3 April, 2007

Spinning wind

According to the BBC's reporting of research initially published in BMC Public Health, exposure to radiation, such as that after the Chernobyl disaster in 1986, may carry no greater health risks than those posed by obesity, smoking and urban (air) pollution.

Contrast that interpretation, under the title "Radiation risk 'less significant'", with the Guardian's coverage of the same story, under the title "Urban air pollution 'more dangerous than Chernobyl'". Both articles present the same (apparent) facts, but with totally different emphases. For once, the Guardian's seems more hysterical.

This rather reinforces the fact that one should never rely on a single news source.