Monthly Archives: December 2013

Hot Particles From Fukushima Pose Global Health Crisis

Photoelectron Induction in Uranium Particles
(aka Hot Particles)

by Chris Busby, PhD

Enhancement of absorbed dose from natural background gamma radiation due to photoelectron induction in uranium particles.

The Background:

The health effect of depleted uranium exposure is an area of scientific and political controversy. Despite a great deal of evidence that uranium particles from weapons show anomalous genotoxicity there has been no persuasive explanation of the biological mechanisms involved (ECRR2010). The issue had been considered by a committee set up by the Royal Society (RS) in 2000; the Chair of this committee was Prof. Brian Spratt. The outcome of its deliberations was published in 2001 (Royal Society 2001). It was concluded that it was impossible for the exposures to Depleted Uranium (DU) weapons to be the cause of any illness since the absorbed doses were too low. These conclusions were not accepted by all (e.g Busby 2000, 2003, Bertell 2006). The Ministry of Defence set up an independent board to oversee measurements of uranium in Gulf War veterans and to discuss the science: the Depleted Uranium Oversight Board (DUOB). Around the same time, evidence that internal radiation exposures (including DU) might be significantly more hazardous than current risk models predicted led the then Environment Minister, Michael Meacher, to set up the Committee Examining Radiation Risks from Internal Emitters, (CERRIE) chaired by Prof Dudley Goodhead. Goodhead had been the chief advisor to the RS on radiological issues of DU. Both the CERRIE and DUOB resulted in failures to agree among committee members and separate oppositional reports (www.duob.org; CERRIE 2004a , CERRIE 2004b).

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So begins the explanation, and rebuttal, by Dr. Chris Busby (with some comments from Pattison et al – 2009 and the Royal Society), concerning the “enhancement of absorbed dose from natural background gamma radiation due to photoelectron induction in uranium particles”.  The rest of this paper can be read at the following link:

http://environmentalarmageddon.files.wordpress.com/2011/04/dr-chris-busby.pdf

For those who understand the awesome implications of this work it is evident that all the depleted uranium scattered around the world has left us with an unprecedented and massive planetary challenge.   It also speaks to all the other background radiation and radioactive particles which find there way into the human body from whatever sources. Truly, this timely revelation represents a slow motion global health and medical crisis that is occurring 24/7 completely under the radar.    Continue reading