Subject: Ionizing Radiation, Public Citizen press release (Bradbury).
Date: Thu, 16 Nov 2000 143654 -0600
From: Roy Beavers
To: guru
--------------------------------------------------
.........From EMF-L.......
In this item, -- radiation of food for various purposes, usually to
eliminate bacteria which might affect spoilage, contamination,
preservation, etc. -- the issue is the effect of **IONIZING** radiation.
It is NOT the "non ionizing radiation" effect of EMF, for example.
Often, I am asked about this because people do not realize that there
is a difference -- and the difference is substantial.
Ionizing radiation (e.g., gamma radiation) can affect (directly) the
atomic or chemical characteristics of the atoms and molecules of the food.
It can "ionize" those atoms or molecules.
Non ionizing radiation does not have that "direct effect," but -- as we
know -- it can have effects upon the human cells by means other than
ionization. Perhaps by triggering chemical activity when the
**electrons** of the atoms and molecules are "resonated" in some way.
(That is but one of the theoretical explanations.)
Still -- before someone asks me -- I want all of our readers to
understand that the activity described below is NOT EMF/EMR.....
What do I think of the possible health/safety impact of the processes
described below? I believe that they might, indeed, trigger the kind
of secondary effects described: "new chemicals" that might be harmful
to humans.
In my opinion, this is another example of our government's willingness
-- indeed, **eagerness** -- to expose the public to **unknown** risks
before those risks are sufficiently understood. To experiment by making
use of the public as the guinea pigs. Why?? For profit, of course.....
The government does this (as in the cell phone case and the power lines,
for example) because the government is more responsive to the corporate
"special interests" that OWN the government ... than it is to the PUBLIC
interest -- which ALL government officials are sworn to serve ......
When they behave this way -- such officials are guilty of MALFEASANCE
in office!!!........guru.......
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Public Citizen press release
Date: Thu, 16 Nov 2000 12:12:26 -0600
From: "Angela Bradbery" (by way of Darlene Raunio )
To: guru@emfguru.com
Nov. 15, 2000
Government, Industry Panel Approves
High-Dose Radiation 'Treatment' of Global Food Supply
Dose Limit Is Removed Without Studying New Chemicals Formed in Food
Government officials and corporate executives from around the world have
decided that the planet's food supply can safely be "treated" with any dose
of radiation, a conclusion reached without studying whether new chemicals
formed by high-dose irradiation are harmful to humans. In response, Public
Citizen is urging that these new chemicals be studied to avoid harm to the
public.
During a three-day meeting that was closed to the public earlier this month
at the WHO, the International Consultative Group on Food Irradiation
(ICGFI) decided that the maximum radiation dose for food could be
eliminated without posing additional hazards to people. The current
international radiation limit is 10 kiloGray - the equivalent of 330
million chest X-rays, or 2,000 times the fatal radiation dose for humans.
The ICGFI reasoned that some food has to be irradiated at high levels to
kill certain microorganisms, but it ignored evidence that food irradiated
at high doses is nutritionally deficient and may be harmful.
In reaching the decision, the ICGFI also ignored its own 1994
recommendation to study whether the new chemicals created by high-dose
irradiation can cause cancer, mutations, immune system disorders,
reproductive malfunctions or other health problems in people. Public
Citizen has requested that this recommendation be followed. The request was
made to the three international agencies that oversee the ICGFI: the WHO,
the International Atomic Energy Agency, and the Food and Agriculture
Organization of the United Nations.
"The events in Geneva are doubly disturbing," said Wenonah Hauter, director
of Public Citizen's Critical Mass Energy and Environment Program.
"Democracy and science were both thrown out the window, and the population
of the entire world could suffer as a result. At a time when the need for
thoughtful, transparent decision-making has never been greater, the
outrageousness of this action cannot be overstated."
The ICGFI, which met Nov. 1-3, effectively barred a Public Citizen staff
person from entering the meeting room. U.S. government officials invited
the staff person to join their delegation, but under ICGFI's rules, doing
so would have made the organization a de facto supporter of U.S. food
irradiation policies. Therefore, Public Citizen declined the invitation.
Meanwhile, allowed in the meeting room were representatives from several
irradiation companies and food industry trade groups, including Titan of
San Diego, Isomedix/STERIS of New Jersey, the Grocery Manufacturers of
America, and the Association of International Industrial Irradiation. In
fact, some of the corporate executives are government-appointed delegates
to the ICGFI.
"This is a classic example of how corporations are granted special rights
to shape public policy to their liking," Hauter said. "It shows how
citizens are left out in the cold."
Public Citizen is formally challenging several recent decisions by the Food
and Drug Administration (FDA), including this year's rulings to legalize
the irradiation of eggs and sprouting seeds. In both rulings, FDA staffers
relied on research they admitted was inadequate, requested no scientific
data from corporate applicants, and made false statements in the Federal
Register (the official record of federal agencies), a recent report
co-authored by Public Citizen reveals.
For nearly two decades, the FDA has relied on admittedly flawed scientific
research, failed to follow its own safety rules, misled members of
Congress, and ignored evidence suggesting that irradiated food may be
harmful to people who eat it, according to the report, A Broken Record.
Because of the report's findings, Public Citizen is requesting
investigations into the FDA's handling of food irradiation by the Health
and Human Services Department's Inspector General and appropriate
congressional committees.
Archive provided courtesy of WaveGuide, http://www.wave-guide.org
Reprinted with permission of Roy Beavers, http://www.emfguru.com