Two recent radiation-related genetic false alarms: leukemia in West Cumbria, England, and minisatellite mutations in Belarus.

Within the past decade, two reports have appeared purporting to demonstrate much greater human sensitivities to the genetic effects of radiation than are consistent with the Japanese or mouse data that I summarized earlier in this program. This presentation will review these reports, both of which are badly flawed, and then proceed to a few poignant remarks concerning the responsibilities of scientists, scientific journals, and even the press, with respect to highly sensitive genetic topics.