Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1957-05-05
Strontium Is Center.
Of Debate on ests

JdUlc uelu, WLleTe eulDle pldIlUS
pick up the strontium, or if a
fisherman catches the particular
fish whereupon some of the
strontium may come to rest in
the fisherman's bones.
Is this fall-out a menace to you,
to mother or to child? Is natural"
background radiation a menace?
What can be done about it? These
are the questions at the root of the
debate over the safety and the adj
visibility of continued nuclear
weapons tests.
Interpretation at Issue
There. have been many scientists
who have disputed Acc statements
on nuclear tests, but only a few
who disagreed with Acc figures on
the extent of fall-out. The points
at issue are mainly questions of in
depreciation.
The National Academy of Sci
ences' report and many Acc state
mentS compare fall-out radiation
with radiation from other sources.
They say, in effect, that we do not
worry about radiation at the den
lists, nor in the mountains where
there is more than there is at sea-
leveD. nor from all the radium dials
surrounding us everywhere.
Critics of these statements do not
generally disagree with Acc call
culations that the tests are only
a small addition to the amount of
radiation to which goth century
man is exposed.
But they disagree as to whether
the regular every day" exposure to
radiation is SAFE" in terms of life
long exposure and the effects on
present and future generations.
Some elements when taken into
the human body concentrate in a
particular area - iron goes to the
blood and iodine to the thyroid
gland. Among these, some elements
are "bone-Seekers"-and this makes
a special problem Of radium and
Strontium.
Strontium goes to the bone and
stays there. and if present in sufi-
cient quantities could cause tumors
or cancer. The weight of scientific
opinion agrees with the Acc state.
mentS that present levels of stron.
tium will not cause any measurable
increase in cancer rates, but the
proponents of a ban on testing are
concerned about the numbers and
kinds of bombs set of in the future.
All Radiation Horns
There is no amount Of radiation
so small that it will not be danger
Gus to genes, the transmitterS of
hereditary characteristics. It can
be shown that known genetic
damage from this small" IN
crease in radioactive background
Will affect a very small per-
centage of the human race. OF
course. no one can be very sure
how many it will ultimately affect.
but still it seems prospects of affect
ing very many people in the next 10
generations are small. But who
wants to say how many damaged
genes. how many weaknesses and
deformities. the human race can
afford?
GeneticiSts have been worried for
years about excessive or somewhat
careless use of ordinary X-rays.
They have also been worried about
other aspects of the mutation prob.
lem. We have a greater propor-
ton OF human mutations living to-
day than hundred years ago, for
an interesting reason: Better med.
ical care. More people, even those
with inherited deficiencies. live
longer than ever before and so
they produce more children to carry
on those deficiencies and those
children live longer and have
more children. The human race il
thus scheduled to have more and
more mutants. until a new equilib-
rum is reached.
Most people think a damaged
gene will produce something like a
calf with two heads. It is far more
likely simply to produce a weak
heart or poor vision f.. a congeni-
tai defect of which the owner may
not even be aware.
But collectively the total of such
mutations weakens the race. Gene.
ticists feel there should be a very
good reason for doing anything
which could possibly add to "tl1e
mutation load" the human race
already carries. Governments now
feel they have such good reason.
The Acc has spoken of new
bombs which produce less fall-out
and are more Humanitarian" The
President has referred to a clean"
bomb. though Acc officials try 10
avoid that expression. Details are
secret, SO discussion is doubly con-
fused here Presumably all sides
make dirty" bombs as well as
clean, anyway, and in the heat of
conflict may use both. So both kinds
will continue to be tested.
Detection q Foctor
A peculiar break through in
atomic secrecy has been that fall
out enables scientists halfway
around the world to analyze our
bombs. Both we and the Russians
have been able to tell when the
other side exploded a bomb, and
further. by study of the particles
floating down. to determine the
kind Of bomb and explosion.
However. in recent months United