| Christine:
A MAJOR crisis confronted the citizens of New York City in the mid-1850's! What was that crisis, you ask?
Because of all of the horse-drawn wagons in the city, it was in danger of sinking from the weight of the horse "pucky" that was deposited on the streets each day. And the "gasses" produced (yuck!) were thought to be a cause of certain respiratory diseases (women of the "higher classes" were careful to hold hankerchiefs to their nose while outside).
The "problem" was solved by the internal combustion engine (which, in turn, caused other - perhaps worse - problems).
The "moral" of this message is that nothing in life is truly "safe" since there is a "risk vs benefit" trade off in almost every decision. For instance, not putting chlorine in the pools creates a far greater risk to humans than the risk of creating a few trihalomethane molecules!
The same is true of UVR; we know that OVEREXPOSURE is a "risk" factor but we also know that UNDEREXPOSURE creates a greater risk. However, we know that the benefits of sensible, moderate and responsible EXPOSURE to UVR outweigh the minimal and manageable risks involved.
I just received the "substances or events" nominated to be included in the 11th edition of the Report on Carcinogens (remember, UVR was included in the 10th). To be listed are X-Rays (from medical equipment). While it may be true that too large of a "dose" of X-Rays may be carcinogenic, NO ONE with an ounce of sense would recommend that we quit taking X-Rays!
Common sense, folks; common sense!
Don
PS: The road to the ruination of our civilization (as we know it!) will be paved with BoTox injections. LOL |