Tuesday, December 17, 2019

CANCER

I was listening to NPR this morning.   They reported that CDC had found 16 rare melanoma malignancies of the eye in a small town in Virginia.  No idea of the cause.  These malignancies occur 1 in every 7,000.  Ugh.  

Then they found a large occurence of Thyroid cancers.  Those are easily treated with thyroidectomy.  The side effects are a drop in body temperature and lethargy as well as replacement doses of thyroid.   Annoying but not fatal.  Again there did not seem to be evidence of any cause.  There was a potash plant nearby that processed the ash.  The company claimed there were no carcinogens created in the processing.

Hmmm, I sez to myself.  Have they though of radiation?  In particular Strontium 90.  When I was a kid there was a nightly local news report with a Strontium 90 count because Idaho was downwind from Hanford nuclear facility.  

Emmett had a wave of thyroid cancer when kids my age came into adulthood.  Approximately age 28.  Strontium 90 has a half life of 28 years and 7 months.  Hello! CDC?  check it out.  Could be a leaky atomic power plant lurking in the neighborhood.

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