Skeptic on radiation limits will head EPA radiation panel

WASHINGTON (AP) " A physicist who argues that U.S. guidelines for low-dose radiation are too strict will head the Environmental Protection Agency's Radiation Advisory Committee.

California scientist Brant Ulsh is at the forefront of an argument that low doses of radiation pose little or no health threat. And he urges the EPA to abandon its decades-old position that any amount of exposure to the most dangerous kinds of radiation is a cancer risk.

Ulsh argues that the EPA's current no-tolerance rules for radiation force needless expenses on nuclear facilities.

EPA spokesman John Konkus declined immediate comment on any significance of the appointment when it comes to the agency's consideration of radiation rules.