Threads of our conversations

Below are some articles and readings that relate to several of the various threads of our discussions.

Iran:

First of all, the situation with Iran (posturing and negotiations over its nuclear program) continues to unfold. I found the following Q&A to be particularly interesting, in thinking about the dynamic between Iran and Israel:
Reuters Q&A on Iran and Israel
As we go further in our discussions in this class, we'll talk a lot about nuclear weapons as "deterrence". Is it a likely outcome that Iran will develop a nuclear weapon, and Israel and Iran will settle into a mutual-deterrence situation? Or will Israel feel it's necessary to strike Iran to cripple Iran's nuclear infrastructure, with or without the support of the U.S.? The critical October 1 deadline for international talks is looming.
Washington Post article on Iran's current stance
Iran continues to maintain that it is not pursuing nuclear weapons. However, the tensions with Israel are still obviously very high.

Everyday Radiation Exposure:

By now, we've talked about how all of us are exposed to radiation (from natural and technological sources) every day. The American Nuclear Society makes a handy little chart that you can use to add up your own typical radiation exposure. This is an interesting document on several levels. I'd like everyone to download it and fill it out before class next week - we will discuss what we find.
American Nuclear Society radiation dose chart


Thinking about Risk: a Case Study

In the last week, there was a senate hearing on whether or not there is good evidence that cell phones can cause brain cancer. This is an issue that just does not die - the last time that I taught a class dealing with radiation was over 5 years ago, and there were articles in the news at that time that were virtually identical to the ones that popped up in the last week. Reviewing this latest batch of articles, it doesn't sound like there has been much progress on the issue in that time period. The official conclusion from the senate hearings was that not enough is known to tell whether or not cell phones pose a risk.

In class, we have talked about the fact that the mechanisms by which low-energy electromagnetic radiation can affect biological tissues are very different from the mechanisms by which high-energy nuclear radiation affects those tissues. That's a point I want to make very clear - the radiation from your cell phone is a different beast entirely from the radiation from nuclear fallout, as an extreme example. So in some sense, cell phone radiation is off-topic for this class. However, I think this issue is a very good case study for thinking about the nature of risk, risk assessment, and acceptable risk.

As you browse the following readings, think about these issues in that more general context.

Overview on the senate hearings, from CNET

This fits into a larger debate about "electromagnetic fields (EMF)" and "radiofrequency (RF) radiation" and their health risks. Recall that radio frequencies are frequencies of "light" waves that have relatively long wavelengths. Technically "radio" includes "microwaves" as a subset. All forms of radio frequency radiation (including microwaves) are non-ionizing. These are the types of radiation that are most likely to be given off by everyday electronic technologies, as well as cell phone towers, power lines, etc. The FCC is the federal agency that regulates these things, and so for one side of the story you might find it interesting to browse their FAQ page:
FCC radio frequency safety FAQ
(there is a lot here, so no need to read all of it to get a flavor.)

For the other side of the story, there are quite a few private groups that are highly concerned about radio frequency radiation. When you read their websites, you get a very different idea of what is going on. While the FCC claims to base its guidelines on established science, anti-RF groups seem to find a lot of experts who are convinced that exposure to radio frequency radiation is definitely harmful. See, for example:

Electromagnetichealth.org "quotes from the experts"

What do you make of this? Is this a situation where we should all apply the "ALARA" principle as well, and avoid our cell phones as much as possible? Or do you think that groups like the Electromagnetichealth.org folks are alarmist? I look forward to your thoughts and comments.