(486.4825) Food & Water - Beginning in 1986, the FDA has given the green light to
expose nearly the entire US food supply to nuclear irradiation. Since then, staunch citizens'
opposition has kept the technology out of use. Its use in the beef industry would open the door to
food irradiation as the "solution" to contamination crises in all food groups, from poultry to
fruits and vegetables.
With beef irradiation approved, citizens' opposition, not government regulation, remains the
critical component in keeping irradiated food off US store shelves. And from the hazards inherent
in the technology to the FDA's own admission that the safety studies are flawed, the risks involved
with food irradiation still far outweigh the presumed "benefits".
Food is irradiated using radioactive gamma sources, usually cobalt 60 or cesium 137, or
high-energy electron beams. The gamma rays break up the molecular structure of the food, forming
positively- and negatively-charged particles called free radicals. The free radicals react with the
food to create new chemical substances called "radiolytic products". Those unique to the
irradiation process are known as "unique radiolytic products" (URPs).
Some radiolytic products, such as formaldehyde, benzene, formic acid and quinones are harmful to
human health. Benzene, for example, is a known carcinogen. In one experiment, seven times more
benzene was found in cooked, irradiated beef than in cooked, non- irradiated beef. Some URPs are
completely new chemicals that have not even been identified, let alone tested for toxicity.
In addition, irradiation destroys essential vitamins and minerals, including vitamin A, thiamine,
B2, B3, B6, B12, folic acid, C, E, and K; animo acid and essential polyunsaturated fatty acid
content may also be affected. A 20-to-80 percent loss of any of these is not uncommon.
Safety studies flawed
The FDA reviewed 441 toxicity studies to determine the safety of irradiated foods. Dr. Marcia
van Gemert, the team leader in charge of new food additives at the FDA and the chairperson of the
committee in charge of investigating the studies, testified that all 4451 studies were flawed. The
government considers irradiation a food additive in testing food additives for toxicity, laboratory
animals are fed high levels (in comparison to a human diet) of potential toxins. The results must
then be applied to humans with theoretical models. It is questionable whether the studies the FDA
used to approve food irradiation followed this process. In fact, the FDA claimed only five of the
441 were "properly conducted, fully adequate by 1980 toxicological standards, and able to stand
alone in support of safety". With the shaky assurance of just five studies, the FDA approved
irradiation for the public food supply.
To make matters worse, the Department of Preventive Medicine and Community Health of the New
Jersey Medical School found that two of the (five) studies were methodologically flawed. In a third
study, animals eating a diet of irradiated food experienced weight loss and miscarriage, almost
certainly due to irradiation-induced vitamin E dietary deficiency. The remaining two studies
investigated the effects of diets of food irradiated at doses below the FDA-approved general level
of 100,000 rads. Thus, they cannot be used to justify food irradiation at the levels approved by
the FDA.
Other studies indicate serious health problems associated with eating irradiated food. A
compilation of 12 studies carried out by Raltech Scientific Services, Inc. under contract with the
US government examined the effect of feeding irradiated chicken to several animal species. The
studies indicated the possibility of chromosome damage, immunotoxicity, greater incidence of kidney
disease, cardiac thrombus, and fibroplasia. In reveiwing Raltech's findings in 1984, USDA
(Department f Agricultur) researcher Donald Thayer asserted: "A collective assessment of study
results argues against a definitive conclusion that the gamma-irradiated test material was free of
toxic properties."
Studies of rats fed irradiated food also indicate possible kidney and testicular damage and a
statistically significant increase in testicular tumors. One landmark study in India found four out
of five children fed irradiated wheat developing polyploidy, a chromosomal abnormality that is a
good indication of future cancer development.
Irradiation proponents often claim that decades of research demontrate the safety of food irradiation, but the studies they use to prove it are questionable. For instance, their "proof" includes studies completed by Industrial Bio-Test (IBT), a firm convicted in 1983 of conducting fraudulent research for government and industry. As a result of IBT's violations, the government lost about US$4 million and six years of animal feeding study data on food irradiation. Some of this discredited work is still used as part of the "scientific" basis for assurances of the safety of food irradiation.
Accidents happen
Workers in irradiation plants risk exposure to large doses of radiation due to equipment
failure, leaks, and the production, transportation, storage, installation and replacement of
radiation sources. The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has recorded 54 accidents at 132
irradiations facilities worldwide since 1974. But this number is probably low since the NRC has no
information about irradiation facilities in approximately 30 "agreement states" which have the
authority to monitor facilities on their own.
New Jersey is home of the highest concentration of irradiation facilities, and virtually every New
Jersey plant has a record of environmental contamination, worker overexposure, or regulatory
failures. Accidents can be nearly fatal to workers and extremely dangerous to the surrounding
communities. For instance, in 1991, a worker at a Maryland facility suffered critical injuries when
exposed to ionizing radiation from an electron-beam accelerator. The victim developed sores and
blisters on his feet, face and scalp, and lost fingers on both hands.
In 1988, Radiation Sterilizers, Inc. (RSI) in Decatur, Georgia US, reported a leak of cesium 137
capsules into the water storage pool, endangering workers and contaminating the facility. Workers
then carried the radioactivity into their homes and cars. Cleanup costs exceeded $30 million and
taxpayers footed the bill.
In 1986, the NRC revoked the license of a Radiation Technology, Inc. (RTI) facility in New Jersey
for 32 worker-safety violations, including throwing radioactive garbage out with the trash and
bypassing a key safety device. As a result of this negligence, one worker received a near-lethal
dose of radiation.
In 1982 an accident at International Nutronics in Dover, NJ, contaminated the plant and forced its
closure. Radiation baths were used to purify gems, chemicals, food and medical supplies.
In 1974 an Isomedix facility in New Jersey flushed radioactive water down toilets and contaminated
pipes leading to sewers. In the same year, a worker received a dose of radiation considered lethal
for 70 percent of the population. Prompt hospital treatment saved his life.
Not a Silver Bullet
Irradiation poses serious risks, and it still does not ensure safe meat. Although it kills
most bacteria, it does not destroy the toxins created in the early stages of contamination. And it
also kills beneficial bacteria which produce odors, indicating spoilage and naturally control the
growth of harmful bacteria.
Irradiation also stimulates aflatoxin production. Aflatoxin occurs naturally in humid areas and
tropical countries in fungus spores and on grains and vegetables. The World Health Organization
(WHO) considers aflatoxin to be a significant public health risk and a major contributor to liver
cancer in the US South.
In addition, irradiation will likely have a mutagenic effect on bacteria and viruses that survive
exposure. Mutated survivors could be resistant to antibiotics and could evolve into more virulent
strains. Mutated bacteria could also become radiation-resistant, rendering the radiation process
ineffective for food exposed to radiation-resistant strains.
Radiation-resistant strains of salmonella have already been developed under laboratory conditions,
and scientists at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge have found that one bacteria occurring
in spoiled meat and animal feces can survive a radiation dose five times what the FDA will
eventually approve for beef. Scientists exposed the bacteria, called D.radiodurans, to
between 10 and 15 kilograys (kGy) of radiation for several hours--enough radiation to kill a person
several thousand times over. The bacteria, which scientists speculate evolved to survive extreme
conditions of dehydration, survived the radiation exposure.
The Nuclear connection
To irradiate beef and poultry in the US on a mass scale, hundreds of irradiation facilities
would need to be built. Currently, the radiation source for most irradiators is cobalt 60, supplied
by the Canadian company Nordion International, Inc. But the only isotope available in sufficient
quantities for large-scale irradiation is cesium 137, which is also one of the deadliest. With a
half-life of 30 years, cesium 137 remains dangerous for nearly 600 years.
The US Department of Energy (DOE) initially encouraged food irradiation as part of its Byproduct
Utilization Program (BUT) created in the 1970s to promote the commercial use of nuclear byproducts.
The DOE claimed nuclear byproducts "have a wide range of applications in food technology,
agriculture, energy, public health, medicine, and industrial technology," and wanted to "ensure
full realization of the benefits of the peaceful atom".
At the same time, it would transfer the burden of nuclear waste from weapons production to
consumers--a fact the DOE admitted to the House Armed Services Committee in 1983: "The utilization
of these radioactive materials simply reduces our waste handling problem... we got some of these
very hot elements like cesium and strontium out of the waste."
Not only would this take care of the DOE's waste problem, it would develop the technology to
reprocess spent nuclear reactor fuel in order to recover cesium 137. The reprocessing would also
enable the DOE to recover plutonium, the main ingredient for nuclear weapons.
After the 1988 irradiator accident in Decatur, Georgia, the DOE stopped actively promoting food
irradiation and the use of cesium 137. But the sore of cesium 137 is ready and waiting.
Irradiation Today
With the FDA's imminent approval of beef irradiation, the irradiation industry is poised to
use it as a springboard for flooding the market with a new wave of food irradiation promotion. But
to be successful, irradiation proponents must convince retailers that consumers want the
technology. The irradiation industry sees education, or "consumer training", as a the key to
citizens' acceptance.
In response, scientists at major land-grant universities, with the full support of the USDA, are
developing "educational" material. Iowa State University (ISU), home of one of the two publicly
held food irradiation facilities in the US, developed a pro-irradiation educational video with a
$39,000 grant from the USDA Extension Service. The USDA gave grants to projects designed to
influence public acceptance of food technologies, specifically food irradiation.
But citizens don't want irradiated foods. Surveys conducted in 1990 and 1994 by Health Focus, a
marketing consulting firm specializing in consumer health trends, found that over 80 percent of
consumers were concerned about food irradiation. A study at ISU found that when consumers are given
solid arguments both for and against irradiation, acceptance of the technology is substantially
lower than if they were only given to the pro-irradiation side of the story. An August 1997 CBS
News nationwide poll found that 73 percent of the people oppose it, and 77 percent say they
wouldn't eat irradiated food.
Citizens' aversion to irradiation is so strong, no major supermarket chain will carry irradiated
foods, and all the top poultry companies in the nation have stated they will not adopt the
technology. The US government may approve it use, but that doesn't mean citizens will believe it's
safe, or that they will buy irradiated food.
Excepted from the Food & Water report Meat Monopolies: Dirty Meat and the False Promises of Irradiation by Susan Meeker- Lowry and Jennifer Ferrara, published in Food & Water Journal, Fall/Winter 1997-1998. For a copy of the complete report contact Food & Water Inc. at: R.R.1, Box 680, Walden, Vermont 05873. Tel: +1-802-563-3300; Fax: +1-802-563-3310
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