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Maryville, Mo. —
Oh my goodness, here’s a column I never thought I’d write.
At least not from the angle I’m about to take, which is dangerously close to the position Ann Coulter has espoused on the same topic.
Blame it on Facebook.
Blame it on Tony Brown’s recent post on aforesaid Facebook that happened to catch my attention.
Blame it on too much basketball on the TV during the first weekend of the NCAA’s March Madness. (I know, Missouri left the championship chase early — and as of this writing, the coach may be leaving too — but I watched some pretty exciting basketball anyway.)
Blame it on the time I spent in Montana.
Whatever.
But I’ve been there, literally and figuratively.
In her much maligned remarks on Bill O’Reilly’s Fox News show the other night, Coulter launched a monologue about some degree of radiation being good for your health.
O’Reilly was flabbergasted, as I am reasonably certain most of his viewers — and probably most of you readers — would be too, given the reasonableness of the topic.
Now let’s be clear about where I’m coming from before launching into any more of this discussion. I think Coulter is more concerned with making headlines and spreading misinformation than she is in disseminating scientific research. But — as is most often the case among those of her ilk, half-truths are more dangerous than outright lies — and in this case, her contention about radiation, on its face, is pretty much of a half-truth.
No, I haven’t lost my mind, or my political orientation.
But I have seen folks line up to go down into the abandoned gold and uranium mines that are located in and around Boulder and Basin, Mont., to absorb the “healing qualities” of radioactive radon gas.
Throngs come annually to sit in the mines two or three times a day, until they hit the maximum annual exposure level designated by the state. The permitted total visit time is determined by the radiation level of the particular mine the patient patronizes.
The average visitor is 72 years old, primarily "plain people," such as the Amish or the Mennonites, because of the "natural" healing aspects, the lack of commercialization, and the relatively low cost-per-hour for treatment sessions. Prescriptions for time in the mines are available, primarily from Canadian doctors.
Oh my goodness, here’s a column I never thought I’d write.
At least not from the angle I’m about to take, which is dangerously close to the position Ann Coulter has espoused on the same topic.
Blame it on Facebook.
Blame it on Tony Brown’s recent post on aforesaid Facebook that happened to catch my attention.
Blame it on too much basketball on the TV during the first weekend of the NCAA’s March Madness. (I know, Missouri left the championship chase early — and as of this writing, the coach may be leaving too — but I watched some pretty exciting basketball anyway.)
Blame it on the time I spent in Montana.
Whatever.
But I’ve been there, literally and figuratively.
In her much maligned remarks on Bill O’Reilly’s Fox News show the other night, Coulter launched a monologue about some degree of radiation being good for your health.
O’Reilly was flabbergasted, as I am reasonably certain most of his viewers — and probably most of you readers — would be too, given the reasonableness of the topic.
Now let’s be clear about where I’m coming from before launching into any more of this discussion. I think Coulter is more concerned with making headlines and spreading misinformation than she is in disseminating scientific research. But — as is most often the case among those of her ilk, half-truths are more dangerous than outright lies — and in this case, her contention about radiation, on its face, is pretty much of a half-truth.
No, I haven’t lost my mind, or my political orientation.
But I have seen folks line up to go down into the abandoned gold and uranium mines that are located in and around Boulder and Basin, Mont., to absorb the “healing qualities” of radioactive radon gas.
Throngs come annually to sit in the mines two or three times a day, until they hit the maximum annual exposure level designated by the state. The permitted total visit time is determined by the radiation level of the particular mine the patient patronizes.
The average visitor is 72 years old, primarily "plain people," such as the Amish or the Mennonites, because of the "natural" healing aspects, the lack of commercialization, and the relatively low cost-per-hour for treatment sessions. Prescriptions for time in the mines are available, primarily from Canadian doctors.
And I have seen the canes, crutches and walkers previous patients have left behind when they departed following a treatment regime that consists of less than 40 hours, total.
Between the two small Montana communities located atop the Boulder Batholithic formation that is rich in mineral ores, there are at least five “clinics” to choose from, including the Sunshine Health Mine, the Merry Widow, the Free Enterprise, Earth Angel and the Radon Tunnel. All are located in close proximity to either Boulder or Basin, which, with its Montana Artists Refuge, is the more artistic of the two towns. Both are readily accessible from Interstate 15 between Helena and Butte.
Perhaps the most attractive accommodations — well, at least the most interesting — while visiting any one of the several mines is the Castoria Inn in Boulder. Why interesting? The quaint bed and breakfast was once the home of Charles Henry Fletcher, who, in 1871, launched an earlier icon of American healing, Fletcher’s Castoria.
So, what is the attraction of a restricted area some eight stories deep in the ground emitting levels of radon that reach as much as 175 times the federal safety standard level set for houses?
Radon is a colorless, tasteless inert element formed by the disintegration of radium, which purportedly contains healing properties that cure the symptoms of arthritis, diabetes, eczema, emphysema, MS, sinusitis, migraine, gout, lupus and asthma, among other chronic crippling maladies. Breast cancer, scleroderma, carpal tunnel and circulation problems are also included on the list of “targets.”
The temperature in the Merry Widow is usually around 60 degrees year around. Although the mineral water that seeps from the tunnel walls is much colder, it, too, is held to have healing properties and patients regularly soak their feet. Others drink the sparkling liquid, which meets state standards for purity.
Although not required by law, the mines recommend that children under 18 and women who are pregnant consult their physicians before submitting to radon therapy. In its promotional materials, the Free Enterprise stipulates that 32 hours of radon exposure over a 10-day period approximates 6 mSv (.6 rads, rems, or Roentgens) — about twice the normal radiation exposure persons receive yearly.
“To put this in further perspective, populations thrive at levels measuring in excess of 260 mSv annually with no adverse effects,” according to the mine’s materials.
Coulter even mentions the Montana “health mines” in her appearance with O’Reilly, but her host obviously takes her remarks to be debunking any concerns for or about the more radically affected populations in Japan.
It is a sad commentary that even a radical like Coulter can’t make a valid comment without being maligned for her opinion if it differs from someone else’s point of view.
That’s really putting politics in the way of common sense.
–Jim Fall is a local weekly columnist and former publisher of the Maryville Daily Forum.
