Report fails downwinders

Your editorial (Oct. 15) raises two interesting questions. Why does the voluminous BEIR VII 2005 Report (403 pages, 1,537 references) on the health risks from exposure to low levels of ionizing radiation from the U.S. Academy of Sciences completely dismiss the plight of Utah's downwinders except for a single paragraph about the study of thyroid disease incidence in Utah schoolchildren? And why does the report not recommend any future studies of downwinders?

Perhaps this statement from a participant in this study answers both questions: "There have been numerous epidemiological studies of cancer risk among residents of areas downwind from the Nevada Test Site where atmospheric weapons tests were conducted during 1951-1963 ... the overall scientific value of the studies is limited by the fact that radiation doses were so low as to almost preclude the possibility of learning anything new about risk."

Daniel W. Miles

Washington, Utah