we can stop send
ing this dangerous material into
the air'-by concentrating upon
small fission weapons-is based
upon apparent unawareneSs of
the facts"
This statement is completely
!. irrelevant. 1t can be regarded
only as a deliberate effort to