To the Editor.—
Despite the origins of the report by Caldwell et al1 on polycythemia vera among nuclear weapons test participants and the amount of public funds that must have been used in its production, I find it an unscientific document.
The authors admit that ionizing radiation was the only known unusual risk yet cannot bring themselves to draw the obvious conclusion "because of the small individual whole-body doses of radiation." To accept film badges as indicators of whole-body dose in such an atmospheric exposure is naive "science," albeit good political thinking in view of HR 1961 (Atomic Veterans Relief Act).
To suggest that the exposure data may be minimal is self-serving, since the most obvious and noxious exposure was not even measured!
This "science" has already been used to negate the consequences of internal emitters, and even as a brief report it can only do harm.
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