Christopher Busby - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Christopher Busby is a British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

scientist known for his controversial theories about the negative health effects of very low-dose ionising radiation.
Busby is the director of Green Audit, an environmental consultancy agency, and scientific advisor to the Low Level Radiation Campaign (LLRC) which he set up in 1995. Busby is a visiting professor at the University of Ulster

University of Ulster

The University of Ulster is a multi-campus, co-educational university located in Northern Ireland. It is the largest single university in Ireland, discounting the federal National University of Ireland...

. Busby was the National Speaker on Science and Technology for the Green Party of England and Wales

Green Party of England and Wales

The Green Party of England and Wales is a political party in England and Wales which follows the traditions of Green politics and maintains a strong commitment to social progressivism. It is the largest Green party in the United Kingdom, containing within it various regional divisions including...

.

Following the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster

Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster

The is a series of equipment failures, nuclear meltdowns, and releases of radioactive materials at the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant, following the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami on 11 March 2011. The plant comprises six separate boiling water reactors originally designed by General Electric ,...

, Busby established a television and internet presence where he discussed the risks of ionizing radiation

Ionizing radiation

Ionizing radiation is radiation composed of particles that individually have sufficient energy to remove an electron from an atom or molecule. This ionization produces free radicals, which are atoms or molecules containing unpaired electrons...

and the Japanese Government's handling of the disaster. Busby furthermore marketed, on his Japanese language website, tests and a mineral supplement (dubbed by critics an "anti-radiation" pill) that he claimed could mitigate the effects of injested radioisotopes

Radionuclide

A radionuclide is an atom with an unstable nucleus, which is a nucleus characterized by excess energy available to be imparted either to a newly created radiation particle within the nucleus or to an atomic electron. The radionuclide, in this process, undergoes radioactive decay, and emits gamma...

Career

Busby obtained a BSc in Chemistry

Chemistry

Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....

with First Class Honours from the University of London

University of London

-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...

, and then did research for the Wellcome Foundation (applying spectroscopic and analytical methods to chemical pharmacology and molecular drug interactions). He became an elected member of the Royal Society of Chemistry

Royal Society of Chemistry

The Royal Society of Chemistry is a learned society in the United Kingdom with the goal of "advancing the chemical sciences." It was formed in 1980 from the merger of the Chemical Society, the Royal Institute of Chemistry, the Faraday Society and the Society for Analytical Chemistry with a new...

. He later gained a PhD in Chemical Physics

Chemical physics

Chemical physics is a subdiscipline of chemistry and physics that investigates physicochemical phenomena using techniques from atomic and molecular physics and condensed matter physics; it is the branch of physics that studies chemical processes from the point of view of physics...

at the University of Kent

University of Kent

The University of Kent, previously the University of Kent at Canterbury, is a public research university based in Kent, United Kingdom...

, researching Raman spectro-electrochemistry

Raman spectroscopy

Raman spectroscopy is a spectroscopic technique used to study vibrational, rotational, and other low-frequency modes in a system.It relies on inelastic scattering, or Raman scattering, of monochromatic light, usually from a laser in the visible, near infrared, or near ultraviolet range...

.

In 1999 Busby stood as an Election Candidate for the European Parliamentary elections.

Busby was a member of the British government sponsored Committee Examining Radiation Risks from Internal Emitters (CERRIE), which operated from 2001 to 2004.

In 2001 he was appointed to the UK Ministry of Defence Oversight Committee on Depleted Uranium (DUOB).

In 2003 he was elected a Fellow of the Faculty of Medicine, University of Liverpool

University of Liverpool

The University of Liverpool is a teaching and research university in the city of Liverpool, England. It is a member of the Russell Group of large research-intensive universities and the N8 Group for research collaboration. Founded in 1881 , it is also one of the six original "red brick" civic...

, in the Department of Human Anatomy and Cell Biology.

In 2004 he was named Leader of Science Policy for (EU) Policy Information Network for Child Health and Environment PINCHE based in Arnhem, The Netherlands.

Busby is a visiting professor at the School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Ulster

University of Ulster

researching the toxicity of heavy metals

Heavy metals

A heavy metal is a member of a loosely-defined subset of elements that exhibit metallic properties. It mainly includes the transition metals, some metalloids, lanthanides, and actinides. Many different definitions have been proposed—some based on density, some on atomic number or atomic weight,...

to the human body. In 2008 he was a visiting researcher at the German Federal Research Centre for Cultivated Plants, Julius Kuhn Institute.

According to his CERRIE biography:

As member of the International Society for Environment Epidemiology, he was invited to Iraq and Kosovo to investigate the health effects of depleted uranium in weapons used by allied forces on populations. He has also given presentations on depleted uranium to the Royal Society and to the European Parliament. He was a member of the UK Ministry of Defence Oversight Board on Depleted Uranium."

Busby was the scientific secretary of the European Committee on Radiation Risks, an informal committee based in Brussels, which produced a report for CERRIE.

Second Event Theory and Photoelectric Effect Controversy

From 1987 onwards Busby has worked in particular on the health effects of ionizing radiation

Ionizing radiation

, developing the 'Second Event Theory' and 'Photoelectric Effect Theory' which distinguishes between hazards from external radiation and internal irradiation from ingested radioisotopes

Radionuclide

, upon which he claims the widely accepted linear no-threshold (LNT)

Linear no-threshold model

The linear no-threshold model is a method for predicting the long term, biological damage caused by ionizing radiation and is based on the assumption that the risk is directly proportional to the dose at all dose levels....

model substantially underestimates the risk of low level radiation (the LNT

Linear no-threshold model

model is largely constructed from the 1958 to 2001 'Life Span Study' of the 120,321 Japanese Atomic Bomb Survivors

Hibakusha

The surviving victims of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki are called , a Japanese word that literally translates to "explosion-affected people"...

who were exposed to a powerful external burst of neutron

Neutron

The neutron is a subatomic hadron particle which has the symbol or , no net electric charge and a mass slightly larger than that of a proton. With the exception of hydrogen, nuclei of atoms consist of protons and neutrons, which are therefore collectively referred to as nucleons. The number of...

and gamma radiation

Gamma ray

Gamma radiation, also known as gamma rays or hyphenated as gamma-rays and denoted as γ, is electromagnetic radiation of high frequency . Gamma rays are usually naturally produced on Earth by decay of high energy states in atomic nuclei...

). Busby claims that in the low dose regime, radiation moderately above background

Background radiation

Background radiation is the ionizing radiation constantly present in the natural environment of the Earth, which is emitted by natural and artificial sources.-Overview:Both Natural and human-made background radiation varies by location....

causes more cancer than much higher levels of radiation i.e. a biphasic (bimodal) curve; a claim based on the work of Elena Burlakova.

Busby initially proposed the Second Event Theory (SET) in 1995, in his self-published book 'Wings of Death: Nuclear Pollution and Human Health', in which isotopes that decay sequentially i.e. emit two or more particles in a short decay chain

Decay chain

In nuclear science, the decay chain refers to the radioactive decay of different discrete radioactive decay products as a chained series of transformations...

, have far greater genotoxic effects than predicted by the LNT

Linear no-threshold model

model. In particular, Busby's SET predicts that the ⁹⁰Sr-⁹⁰Y decay chain might be some ~30 times more carcinogenic than predicted by LNT

Linear no-threshold model

; because according to Busby primary exposure to a beta particle alters a cells to the G₂ Phase

G2 phase

G2 phase is the 3rd and final subphase of Interphase in the cell cycle directly preceding Mitosis. It follows the successful completion of S phase, during which the cell’s DNA is replicated...

, which he claims are highly radio-sensitive

Radiosensitivity

Radiosensitivity is the relative susceptibility of cells, tissues, organs or organisms to the harmful effect of ionizing radiation. Cells are least sensitive when in the S phase, then the G1 phase, then G2 phase and the most sensitive in the M phase of the cell cycle...

, and a second particle "hit" within a few hours then causes carcinogenesis

Carcinogenesis

Carcinogenesis or oncogenesis is literally the creation of cancer. It is a process by which normal cells are transformed into cancer cells...

.

SET was criticized by Cox & Edwards (2000) who pointed out that if Busby's "biologically implausible" theory was correct and all irradiated cells undergo transformation to the G₂ Phase

G2 phase

G2 phase is the 3rd and final subphase of Interphase in the cell cycle directly preceding Mitosis. It follows the successful completion of S phase, during which the cell’s DNA is replicated...

, it would cause an increased risk factor of just 1.3 times and predict, on the contrary, substantial risk reduction at low doses for single emitting radioisotopes. Furthermore, it was established in 1906 (The Law of Bergonié and Tribondeau) that cells in the G₂ Phase

G2 phase

G2 phase is the 3rd and final subphase of Interphase in the cell cycle directly preceding Mitosis. It follows the successful completion of S phase, during which the cell’s DNA is replicated...

are more resistant to radiation than cells in the M Phase (Radiosensitivity

Radiosensitivity

and Cell cycle

Cell cycle

The cell cycle, or cell-division cycle, is the series of events that takes place in a cell leading to its division and duplication . In cells without a nucleus , the cell cycle occurs via a process termed binary fission...

). The Committee Examining Radiation Risks of Internal Emitters

Committee on Medical Aspects of Radiation in the Environment

The Committee on Medical Aspects of Radiation in the Environment is a UK-wide advisory committee set up by the British government...

(CERRIE) report, on which Busby was one of twelve members, exhaustively examined the biological plausibility of SET and commissioned an independent consultant to conduct a literature review. In 2004 CERRIE rejected the SET by a 10 to 2 majority consensus (Busby and non-scientist Richard Bramhall, dissented). The rejection was made for following reasons:

The lack of biological plausibility for the basic preconditions of the SET
The paucity of supporting evidence in the proponents’ reviews of the SET
The weakness of studies cited in support of the SET
The absence of supporting evidence found by the independent review commissioned by the Committee

CERRIE also considered and rejected by 10 to 2 consensus the biphasic (bimodal) curve of Burlakova et al. (1999), due to the studies "substantial shortcomings"; tables were so ambiguous the risk-dose response could be interpreted as linear, biphasic or even promoting health (radiation hormesis

Radiation hormesis

Radiation hormesis is the hypothesis that low doses of ionizing radiation are beneficial, stimulating the activation of repair mechanisms that protect against disease, that are not activated in absence of ionizing radiation...

).

Busby responded by selling for £25 a 3 person minority report

Minority Report

"The Minority Report" is a 1956 science fiction short story by Philip K. Dick, first published in Fantastic Universe. The story is about a future society where murders are prevented through the efforts of three mutants who can see the future...

on his website, in which claims internal low-level radiation is 300 times more dangerous than predicted, the currently accepted LNT

Linear no-threshold model

model is meaningless, and in Sweden and Belarus cancer rates have risen by 40% since Chernobyl.

Later work by Busby focused on the health effects of ingested Depleted Uranium

Depleted uranium

Depleted uranium is uranium with a lower content of the fissile isotope U-235 than natural uranium . Uses of DU take advantage of its very high density of 19.1 g/cm3...

particles. In particular he proposes that ingested Uranium

Uranium

Uranium is a silvery-white metallic chemical element in the actinide series of the periodic table, with atomic number 92. It is assigned the chemical symbol U. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons...

particles cause photoelectric

Photoelectric effect

In the photoelectric effect, electrons are emitted from matter as a consequence of their absorption of energy from electromagnetic radiation of very short wavelength, such as visible or ultraviolet light. Electrons emitted in this manner may be referred to as photoelectrons...

enhancement that increases the genotoxic effect of natural background gamma radiation

Gamma ray

by 500 to 1000 times (he claims natural gamma rays strike Uranium

Uranium

and generate via the photoelectric effect secondary electrons

Secondary electrons

Secondary electrons are electrons generated as ionization products. They are called 'secondary' because they are generated by other radiation . This radiation can be in the form of ions, electrons, or photons with sufficiently high energy, i.e. exceeding the ionization potential...

that damage cells). Recent work by Busby (2008) focusing on the photoelectric

Photoelectric effect

enhancement as a mechanism of cells damaged by ingested Uranium

Uranium

particles has been covered by New Scientist
New Scientist
New Scientist is a weekly non-peer-reviewed English-language international science magazine, which since 1996 has also run a website, covering recent developments in science and technology for a general audience. Founded in 1956, it is published by Reed Business Information Ltd, a subsidiary of...

magazine, with most of the scientists quoted in response expressing interest but also some skepticism that the effect could be as large as claimed. Additionally, according to Busby, photoelectric enhancement is not limited to radioactive isotopes but involves all heavy atoms (high-Z

Atomic number

In chemistry and physics, the atomic number is the number of protons found in the nucleus of an atom and therefore identical to the charge number of the nucleus. It is conventionally represented by the symbol Z. The atomic number uniquely identifies a chemical element...

) e.g. stable platinum particles from catalytic converter

Catalytic converter

A catalytic converter is a device used to convert toxic exhaust emissions from an internal combustion engine into non-toxic substances. Inside a catalytic converter, a catalyst stimulates a chemical reaction in which noxious byproducts of combustion are converted to less toxic substances by dint...

s are similarly theoretically capable of enhancing the effects of natural gamma radiation if ingested.

However, subsequent computer simulations by Pattison, Hugtenburg & Green (2010) indicate a radiation enhancement factor of only 1 to 10 fold for uranium particles, considerably lower than Busby's preliminary estimate. Indeed, a large body of research has accumulated into the efficacy of gold nanoparticle-aided radiation therapy (GNRT), where the effects of radiotherapeutic intense gamma ray and x-ray sources are modestly enhanced via the photoelectric effect by 0.3 to 1.16 fold, a lower range than estimated for uranium particles.

Conflicts with other Low-Dose Radiation researchers

Busby is the author of two self-published books on cancer incidence in Wales, Wings of Death and Wolves of Water; the latter was lauded in a review published by a group that "aims to provide a safe forum for the critical and open minded discussion of ideas that go beyond conventional paradigms in science, medicine and philosophy [and to] challenge the adequacy of "scientific materialism" as an exclusive basis for knowledge and values." According to the reviewer, described as a former research immunologist, "Busby dissects the workings of the government advisory establishment, the biased science and institutional cover-ups of the causes of cancer and other illnesses".

The books were criticised in the Journal of Radiological Protection

Journal of Radiological Protection

Journal of Radiological Protection is the official journal of the Society for Radiological Protection. It publishes articles in English on all aspects of radiological protection, including non-ionizing as well as ionizing radiations...

as "erroneous in consequence of various mistakes". According to Richard Wakeford, the editor-in-chief of the journal, a fellow CERRIE committee member representing the nuclear industry, and a specialist in the health effects of low-dose radiation (formerly with British Nuclear Fuels)

... much of Chris Busby's work is self-published and difficult to access; he seems mainly to avoid publication in the recognised scientific literature, which presents difficulties for a proper review of the evidence underlying his conclusions.".

Busby has since alleged that Wakeford created a website specifically to attack him, using the pseudonym "Richard D". Busby subsequently gained title to the domain.

Busby served on the UK Government's Committee Examining Radiation Risks of Internal Emitters (CERRIE), which operated between 2001 and 2004, and included medical professionals, scientists, delegates from Greenpeace

Greenpeace

Greenpeace is a non-governmental environmental organization with offices in over forty countries and with an international coordinating body in Amsterdam, The Netherlands...

and Friends of the Earth

Friends of the Earth

Friends of the Earth International is an international network of environmental organizations in 76 countries.FOEI is assisted by a small secretariat which provides support for the network and its agreed major campaigns...

, and Richard Wakeford representing the nuclear industry. Busby ultimately disagreed with the committee's conclusions and published a "minority report" with another committee member from LLRC
On the LLRC website page selling the minority report, it's claimed (without citation) that north Sweden cancer rates have increased by 40% since Chernobyl.
A doctoral dissertation from 2007 was reported as saying that the area "has shown a small but statistically significant increase in the incidence of cancer."

Busby has criticized other researchers studying health effects from low-dose radiation, for being "stupid" and "ignorant", and in particular Prof. Wade Allison

Wade Allison

Wade Allison is Emeritus Professor of Physics at Oxford University. Author of Radiation and Reason: The Impact of Science on a Culture of Fear.-Early life:...

(emeritus) of Oxford who had quoted a UN report saying that only 28 people have died as of 2005 from radiation releases at Chernobyl and who has said there is an "over-reaction" to low-dose radiation. In particular, he seems to have taken exception to Allison on philosophical grounds:

I have chosen to pitch into him since he epitomises and crystallises for us the arguments of the stupid physicist. In this he has done us a favour, since he is really easy to shoot down. All the arguments are in one place. Stupid physicists? Make no mistake, physicists are stupid. They make themselves stupid by a kind of religious belief in mathematical modelling. The old Bertie Russell

Bertrand Russell

Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, OM, FRS was a British philosopher, logician, mathematician, historian, and social critic. At various points in his life he considered himself a liberal, a socialist, and a pacifist, but he also admitted that he had never been any of these things...

logical positivist

Logical positivism

Logical positivism is a philosophy that combines empiricism—the idea that observational evidence is indispensable for knowledge—with a version of rationalism incorporating mathematical and logico-linguistic constructs and deductions of epistemology.It may be considered as a type of analytic...

trap.

Busby went on to say, claiming support from a New York Academy of Sciences

New York Academy of Sciences

The New York Academy of Sciences is the third oldest scientific society in the United States. An independent, non-profit organization with more than members in 140 countries, the Academy’s mission is to advance understanding of science and technology...

publication, that "more than a million people have died between 1986 and 2004 as a direct result of Chernobyl." In actuality, the NYAS report was a translation (not put under peer review by NYAS) of a Russian book that, contrary to the UN report cited by Allison, claims several hundred thousand deaths and projects the number to go higher, with some support from mathematical modeling. He can be equivocal about modelling—in earlier comments on BBC, he'd claimed "significant" plutonium releases from Fukushima detected far north of the reactor complex, supposedly established in part through the use of "a very advanced, sophisticated, computer air-flow model."

Antone Brooks (recently retired as the Technical Research Director of the U.S. Department of Energy's Low Dose Radiation Research Program) has also had differences with Busby.

Televised comments on Fukushima I nuclear accidents

In a March 14 broadcast on BBC, Busby was interviewed along with Ian Fells

Ian Fells

Ian Fells CBE, PhD, FREng, FRSC, FInstE, FIChemE, FRSE is Emeritus Professor of Energy Conversion at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, and former chairman of the "New and Renewable Energy Centre" at Blyth, Northumberland, England.-Education and career:...

, and characterized the accident as "exactly the same scenario" as Chernobyl

Chernobyl

Chernobyl or Chornobyl is an abandoned city in northern Ukraine, in Kiev Oblast, near the border with Belarus. The city had been the administrative centre of the Chernobyl Raion since 1932....

. While admitting that the containment structure for Fukushima Dai-ichi was more much advanced than that at Chernobyl, he claimed there could be "nuclear explosion" rather than (as reported) a hydrogen explosion, if fuel elements had melted down

Nuclear meltdown

Nuclear meltdown is an informal term for a severe nuclear reactor accident that results in core damage from overheating. The term is not officially defined by the International Atomic Energy Agency or by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission...

and collected at the bottom of the vessel. He also asserted that a brief spike in radiation levels at a reactor north of Fukushima Dai-ichi indicated "up to 100 kilometers away, we are getting concentrations of plutonium, cesium and iodine" (sic - presumably radionuclides thereof) released from Fukushima Dai-ichi, making the releases comparable in his opinion to Chernobyl, in terms of human health impact. In response to Fells' characterization of the worst immediate effects being loss of power to an advanced industrial society, Busby said "this is a radiological catastrophe already", asserting in particular that plutonium releases were the major cause of concern.

On 30 March 2011 Busby first appeared on Russia Today stating that the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster was worse than being reported. During the follow up interview on April 13, 2011, Busby stated that Fukushima radiation pollution could cause up to 400,000 added cancer cases among those living within 200 km of the reactor, with " reports of significant radiation ... even south of Tokyo".

On April 25 Busby stated on Russia Today that he believed one of the explosions at the Fukushima I nuclear reactors

Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant

The , also known as Fukushima Dai-ichi , is a disabled nuclear power plant located on a site in the towns of Okuma and Futaba in the Futaba District of Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. First commissioned in 1971, the plant consists of six boiling water reactors...

was a "nuclear" one, rather than a hydrogen explosion as reported. In the same Russia Today broadcast, he referred to calculations made with his colleagues estimating that Chernobyl had killed 1,400,000 people, and that Fukushima's death toll would be in the same range, if not worse.

Controversy Regarding Sale of "Anti-Radiation" Pills

Following the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster

Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster

, Busby established an internet presence discussing the risks of ionizing radiation

Ionizing radiation

and a conspiracy theory

Conspiracy theory

A conspiracy theory explains an event as being the result of an alleged plot by a covert group or organization or, more broadly, the idea that important political, social or economic events are the products of secret plots that are largely unknown to the general public.-Usage:The term "conspiracy...

involving Japanese Government's efforts to spread radioactive contamination throughout the country. He also marketed online, services and a mineral supplement he claimed mitigate the dangers of injested radioisotopes

Ionizing radiation

.

Most notably, Busby claimed radioactive caesium-137

Caesium-137

Caesium-137 is a radioactive isotope of caesium which is formed as a fission product by nuclear fission.It has a half-life of about 30.17 years, and decays by beta emission to a metastable nuclear isomer of barium-137: barium-137m . Caesium-137 is a radioactive isotope of caesium which is formed...

released from the nuclear disaster can cause heart muscle damage and heart attacks in children and a mineral supplement, sold on his Japanese language website via 4u-detox of San Pedro, California, could prevent these deleterious effects (labelled Busby Laboratories, Formula 1, Christopher Busby Foundation for The Children of Fukushima). Busby says he bases his cardiac claims on the work of husband-and-wife team Yury Bandazhevsky & Galina Bandazhevskaya; known for their controversial claims that arrhythmia and heart attacks occurred in children at caesium-137

Caesium-137

levels as low as 50 Bqkg⁻¹ and that oral apple pectin

Pectin

Pectin is a structural heteropolysaccharide contained in the primary cell walls of terrestrial plants. It was first isolated and described in 1825 by Henri Braconnot...

increases its excretion (by comparison banana

Banana equivalent dose

A banana equivalent dose is a whimsical unit of radiation exposure, informally defined as the additional dose a person will absorb from eating one banana...

contains ca. 3000 Bqkg⁻¹ of natural potassium-40

Potassium-40

Potassium-40 is a radioactive isotope of potassium which has a very long half-life of 1.248 years, or about 39.38 seconds.Potassium-40 is a rare example of an isotope which undergoes all three types of beta decay. About 89.28% of the time, it decays to calcium-40 with emission of a beta particle...

).

Busby later self-published a document that he claimed offered theoretical

Theory

The English word theory was derived from a technical term in Ancient Greek philosophy. The word theoria, , meant "a looking at, viewing, beholding", and referring to contemplation or speculation, as opposed to action...

support for his supplement, namely an ability to block certain radioisotopes from binding to DNA. However, his document also explains that his supplement can not block caesium-137

Caesium-137

, because it does not contain a protective dose of stable caesium:

Additionally, Busby alleges the Japanese Government is involved in a conspiracy to spread radioactive contamination throughout Japan, in an effort to hide cancer clusters from epidemiologists

Epidemiology

Epidemiology is the study of health-event, health-characteristic, or health-determinant patterns in a population. It is the cornerstone method of public health research, and helps inform policy decisions and evidence-based medicine by identifying risk factors for disease and targets for preventive...

and thus hinder litigation (cancer clusters are typically statistically identified by comparison with an unexposed cohort

Cohort study

A cohort study or panel study is a form of longitudinal study used in medicine, social science, actuarial science, and ecology. It is an analysis of risk factors and follows a group of people who do not have the disease, and uses correlations to determine the absolute risk of subject contraction...

).

Gerry Thomas, professor of molecular pathology

Molecular pathology

Molecular pathology is an emerging discipline within pathology which is focused in the study and diagnosis of disease through the examination of molecules within organs, tissues or bodily fluids....

at the department of surgery and cancer at Imperial College, London, condemned the "anti-radiation" pills as useless and described the claims made by Busby as ludicrous. Ohtsura Niwa, professor at the Kyoto University

Kyoto University

, or is a national university located in Kyoto, Japan. It is the second oldest Japanese university, and formerly one of Japan's Imperial Universities.- History :...

Radiation Biology Center and CEO of BioMedics Japan, disagreed with Busby's contention that radiation is being deliberately spread throughout Japan. Niwa noted that the ownership of dosimeters

Dosimeter

Dosimeters measure an individual's or an object'sexposure to something in the environment — particularly to a hazard inflicting cumulative impact over long periods of time, or over a lifetime...

in Japan is now widespread and if radioactive contamination

Radioactive contamination

Radioactive contamination, also called radiological contamination, is radioactive substances on surfaces, or within solids, liquids or gases , where their presence is unintended or undesirable, or the process giving rise to their presence in such places...

was actively spread about, people would know. Niwa also agreed with Thomas, that mineral supplements cannot guard against strontium

Strontium

Strontium is a chemical element with the symbol Sr and the atomic number 38. An alkaline earth metal, strontium is a soft silver-white or yellowish metallic element that is highly reactive chemically. The metal turns yellow when exposed to air. It occurs naturally in the minerals celestine and...

, uranium

Uranium

and plutonium

Plutonium

Plutonium is a transuranic radioactive chemical element with the chemical symbol Pu and atomic number 94. It is an actinide metal of silvery-gray appearance that tarnishes when exposed to air, forming a dull coating when oxidized. The element normally exhibits six allotropes and four oxidation...

radioisotopes

Radionuclide

. Similar mineral supplements are widely available in chemists in Tokyo

Tokyo

, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...

, at 1/8^th cost offered by Busby Laboratories.

Recently, a research team at the Experimental Radio-TOXological Laboratory (LRTOX), France, independently investigated the effects of high level (500 Bqkg⁻¹) caesium-137

Caesium-137

exposure in animals (heart, testes, blood, cholesterol, immune system, foetus etc.). For example, Guéguen et al. (2008) investigated the possible cardiac effects of 500 Bqkg⁻¹ caesium-137 exposure in rats over 3 months. They observed that, while caesium-137

Caesium-137

exposure did not cause any damage to heart cells or arrhythmias, results indicated that quite subtle cardiac impairment might worsen in some sensitive individuals over time. Also, Le Gal et al. (2006) found that the excretion of caesium-137

Caesium-137

was not increased by oral apple pectin

Pectin

Pectin is a structural heteropolysaccharide contained in the primary cell walls of terrestrial plants. It was first isolated and described in 1825 by Henri Braconnot...

, however prussian blue

Prussian blue

Prussian blue is a dark blue pigment with the idealized formula Fe718. Another name for the color Prussian blue is Berlin blue or, in painting, Parisian blue. Turnbull's blue is the same substance but is made from different reagents....

(the drug Radiogardase^®) enhanced faecal excretion of caesium-137 fivefold. Furthermore, the study of Bandazhevskaya (2004) involving oral apple pectin

Pectin

Pectin is a structural heteropolysaccharide contained in the primary cell walls of terrestrial plants. It was first isolated and described in 1825 by Henri Braconnot...

was criticised by Jargin (2010), who highlighted a number of serious flaws that meant the claims made could not substantiated.

Claiming that a supplement can be of use in the "cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease" renders it equivalent to a drug and subject to oversight by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

Food and Drug Administration

The Food and Drug Administration is an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, one of the United States federal executive departments...

(Section 201(g)(1) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act). Specifically, drugs must be demonstrated to work and proven safe. In April 2011, the FDA

Food and Drug Administration

The Food and Drug Administration is an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, one of the United States federal executive departments...

sent warning letters to an unrelated company, Premier Micronutrient Corporation of Nashville, Tennessee, USA, who similarly claim that it's "anti-oxidant" supplements are capable of preventing illness caused by radiation (Bioshield-Radiation^® R1 and Bioshield Radiation^® R2). The FDA

Food and Drug Administration

The Food and Drug Administration is an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, one of the United States federal executive departments...

pointed out there was no scientific data demonstrating the drugs safety or effectiveness in treating radiation exposure. However, Bioshield Radiation^® R2 subsequently resumed sale with a legal waver, "These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease."; that it is a food supplement

Dietary supplement

A dietary supplement, also known as food supplement or nutritional supplement, is a preparation intended to supplement the diet and provide nutrients, such as vitamins, minerals, fiber, fatty acids, or amino acids, that may be missing or may not be consumed in sufficient quantities in a person's diet...

. The FDA

Food and Drug Administration

The Food and Drug Administration is an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, one of the United States federal executive departments...

approves three over-the-counter drugs for iodine-131 and one prescription drug (Radiogardase®) for caesium-137 contamination.

Membership/Peak Bodies/Committees

Royal Society of Chemistry
Royal Society of Medicine
International Society for Environmental Epidemiology
Ukraine Committee: Physicians of Chernobyl
(Department of Health and DEFRA) CERRIE Committee Examining Radiation Risk from Internal Emitters 2001-2004 www.cerrie.org
Ministry of Defence DUOB Depleted Uranium Oversight Board 2002-2007 www.duob.org
Scientific Secretary: European Committee on Radiation Risk www.euradcom.org
Science Policy group Leader: Policy Information Network on Child Health and Environment PINCHE www.pinche.org

Publications

Busby, Chris; Hamdan, Malak; Ariabi, Entesar. (2010) Cancer, Infant Mortality and Birth Sex-Ratio in Fallujah, Iraq 2005–2009. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 7, no. 7: 2828-2837.
Busby C.C. (2009) Very Low Dose Fetal Exposure to Chernobyl Contamination Resulted in Increases in Infant Leukemia in Europe and Raises Questions about Current Radiation Risk Models. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.; 6(12):3105-3114. http://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/6/12/3105
Busby Chris (2009) Depleted Uranium, Why all the fuss? Disarmament Forum 3 25-33 Geneva: United Nations
Busby Chris, Lengfelder Edmund, Pflugbeil Sebastian, Schmitz Feuerhake, Inge (2009) The evidence of radiation effects in embryos and fetuses exposed by Chernobyl fallout and the question of dose response. Medicine, Conflict, Survival 25(1) 18-39
Busby Chris (2008) Is there a sea coast effect on childhood leukaemia in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, 1975-2002 ? Occupational and Environmental Medicine 65, 4, 286-287
Busby Chris and Schnug Ewald (2008) Advanced biochemical and biophysical aspects of uranium contamination. In: (Eds) De Kok, L.J. and Schnug, E. Loads and Fate of Fertilizer Derived Uranium. Backhuys Publishers, Leiden, The Netherlands, ISBN/EAN 978-90-5782-193-6.
Busby C C and Howard CV (2006) ‘Fundamental errors in official epidemiological studies of environmental pollution in Wales’ Journal of Public Health March 22, 2006
Busby C and Fucic A (2006) Ionizing Radiation and children’s health: PINCHE conclusions Acta Paediatrica S 453 81-86
Van den Hazel P, Zuurbier M, Bistrup M L, Busby C, Fucic A, Koppe JG et al. (2006) Policy and science in children’s health and environment: Recommendations from the PINCHE project. Acta Paediatrica S 453 114-119
Koppe JG, Bartonova A, Bolte G, Bistrup ML, Busby C, Butter M et al. (2006) Exposure to multiple environmental agents and their effects. Acta Paediatrica S 453 106-114
Van den Hazel P, Zuurbier M, Babisch W, Bartonova A, Bistrup M-L, Bolte G, Busby C et al., (2006) ‘Today’s epidemics in children: possible relations to environmental pollution’ Acta Paediatrica S 453 18-26
Elsaesser A, Busby C, McKerr G and Howard CV (2007) Nanoparticles and radiation. EMBO Conference: Nanoparticles. October 2007 Madrid
C.V.Howard,A.Elsaesser&C.Busby (2009) Thebiologicalimplicationsofradiation induced photoelectron production, as a function of particle size and composition. International Conference; Royal Society for Chemistry
NanoParticles 2009 www.soci.org/News/~/media/Files/.../Oral_18_32.ashx
Busby CC (2005) Does uranium contamination amplify natural background radiation dose to the DNA? European J. Biology and Bioelectromagnetics. 1 (2) 120-131
Busby CC (2005) Depleted Uranium Weapons, metal particles and radiation dose. European J. Biology and Bioelectromagnetics. 1(1) 82-93
Busby CC and Coghill R (2005) Are there enhanced radioactivity levels near high voltage powerlines? European J. Biology and Bioelectromagnetics. 1(2) Ch 7.
Busby Chris and Bramhall Richard (2005) Is there an excess of childhood cancer in North Wales on the Menai Strait, Gwynedd? Concerns about the accuracy of analyses carried out by the Wales Cancer Intelligence Unit and those using its data. European J. Biology and Bioelectromagnetics. 1(3) 504-526
Busby Chris and Morgan Saoirse (2005) Routine monitoring of air filters at the Atomic Weapons Establishment Aldermaston, UK show increases in Uranium from Gulf War 2 operations. European J. Biology and Bioelectromagnetics 1(4) 650-668
Busby C.C (2002). ‘High Risks at low doses.’ Proceedings of 4th International Conference on the Health Effects of Low-level Radiation: Oxford Sept 24 2002. (London: British Nuclear Energy Society).
Busby, C. C. and Cato, M. S. (2000), ‘Increases in leukemia in infants in Wales and Scotland following Chernobyl: evidence for errors in risk estimates’ Energy and Environment 11(2) 127-139
Busby C.,(2000), ‘Response to Commentary on the Second Event Theory by Busby’ International Journal of Radiation Biology 76 (1) 123-125
Busby C.C. and Cato M.S. (2001) ‘Increases in leukemia in infants in Wales and Scotland following Chernobyl: Evidence for errors in statutory risk estimates and dose response assumptions’. International Journal of Radiation Medicine 3 (1) 23
Busby Chris and Cato, Molly Scott (1998), ‘Cancer in the offspring of radiation workers: exposure to internal radioisotopes may be responsible.’ British Medical Journal 316 1672
Busby C, and M. Scott Cato, (1997)`Death Rates from Leukemia are Higher than Expected in Areas around Nuclear Sites in Berkshire and Oxfordshire’, British Medical Journal, 315 (1997): 309.
Busby, C. (1994), `Increase in Cancer in Wales Unexplained', British Medical Journal, 308: 268.
Busby C and Creighton JA (1982)' Factors influencing the enhancement of Raman spectral intensity from a roughened silver surface'. J.Electroanal. Chem. 133 183-193
Busby CC and Creighton JA (1982)' Efficient silver and gold electrodes for surface enhanced Raman spectral studies' J. Electroanal Chem 140 379-390 Busby CC (1984) J.Electroanal Chem 162 251-262
Busby CC (1984) 'Voltage Induced intensity changes in surface Raman bands from silver electrodes and their variation with excitation frequency'. Surface Science 140 294-306

Books

Busby, C. C. (1992), Low level radiation from the nuclear industry: the biological consequences. (Aberystwyth: Green Audit)
Busby C.C (1992) Peledriad isaf o'er diwydiant niwcliar: yr canleniadau biolegol. (Aberystwyth: Green Audit)
Busby, C. C. (1994), Radiation and Cancer in Wales (Aberystwyth: Green Audit).
Busby, C. C. (1995), Wings of Death: Nuclear Pollution and Human Health (Aberystwyth: Green Audit) ISBN 1-897761-03-1
Busby C.C (2003) ed with Bertell R, Yablokov A, Schmitz Feuerhake I and Scott Cato M. ECRR2003: 2003 recommendations of the European Committee on Radiation Risk- The health effects of ionizing radiation at low dose—Regulator's edition. (Brussels: ECRR-2003) 2004 Translations of the above into French Japanese Russian and Spanish (see www.euradcom.org for details)
Busby CC, with Bramhall R and Scott Cato MS (2000) I don’t know Much about Science: political decision making in scientific and technical areas. Aberystwyth: Green Audit (this book influenced the structure and formation of the CERRIE committee and advocates an oppositional structure to science advisory committees in order to allow for cultural bias in science advice. It has now been carried forward by PINCHE in Europe.).
Busby CC, Bramhall R and Dorfman P (2004) CERRIE Minority Report 2004: Minority Report of the UK Department of Health/ Department of Environment (DEFRA) Committee Examining Radiation Risk from Internal Emitters (CERRIE) Aberystwyth: Sosiumi Press
Busby CC and others (2004) Report of the Committee Examining Radiation Risk from Internal Emitters (CERRIE) Chilton, UK: National Radiological Protection Board
Busby C and Yablokov AV (2006) ECRR 2006. Chernobyl 20 year On. The Health Effects of the Chernobyl Accident. Brussels: ECRR/ Aberystwyth: Green Audit
Busby Chris (2006) Wolves of Water. A Study Constructed from Atomic Radiation, Morality, Epidemiology, Science, Bias, Philosophy and Death. Aberystwyth: Green Audit ISBN 1-897761-26-0
Busby Christo (2009) Our Mother who art in Everything. Poems 2004-8 Llandrinddod Wells, Wales: Sosiumi Press
Busby C and Yablokov AV (2009) ECRR 2006. Chernobyl 20 year On. The Health Effects of the Chernobyl Accident. 2nd Edition Brussels: ECRR/ Aberystwyth: Green Audit ISBN 1-897761-15-5
Busby C, Yablolov AV, Schmitz Feuerhake I, Bertell R and Scott Cato M (2010) ECRR2010 The 2010 Recommendations of the European Committee on Radiation Risk. The Health Effects of Ionizing Radiation at Low Doses and Low Dose Rates. Brussels: ECRR; Aberystwyth Green Audit
Busby C (2010) The health effects of exposure to uranium and uranium weapons. Documents of the ECRR 2010 No 2. Brussels: ECRR download free from www.euradcom.org

Also: Busby C (2004) Nuclear Cover-Ups Video DVD Aberystwyth: Green Audit Films Busby Christo (2009) Songs from a Cold Climate (CD) Aberystwyth: Green Audit See also www.myspace.com/christobusby

Book Chapters

Busby, C. C. (1996a), ‘ in Bramhall, R. (ed.), The Health Effects of Low Level Radiation: Proceedings of a Symposium held at the House of Commons, 24 April 1996 (Aberystwyth: Green Audit).
Busby, C. C. (1998), ‘Enhanced mutagenicity from internal sequentially decaying beta emitters from second event effects.’ In ‘Die Wirkung niedriger Strahlendosen- im kindes-und Jugendalter, in der Medizin, Umwelt ind technik, am Arbeitsplatz’. Proceedings of International Congress of the German Society for Radiation Protection. Eds: Koehnlein W and Nussbaum R. Muenster, 28 March 1998 (Bremen: Gesellschaft fur Strahlenschutz)
Busby C.C and Scott Cato M (1999) 'A Planetary Impact index' in Molly Scott Cato and Miriam Kennett eds. Green Economics- beyond supply and demand to meeting peoples needs. Aberystwyth: Green Audit
Busby C (2004) Depleted Science: the health consequences and mechanisms of exposure to fallout from Depleted Uranium weapons. In The Trojan Horses of Nuclear War Kuepker M and Kraft D eds. Hamburg: GAAA
Busby Chris (2007) New nuclear risk models, real health effects and court cases. pp 35–46 in- Updating International Nuclear Law Eds—Stockinger H, van Dyke JM et al. Vienna: Neuer Wissenschaftlicher Verlag
Busby C (2008) Depleted Uranium. Why all the fuss? United Nations Disarmament Forum Journal UNIDIR, Nov 2008

External links

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