Former Reagan Science Advisor Says Dioxin "Won't Kill A Bullfrog"
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Dr. Alvin L. Young speaks to the Saginaw Valley Torch Club meeting at the Midland Country Club recently.
The Internet, environmentalists and the media are recklessly scaring the public about the extent of risk from dioxin and other alleged contaminants and silicone breast implants.
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That's the strongly-stated position of Dr. Alvin L. Young, University of Oklahoma visiting professor amd former official in the administration of President Ronald Reagan.
Dr. Young, a government science advisor for nearly 20 years, spoke recently at the Saginaw Valley Torch Club's guest night at the Midland Country Club, contending that the United States is 20th in the world in scientific literacy.
"We are being told that chemistry is so bad and being fed a line that simply doesn't track," said Dr. Young, addressing his remarks to a crowd highly sensitive about issues involving like dioxin involving The Dow Chemical Company and silicone breast implants involving Dow Corning Corporation.
Although dioxin is toxic, "it won't kill a bullfrog," Dr. Young told an audience at the MATRIX:Midland lecture series in February. He said there has never been a confirmed death from dioxin.
He added: "We know it causes cancer in animals, but there is a huge difference between animals and humans." He ticked off a list of "risks" that Americans have been warned about that have not been proven to be real: asbestos, radon, electro-magnetic fields, video display terminals, genetically modified organisms, vehicle brake shoes and dioxin, an issue plaguing The Dow Chemical Co. in Midland.
Dr. Young said the nation spent about $100 billion in cleaning up asbestos, only to learn after 12 years that the Environmental Protection Agency had identified the wrong kind of asbestos as being dangerous.
He blamedlawyers and the educational system for helping create the public misperceptions. "We have 144 law schools; do we really need more lawyers?" asked Dr. Young. "Uruguay is tops in the world in education and China is second. Our schools are not doing a good job despite spending more."
Another problem is that the U.S. has neglected basic research and mainly funds research to provide solutions to problems, according to Dr. Young.
He showed a mind-boggling array of charts detailing the hundreds of agencies and thousands of officials comprising the scientific bureaucracy in which research gets bogged down. Every scientific issue is subjected to seven hearings, he said.
Another problem he cited is the object of the research, asking the rhetorical question: "Can scientists produce objective knowledge in a world where research is increasingly directed toward making money or meeting social needs?
The nation is falling behind the rest of the world scientifically for anotherreason, Dr. Young said. Until two decades ago the U.S. thrived on risk but now our will to take risks has drastically declined. He said: "In the real world you can't eliminate adversities."###
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