Full opinion text
FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW MIHM, Chief Judge. Before the court is a motion by defendants to exclude part of the testimony of plaintiffs causation expert, Dr. Karl Scher-ibel, and defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment based on the evidence then remaining in the case. This court grants both of defendants’ motions for the reasons stated herein. I. INTRODUCTION TO THIS CASE The plaintiff, James R. O’Conner (“O’Conner”), worked at a nuclear power plant and then later developed a medical condition, including bilateral cataracts, that he claims was caused by the radiation exposure that he received at the plant. He consulted with many physicians in an effort to determine whether or not he had a medical claim. He has consulted with and seen the following doctors regarding his alleged “injuries” caused by radiation: Dr. Karl Scheribel (ophthalmologist); Dr. John Nelson (ophthalmologist); Dr. Robert Reardon (ophthalmologist); Dr. Clarence Ward (ophthalmologist); Dr. William Bond (ophthalmologist); Dr. Michael Rosenberg (ophthalmologist); Dr. Ennio Rossi (internal medicine); Dr. Greg Ichtertz (pulmonary medicine); Dr. James LeGrand (internal and pulmonary medicine); Dr. Bruce McLelland (dermatology); Dr. Mark Bullock (family medicine); Dr. Edward Silber-stein (radiology); Dr. Robert Chapman (psychiatry); and Dr. Robert Sadoff (psychiatry). A description of his alleged “injuries” is more fully set forth below. He filed this lawsuit in Illinois State Court on October 1, 1985. In passing the Price-Anderson Act, Congress recognized that a nuclear incident might be caused by any number of participants in the nuclear industry beyond the actual licensee. Congress did not want quick and fair compensation to be hampered by the complications likely to ensue if multiple defendants, each with its own law firm, were actively and separately defending. In a “significant departure from normal tort law precepts,” H.R.Rep. 104, 100th Cong., 1st Sess. pt. 3, at 16 (1987), Congress, through mandatory indemnification provisions, channelled all public liability to licensees, and away from non-licensees, (such as contractors like London Nuclear), who might otherwise have borne such liability under ordinary tort law. See 42 U.S.C. §§ 2014(t), 2014(w), 2210(a). Congress noted that “regardless of whether a commercial power plant accident was caused by actions of the licensee, the plant manufacturer, or any other party, liability would be ‘channeled’ to the licensee and payment would be obtained from the compensation pool funded by utilities.” H.R.Rep. 104, pt. 3, at 16. The channelling provisions alter the ordinary congruence in tort law between causing and bearing liability. S.Rep. No. 218, 100th Cong., 2d Sess. 4, reprinted in 1988 U.S.C.C.A.N. 1451, 1476, 1479 (“The Price Anderson System including ... the predetermined sources of funding, provides persons seeking compensation for injuries as a result of a nuclear incident with significant advantages over the procedures and standards for recovery that might otherwise be applicable under State tort law.”) Consequently, contractor London Nuclear Services cannot separately be liable to plaintiff in any manner in this case. One law firm has represented both defendants, without conflict, throughout the pendency of this action, since there can only be one liability pursuant to Price-Anderson and that liability is channeled solely through the licensee and through the financial protection provided by Price-Anderson. Any disagreements between defendants as to who might have done what wrong are irrelevant to O’Conner’s claim for compensation under Price-Anderson. The only relevant issues are whether the duty owed was breached (O’Conner’s exposure), and whether that exposure caused his claimed injury (causation). A. Procedural History This case has a long procedural history that includes two published opinions on other issues in this case. The standard of care applicable to a radiation worker receiving an occupational radiation exposure was determined to be the federal permissible dose limits. O’Conner v. Commonwealth Edison Company, 748 F.Supp. 672 (C.D.Ill.1990). The Price-Anderson Amendments Act, upon which this court’s jurisdiction rests, was found to be constitutional. O’Conner v. Commonwealth Edison Company, 770 F.Supp. 448 (C.D.Ill.1991). This present opinion will not revisit the issues in those two prior decisions but they are incorporated as part of the court’s rationale for granting summary judgment. Only those pleadings that are pertinent to the present opinion are set forth here. This case was filed in state court on October 1, 1985. Defendants removed the case to this court pursuant to the provisions of 28 U.S.C. § 1441 and the Price-Anderson Amendments Act of 1988, 42 U.S.C. § 2210(n)(2) on September 13, 1988. On-May 25, 1989, defendants filed a Motion for Summary Judgment on the grounds that there was no evidence that plaintiff had received a dose in excess of the Federal Permissible Dose Limits set forth at 10 C.F.R. § 20.101, and that there was no evidence that plaintiff’s occupational radiation exposure caused any injuries to the plaintiff. Plaintiff filed his Response on July 25, 1989. Plaintiff included in his response, among other things, the deposition testimony of Dr. Karl Scheribel in which he states that only radiation could have caused plaintiff’s cataracts, but did not include any affidavit from him that explained the basis of his causation opinion. At oral argument held on December 7, 1989, the court granted plaintiffs request to file supplemental affidavits and information regarding the basis of Dr. Scheribel’s opinion. Plaintiff then filed a Notice of Compliance that included a short affidavit from Dr. Scheribel that simply listed the names of four articles that supposedly provided the scientific basis of his opinion. The articles referred to in this affidavit are discussed in detail infra at Section IV F. On March 13, 1989, this court denied defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment on the grounds that a genuine issue of material fact existed as to whether plaintiff had received a dose in excess of the federal dose limits. That ruling was based upon what the court believed at the time was a reasonable inference from Dr. Scher-ibel’s testimony that if O’Conner has radiation induced cataracts, he must have received a large dose of radiation in excess of the federal limits. On June 5, 1990, defendants filed a Motion in Limine to Exclude Dr. Scheribel From Testifying on Causation. Defendants also filed a Motion in Limine for a Determination of the Legal Duty Owed in which defendants requested that the court determine that the federal permissible dose limits set forth at 10 C.F.R. § 20.101 constituted the duty of care required of a utility operating a nuclear power plant and that a jury could not properly disregard these federal dose limits and substitute their own standards. The court granted defendants’ Motion on September 26, 1990 for the reasons set forth in O’Conner v. Commonwealth Edison Co., 748 F.Supp. 672 (C.D.Ill.1990) and also granted plaintiffs petition for interlocutory appeal which was then denied by the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. Misc. No. 90-8103 (7th Cir., Oct. 26, 1990). The court denied defendants’ Motion to Exclude Dr. Scheribel on July 20, 1990. However, on August 29, 1991, after reconsidering the issue of the admissibility of Dr. Scheribel’s testimony sua sponte, the court entered an Order requesting “counsel to advise the court of the references in the record which bear on the admissibility of Dr. Scheribel’s testimony.” Specifically, the court requested plaintiff to provide more information on “exactly how many patients Dr. Scheribel has had with [radiation induced] cataracts” and “the information which provides the basis for Dr. Scher-ibel’s opinion.” Order dated December 22, 1989. Both parties filed briefs in response to said request. Plaintiff also filed a Motion for Direction and/or Clarification requesting the court to provide plaintiff with specific information about the court’s concerns regarding Dr. Scheribel’s testimony. At oral argument held on January 17, 1992, the court told plaintiff’s counsel that it was concerned with the admissibility of Dr. Scheribel’s testimony under Rules 702, 703, and Frye v. United States, 293 F. 1013 (D.C.Cir.1923). Specifically, the court advised plaintiff that Dr. Scheribel seemed to have no verifiable scientific foundation for his opinion that only radiation could have caused plaintiffs cataracts. Tr. of Oral Argument, Jan. 17, 1992 at 10-11. The court further advised that Dr. Scheribel did not appear to be qualified to opine that he could diagnose radiation induced cataracts by simply looking at them, and that such an opinion is not accepted in the scientific community. Id. at 13-14. Finally, the court specifically warned plaintiff that if he did not supplement the record to demonstrate that Dr. Scheribel was qualified and that there was a verifiable scientific basis for Dr. Scheribel’s opinion, the court would exclude him from testifying and would grant defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment since the remaining record would be insufficient to go to a jury. Id. at 19. Both parties then filed briefs in response to the court’s comments. Plaintiff has had sufficient time and sufficient opportunity to establish the verifiable basis of his expert’s opinion, if there is any, or to substitute a new expert. Upon this extensive record the court now rules. B. The Uncontested Facts of this Case These uncontested facts are mostly taken from the statement of uncontested facts that both parties agreed to in the Pretrial Order. Other facts in this case can be found in the court’s two prior Opinions. See O’Conner v. Commonwealth Edison Company, 748 F.Supp. 672 (C.D.Ill.1990); O’Conner v. Commonwealth Edison Company, 770 F.Supp. 448 (C.D.Ill.1991). In September and October of 1983, when he was 43 years old, O’Conner took a job as a pipefitter at Quad Cities. At that time the plant was shut down to change fuel. This is known as a refueling outage. After passing a pre-employment physical exam, O’Conner worked 14 days in the month of September, and 17 days in the month of October, 1983. Although he was actually employed as a pipefitter by Morrison Construction Company, a subcontractor at the plant, O’Conner was subject to extensive control by Commonwealth Edison as required by the NRC since this particular pipefitting work needed to be performed in an area containing radioactive materials. When radioactive material is in an area, that area is designated as a radiation controlled area and access to the area is limited to only those radiation workers who have been specially trained to work in such an area. A worker with such training is known as a radiation worker — to distinguish him from a regular worker at the plant who does not have this training and therefore cannot enter any radiation controlled areas. O’Conner worked as a radiation worker doing pipefitting, not as a regular worker doing pipefitting. As such, he was required to complete a radiation training course before he could enter any radiation controlled areas. After he completed the course he still could not enter any radiation controlled areas without first reading and signing in under a Radiation Work Permit, known as an RWP, which listed the actual levels of radiation in the work area and specified how the worker must dress and what radiation measuring devices the worker must wear at all times while he was in the radiation controlled area doing his work. O’Conner always obeyed these requirements. He never entered a radiation controlled area without the proper protective clothing or the proper radiation measuring instruments. Radiation is measured in units just as distance is measured in units such as inches, yards or miles. The basic radiation units that are important in this case are known as “rem” and “millirem.” One rem is equal to 1,000 millirem and conversely, one millirem is equal to one thousandth of a rem. To make these units of measurement more meaningful it is helpful to compare common doses all humans receive. The average American receives about 300 millirem per year from natural background radiation which is ubiquitous. Caputo v. Boston Edison Co., 924 F.2d 11, 12 n. 1 (1st Cir.1991); Bubash v. Philadelphia Electric Co., 717 F.Supp. 297, 299 (M.D.Pa.1989). Although mankind has produced many sources of radiation, natural background remains the greatest contributor to the radiation exposure of the U.S. population today. Background radiation has three components: terrestrial radiation (external), resulting from the presence of naturally occurring radionuclides in the soil and earth; cosmic radiation (external), arising from outer space; and naturally occurring radionuclides (internal), deposited in the human body. Johnston v. United States, 597 F.Supp. 374, 389 (D.C.Kan.1984) (quoting BEIR III at 37). In addition to natural background radiation, humans receive annual exposure from numerous medical sources and consumer products. For example, a routine chest x-ray gives a patient a dose of approximately 20 millirem. Hennessy v. Commonwealth Edison Co., 764 F.Supp. 495, 499 (N.D.Ill.1991). Moreover, the average American will receive 6.5 rem (6,500 millirem) from medical and dental x-rays by the time he is 65. Johnston v. United States, 597 F.Supp. at 390. Construction materials and radium clocks provide an annual dose of about 7-9 millirem, and television sets provide an annual dose of 1 millirem. Id.; Allen v. United States, 588 F.Supp. 247, 328 (D.Utah 1984), rev’d on other grounds, 816 F.2d 1417 (10th Cir.1987); cert. denied, 484 U.S. 1004, 108 S.Ct. 694, 98 L.Ed.2d 647 (1988). The amount of radiation to which a radiation worker is exposed is known as his dose. The dose of a radiation worker is recorded by radiation detection devices that he wears while working. One type of radiation detection device that all nuclear workers are required to wear is known as a film badge (or TLD). It is designed to record the worker’s radiation exposure and save it for a two week period of time, after which the film badge is processed and the two week dose is recorded in the worker’s radiation exposure records. A second type of radiation detection device is known as a self-reading pocket dosimeter (SRPD). This device can be read at any time by looking at it. Some SRPD’s read out with digital numbers like a digital watch, while others read out with a gauge like a car’s speedometer. O’Conner wore a film badge and two SRPD’s when he worked at Quad Cities. O’Conner’s main complaint is that he felt warm while working on the night of October 3 and therefore felt something had happened to overexpose him. O’Conner’s Dep. at 34. He alleges that he subsequently learned that London Nuclear was performing a dilute chemical decontamination on the same night and consequently that procedure must have caused him to receive “excessive” radiation exposure. Plaintiff never defined what “excessive” exposure was or offered any expert testimony that his dose exceeded the federal permissible dose limits applicable to radiation workers. O’Conner v. Commonwealth Edison Co., 748 F.Supp. at 675. In fact, his radiation exposure during the night of October 3, 1983 was measured at a maximum of .045 rem (45 millirem) on one of his SRPD’s (the other SRPD measured .038 rem (38 milli-rem). His exposure for all of September and October was recorded at 1.465 rem by his film badge. It is uncontested that these does, if accurate, simply are insufficient to cause cataracts because they fall far short of the threshold exposure necessary to cause cataracts. Since the minimum dose necessary to cause cataracts is 200 rem (Aff. of Dr. George R. Merriam Jr. at ¶ 14, Section I D infra), a dose of .045 rem would be about 4,444 times too small to cause a cataract. Defendants maintain that unless plaintiff can offer any credible evidence that O’Conner received a dose of 200 rem or more at one time, he cannot pass the required threshold dose in order to provide the necessary factual support for any expert opinion that radiation caused his cataracts. Defendants further contend that unless the plaintiff can offer any credible evidence that O’Conner received a dose in excess of 12 rem a year (or 3 rem in any quarter of the year) he cannot present the necessary factual basis for an expert opinion that the duty owed was violated. Plaintiff maintains that the testimony of Dr. Karl Scheri-bel meets both requirements. C. Consensus Scientific Background for this Case Radiation exposure and its effects upon humans is a very complex subject. Much background on this scientific subject can already be found in published case law. Johnston v. United States, 597 F.Supp. 374, 384-395 (D.Kan.1984); Allen v. United States, 588 F.Supp. 247, 260-329 (D.Utah 1984); Akins v. Sacramento Municipal Utility District, 6 Cal.App.4th 1605, 8 Cal.Rptr.2d 785 (3rd Dist.1992). This court will not repeat that published background material but will only add to it the following discussion of radiation induced cataracts. Extensive discovery has established that there is a national and an international scientific consensus on the biological effects of ionizing radiation causing cataract formation in the lens of the eye. This scientific consensus is reflected in an extensive body of scientific literature and by numerous studies that have been performed by scientists seeking to prevent the development of cataracts in patients undergoing x-ray therapy involving large amounts (thousands of rem) of radiation. The four leading scientists who have pioneered such research are Drs. David G. Cogan, George R. Merriam, Jr., Arthur E. Upton and George W. Casarett. Each has been studying the biological effects of radiation for decades. Their work has provided the scientific and medical basis for national and international scientific organizations such as the United Nations Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (“UNSCEAR”), the International Council on Radiological Protection (“ICRP”), the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements (“NCRP”) and the National Academy of Sciences Committee on the Biological Effects of Ionizing Radiation (“BEIR”) to develop the consensus knowledge and principles on radiation induced cataracts. Since the reports of these various scientific groups are prepared entirely outside the context of ongoing litigation, they provide an unusually objective statement of the known science in this field. This scientific consensus concludes, among other things, that radiation induced cataracts have a characteristic appearance but are not pathognomonic. “Pathognomonic” is the medical term for a specifically distinctive characteristic of a disease or pathologic condition on which a diagnosis can be made. (Dorland’s Medical Dictionary (26th ed. 1985) at 977. See Aff. of Dr. Apple at ¶ 14; Aff. of Dr. Silberstein at ¶¶ 20-22; Aff. of Dr. Casarett at ¶¶ 10-11; Aff. of Dr. Cogan at ¶ 16; Aff. of Dr. Merriam at ¶¶ 25-26). This characteristic appearance is known as a posterior subcap-sular cataract, because of its location in the back (posterior) part of the lens just below the capsule (subcapsular). Dorland’s Medical Dictionary (26th ed. 1985) at 229. All radiation induced cataracts will be of the posterior subcapsular type (characteristic) but not all posterior subcapsular cataracts will be radiation induced (if it were otherwise they would be pathognomonic). Aff. of Dr. Cogan at ¶ 16. As we will see below, the failure to understand this distinction was one reason why Dr. Scheribel’s opinion is logically flawed. Radiation effects can be divided into acute (or nonstochastic) effects and stochastic effects. Acute effects will only occur above a certain dose threshold because they are the result of accumulated physical damage to cells. Stochastic effects theoretically can occur at any dose level because they are thought to start with a single altered cell, but the risk of the effect is related to the dose received, i.e., less risk at lower dose and more risk at higher dose. Health Effects of Exposure to Low Levels of Ionizing Radiation: 1990 (“BEIR V”) at 396, 398. (This book is the latest edition of a report of the National Academy of Sciences concerning radiation health effects. It is eminently authoritative. Johnston v. United States, 597 F.Supp. 374, 383-84 (D.Kan.1984)). Cataracts are an example of an acute effect while cancer is an example of a stochastic effect. BEIR V at 398. The scientific consensus establishes that radiation induced cataracts are an acute effect with a certain threshold: it takes a certain amount of radiation to cause a cataract (the threshold amount), and exposures below that amount simply will not cause any cataract. Aff. of Dr. Upton at ¶¶ 6, 8; Aff. of Dr. Cogan at ¶ 11-12; Aff. of Dr. Merriam at ¶ 16. D. The Threshold Amount of Radiation Required to Cause Cataracts The threshold amount of radiation necessary to cause a cataract is about 200 rem received at once or about 600 rem spread out over time. During the 1930’s and 1940’s large amounts (thousands of rem) of radiation (x-rays) were beamed into patients heads in order to treat a variety of medical conditions. Aff. of Dr. David G. Cogan at ¶ 7. The medical community noticed that cataracts sometimes resulted but did not know what dose level caused the cataracts and consequently how treatments could be changed to avoid the side effect of causing cataracts. Aff. of Dr. George Merriam at ¶¶ 6-7. Two ophthalmologists, one at the National Institute of Health (Dr. David Cogan) and one at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital (Dr. George Merriam) undertook very detailed scientific studies to find these answers so that unnecessary cataracts could be prevented. Dr. David G. Cogan has studied radiation induced cataracts for 40 years. Aff. of Dr. Cogan at ¶ 4. He has published fourteen medical and scientific papers on the subject, the first one in 1949 that was a study of cataracts in the Japanese who survived the two atomic bombs that ended WWII. Aff. of Dr. Cogan at MI 5-6. Based upon his extensive study of humans and animal experiments, Dr. Cogan has concluded that radiation simply does not cause cataracts unless the dose is at least 600 rem (600,000 millirem) when that dose is delivered over a period of months. Aff. of Dr. Cogan at ¶¶ 4-9. Dr. Cogan also discovered that the latency period between exposure and diagnosis is 13 years. Aff. of Dr. Cogan at 1111 13-20. Dr. Cogan has examined the specific facts of this case and concluded that O’Conner’s cataracts could not have been caused by his employment at Quad Cities because his dose was too small and because the latency period was too short. Aff. of Dr. Cogan at Ml 21-23. Dr. George R. Merriam, Jr. has studied radiation induced cataracts in humans and animals for 36 years. Aff. of Dr. Merriam at 118. He has published 19 medical and scientific papers on the subject. Aff. of Dr. Merriam at 119. Dr. Merriam’s studies have shown that radiation does not cause cataracts unless the dose is 200 rem (200,-000 millirem) delivered all at once or 400 rem (400,000 millirem) delivered over 3 weeks to 3 months or 550 rem (550,000 millirem) delivered over more than 3 months. This last number, 550 rem, and the associated time frame would be the same as Dr. Cogan’s 600 rem delivered over a period of months. Aff. of Dr. Merriam at MI 12-16. Dr. Merriam also found that the latency period between the exposure and the diagnosis of the cataract is extended with lower doses (200 to 400 rem) and with the radiation delivered over a longer period of time (many months). Aff. of Dr. Merriam at It 13. For a dose of 250 rem (250,000 millirem) delivered all at once, it would be an average of 11 years and 8 months before a radiation induced cataract would appear, if one did happen to appear at all. Merriam and Focht, A Clinical Study of Radiation Cataracts and the Relationship to Dose, the American Journal of Roentgenology, Radium Therapy and Nuclear Medicine, at 299, Table V. He also found that a dose of 700 rem (700,000 millirem) was needed to produce even a 50% chance of developing any cataract at all. Aff. of Dr. Merriam at ¶ 15. Thus, cataracts would not appear at doses below 200 rem and even at 700 rem, the chances would only be 50-50 that a cataract may appear, and if so, it would only appear after many years had passed from the time of exposure. Dr. Merriam has examined the specific facts of the present case (i.e., a dose of .045 rem on October 3 or 1.465 rem for September, October 1983, and the 10 month latency period between exposure and first diagnosis) and concluded that radiation exposure at the Quad Cities simply could not have caused O’Conner’s cataracts. Aff. of Dr. Merriam at 1HI17-20. Dr. Arthur C. Upton has been studying radiation induced injury to man and animals for 38 years and he has published four articles on radiation induced cataracts. Aff. of Dr. Upton at II3. Dr. Upton was a member of the United States Delegation to the 1977 United Nations Committee on The Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR). Aff. of Dr. Upton at II4. The 1977 UN-SCEAR Report focused on radiation carcinogenesis. The 1982 UNSCEAR Report focused on threshold effects, including cataracts. Aff. of Dr. Upton at ÍI6. Distinguished UNSCEAR radiation scientists from all over the world studied the world’s scientific literature on the subject and condensed it into a report which reflects the world scientific consensus. Aff. of Dr. Upton at 11 5. As to radiation induced cataracts UNSCEAR concluded: One of the conclusions of the present report is that at low doses and dose rates [as would be experienced occupationally] the induction of non-neoplastic effects [such as cataracts] is not observed. UNSCEAR, 1982, at 11. sjs >jc % * jjC [T]he human lens responds to doses of ~ 2 Gy [200 rem] in a single treatment, or ~ 4 Gy [400 rem] when fractionated, resulting in the formation of cataract ... The extent of cataract formation, as well as the incidence, is dose dependent. Higher doses yield more progressive cataracts with greater loss of vision. The latent period varies from 0.5 to 35 years; with an average of 2-3 years, although latency is also dose dependent ... Recent reviews ... suggest that a threshold for cataract for occupational exposure of lengthy fractionation is in the range of 6-14 Gy [600 to 1,400 rem]. UNSCEAR, 1982, at 598. Dr. Upton also chaired The International Commission on Radiological Protection’s (ICRP) task group which surveyed the world literature and wrote ICRP Publication 41: Nonstochastic Effects of Ionizing Radiation. Aff. of Dr. Upton at ¶¶ 7-8. This report was adopted by the ICRP in 1984. It concluded: At high doses, lens opacities (cataracts) develop within months, progress rapidly, and eventually cloud the lens completely, while at lower doses the opacities may take years to develop, remain microscopic in size, and cause no scientific impairment of vision. ICRP No. 41, at 17. The threshold for x radiation for induction of minimally detectable lens opacities in the largest series of radiotherapy patients studied to date for such lesions (233 patients) was estimated to vary, from about 2 Gy [200 rem] in a single exposure to as much as 5.5 Gy [550 rem] when the dose was fractionated over a period of 3-13 weeks. ICRP No. 41, at 18. The lowest dose observed to cause a progressive cataract [such as Mr. O’Conner has] among these patients, some of whom were followed up to 35 years after irradiation, was 5 Gy [500 rem] ... From these observations, it may be inferred by extrapolation that a dose of more than 8 Gy [800 rem] of low-LET radiation [the type of radiation Mr. O’Conner received] would be required to produce a vision-impairing cataract under the highly protracted exposure conditions characteristics of occupational irradiation. ICRP No. 41, at 18. According to these two highly respected national and international bodies of radiation protection scientists who have surveyed the world literature on the subject, if there is any possibility that O’Conner’s dose on the night of October 3-4 were to cause a cataract that dose would have to be at least 200 rem. His daily dose was actually measured by two independent scientific devices at .045 rem and .038 rem, which is 4,444 times too low to cause a cataract. If there is any possibility that O’Conner’s total occupational dose from September and November of 1983 were to cause a cataract, it would have to be at least 800 rem. However, his total dose was actually measured by scientific instruments to be 1.465 rem, which is about 546 times too low to cause cataracts. Yet, plaintiff’s expert, Dr. Scheribel, proposes to testify that O’Conner has radiation induced cataracts, based solely upon his visual examination. Dr. Lauriston S. Taylor is the founder of the ICRP and the National Counsel on Radiation Protection and Measurements (NCRP). Aff. of Lauriston S. Taylor at ¶ 3. He co-chaired NCRP Report Number 39: Basic Radiation Protection Criteria which was published in 1971 after a review of the world scientific literature (Aff. of Lauri-ston S. Taylor at ¶ 5): NCRP No. 39 concluded: A long latent period exists between the time of the exposure and the onset of the development of cataracts. The interval varies inversely with dose, and five or more years may elapse between an exposure and the appearance of opacification. For very high doses, the interval may be reduced to months. Cataract formations in the human being has been considered to be a “threshold phenomenon,” since exposures of the order of 600 R [rem] incurred in the course of therapeutic irradiations were required to produce opacification over the period of observations. Observation of survivors of the bombings at Hiroshima and Nagasaki have to date been consistent with the thesis that large doses of radiation are required to produce vision-impairing lens opacification. NCRP Report No. 39, at 39. Dr. George W. Casarett was Professor Emeritus and Former Professor of Radiation Biology and Biophysics and Radiology at the University of Rochester School of Medicine. He chaired the committee that prepared NCRP Report No. 91: Recommendations on Limits for Exposure to Ionizing Radiation (1987). It concluded: The specific objectives of radiation protection are: (1) to prevent, to the extent practicable, the occurrence of severe radiation induced nonstochastic diseases [such as cataracts] by adhering to dose equivalent limits that are below the apparent practical threshold dose equivalent levels [so that no such effects will ever occur in the exposed population] ... NCRP No. 91, at 4. ****** For avoidance of nonstochastic effects [such as cataracts], the following annual dose equivalent limits are recommended for the occupational case: 150 mSv (15 rem) for the crystalline lens of the eye. NCRP Report No. 91, at 26 (emphasis added). The national scientific consensus, as reflected by the 1987 NCRP recommendations is that even if a radiation worker is allowed to receive a dose of 15 rem to his eye for each year during his occupational lifetime (which may be 40 years), he still will not be expected to develop a radiation induced cataract. Fifteen rem per year for forty years would equal a lifetime occupational dose to the eye of 600 rem, which would not be expected to cause a single cataract in workers so exposed. Dr. Henry N. Wellman, Radiologist, served on the National Academy of Sciences Committee on the Biological Effects of Ionizing Radiation which wrote The Effects on Populations of Exposure to Low Levels of Ionizing Radiation: 1980 BEIR III. Aff. of Dr. Henry N. Wellman at ¶ 4. This committee of the United State’s most knowledgeable scientists in this field also studied the world literature on radiation induced cataracts and concluded: The available data suggest a sigmoid dose-response relationship with an apparent threshold for lens opacification. Threshold doses in many for x-rays and gamma rays delivered in a single exposure vary from 200 to 500 rads [rem], whereas the threshold for doses fractionated over periods of months is around 1,000 rads [rem], BEIR III at 499. The United States National Academy of Sciences (BEIR) agrees with the world scientific consensus as represented by UN-SCEAR, ICRP and NCRP reports that it takes a dose of at least 200 rem delivered all at once or a dose of approximately 1,000 rem delivered over many months to exceed the threshold for radiation induced cataracts. Even at those large doses, less than 50 percent of the exposed individuals would develop cataracts. They are simply the minimum doses at which even one radiation induced cataract might appear in a group of exposed persons. II. THE PRESENT EVIDENTIARY ISSUE The issue that is the subject of this present Opinion is the admissibility of certain expert opinion testimony that plaintiff would offer at trial from a trial deposition transcript. Plaintiffs causation expert, Dr. Karl Scheribel, would state: I know what cataracts look like when they have been induced by radiation, by what ever dosage or time of exposure there was. Radiation cataracts are [a] clinically describable and definable condition which, when present, cannot be mistaken for anything else. Dr. Scheribel’s Evidence Deposition at 69. From the court’s review of all the scientific material on radiation induced cataracts, Dr. Scheribel appears to be the only doctor or scientist who will make such a statement, and it directly contradicts the consensus science that radiation induced cataracts are not pathognomonic. The real question then becomes should this “lone voice” be allowed to testify against the vast scientific consensus? Plaintiff maintains that the answer is “yes,” and the jury, as the judge of the facts, would then determine which position has the most credibility. Defendants maintain that this opinion is inadmissible under the Federal Rules of Evidence. Essentially, they argue that it constitutes what has become known as “junk” science. The essence of Dr. Scheri-bel’s testimony in this ease is that he claims that radiation induced cataracts can be positively identified by just looking at them. Dr. Scheribel’s Evidence Deposition at 69. If that is medically and scientifically true, and since we know that it takes hundreds of rem to cause a radiation induced cataract, it provides the basis for a reasonable inference that O’Conner must have been exposed to radiation above the federal standards in order to produce this cataract effect. Thus, Dr. Seheribel’s proposed testimony is key to the plaintiffs case on duty owed as well as on causation. But defendants maintain that Dr. Scheribel’s statement is medically and scientifically untrue. They point out that a valid logical conclusion cannot arise from a false premise no matter how correct the logic used to build upon the false premise. Defendants assert this case is a classic example of “junk” science, not only failing to assist the jury as expert opinion testimony should under Rule 702, but actually misleading any juror who would hear it. Consequently, defendants maintain that Dr. Scheribel’s proposed statement should not be admitted into evidence. Relying upon cross-examination to expose the error is not sufficient, defendants claim, because that mechanism relies upon an unsophisticated lay person to arbitrate complex scientific issues which they may not even comprehend. Thus, the admissibility of Dr. Scheribel’s testimony becomes the focal point of the case. “The trial judge, of course, decides whether particular evidence is competent.” Spaeth, Proposed Amendments to the Federal Rules on Admissibility of Scientific Evidence, A Judge’s Perspective, 115 F.R.D. 112, 113 (1987). III. RESOLUTION OF THE EVIDEN-TIARY ISSUE IN THIS CASE A. Dr. Scheribel’s Expertise and Opinion Dr. Scheribel is a board certified ophthalmologist specializing in contact lenses. Dr. Scheribel’s Evidence Dep. at 12. In his curriculum vitae (“CV”), Dr. Scheribel describes his work as “teaching of the fitting of hard and soft contact lenses and the problems associated with the same, teaching of external disease and attending physician at three general ophthalmology clinics.” Dr. Scheribel’s CV, a copy of which is attached as Exhibit A to his Evidence Deposition. He is not a radiation physicist and has not studied or performed any research in radiation physics or nuclear biology (Dr. Scheribel’s Evidence Dep. at 66), or reviewed any of the relevant literature on radiation induced cataracts prior to testifying at his evidence deposition taken on June 10, 1988. Dr. Scheribel’s Evidence Dep. at 63. He has not conducted any studies of the medical effects of radiation exposure on the eye (Dr. Scheribel’s Evidence Dept, at 22), and has not written any books, articles, scientific papers or treatises on the effects of radiation on the eye. Dr. Scheribel’s Evidence Dep. at 62. He has published only four scientific papers, and presented nearly a dozen invited lectures, eight of which were on contact lenses. Dr. Scheribel’s CV. He admitted that he is not familiar with what would be considered an “excessive” amount of radiation, and was unable to explain what a “rad” was. Dr. Scheribel’s Discovery Dep. at 28. Yet, it is through Dr. Scheribel that plaintiff expects to prove that his dose was too high. He could not state what medical effects a single rad to the eye would have. Dr. Scheribel’s Discovery Dep. at 29. Further, Dr. Scheribel admitted that he was not familiar with the dose response curves of biological effects of radiation, was not familiar with what effect a 400 rem dose would have on the eye, and did not know what amount of radiation would be required to induce radiation cataracts. Dr. Scheribel’s Evidence Dep. at 69. His total experience with radiation induced cataracts is observing only five patients who Dr. Scheribel believes had cataracts induced by radiation therapy for cancer. Dr. Scheri-bel’s Discovery Dep. at 41-42. Since Dr. Scheribel’s personal experience is that only radiation therapy has produced cataracts, he essentially admits that dose is a very crucial element and must be independently verified before a diagnosis can be made. Otherwise, there is no logic to his thought process since many, if not all, of the other patients with cataracts would have had low dose exposures from common diagnostic x-rays. Since Dr. Scheribel claims that he has seen about 4200 patients with cataracts (Aff. of Dr. Scheribel at ¶ 2) and only five were radiation induced, his opinion, as originally given (when he admitted that he had not reviewed any medical literature), rested on less than twelve hundredths of one percent of the cataracts he has seen. Dr. Scheribel examined the plaintiff on May 13, 1985. Dr. Scheribel’s Evidence Dep. at 13. O’Conner was also examined by him on the following dates: 11/4/86; 9/8/87; and 6/10/88. Plaintiff provided Dr. Scheribel with his “medical history” stating that he “had cataracts caused by a radiation exposure in October of 1983.” Dr. Scheribel’s Letter to Attorney Kenneth D. Peters dated June 27, 1985. O’Conner did not reveal to Dr. Scheribel that his father also had bilateral cataracts at approximately age 40. Dr. Scheribel’s Discovery Dep. at 23. Dr. Scheribel looked into O’Conner’s eyes with a microscope and diagnosed him as having posterior subcap-sular cataracts. It is uncontested that O’Conner, like his father, has posterior subcapsular cataracts. Aff. of Dr. McGrath attached to Supplement to Defendants’ Reply to Plaintiff’s Motion in Limine to Exclude Evidence or Reference to Dr. Philip McGrath or Plaintiff's Father’s Eye Condition; Dr. O'Brian’s Dep. at 52-53. It is also uncontested that such cataracts can be caused by many factors including genetics and very large doses of radiation. However, Dr. Scheribel quickly leaped to the conclusion that plaintiff’s cataracts could only have been caused by radiation exposure. Dr. Scheri-bel’s Evidence Dep. at 27-28, 53. Dr. Scheribel based this opinion on the history given by O’Conner and upon his own erroneous belief that radiation induced cataracts have a clinically unique appearance that “cannot be mistaken for anything else.” Thus, Dr. Scheribel’s proposed testimony is not that radiation can cause cataracts or that plaintiff has the type of cataracts that can be caused by radiation. Both opinions are admissible and medically valid. His challenged testimony is that only radiation exposure received at Quad Cities could have caused plaintiff’s cataracts. Defendants maintain that such testimony is not admissible under Rules 702, 703 and the Frye test, supra p. 7, because it is medically erroneous. B. Inference from Dr. Scheribel’s Opinion on Duty Owed Issue This court has ruled in a prior opinion that the standard of care in this case is compliance with the federal numerical dose limits. The readings on the radiation measuring instruments which O’Conner wore establish such compliance unless there is some credible evidence that he must have received much more radiation. Plaintiff claims that since Dr. Scheribel will testify that O’Conner does have radiation induced cataracts, a jury is justified in ignoring the actual radiation measurements made at the time by the scientific instruments that he wore and substituting their belief that somehow he received hundreds of rem. Defendants maintain that Dr. Scheribel's testimony that only radiation exposure received at Quad Cities could have caused plaintiff’s cataracts is inadmissible and medically invalid. Without it plaintiff has no credible evidence upon which a reasonable jury could even infer that O’Conner received a dose above the standards. Although on the surface Dr. Scheribel’s opinion at issue here seems to be a causation opinion, it is also a medical opinion which serves, if admissible, as the only basis upon which the plaintiff can argue an inference of breach of the duty owed. Consequently, the opinion that is challenged here as being inadmissible is essential to both plaintiff’s duty owed and causation burden of proof. C. The Federal Rules of Evidence A court may admit expert testimony if the subject of such testimony is beyond the knowledge of the average layman and it “will assist the trier of fact to understand the evidence or to determine a fact in issue.” Fed.R.Evid. 702; Carroll v. Otis Elevator Co., 896 F.2d 210 (7th Cir.1990). An expert witness is not permitted to guess or base his opinion on surmise or conjecture. Brown v. Chicago & North Western Transp., 162 Ill.App.3d 926, 936, 114 Ill.Dec. 165, 516 N.E.2d 320, 328 (1st Dist.1987); In Re Agent Orange Prod. Liab. Litigation, 611 F.Supp. 1228, 1244, 1248-49 (E.D.N.Y.1985), aff'd, 818 F.2d 187 (2nd Cir.1987), cert. denied, Lombardi v. Dow Chem. Co., 487 U.S. 1234, 108 S.Ct. 2898, 101 L.Ed.2d 932 (1988); Johnston v. United States, 597 F.Supp. 374 (D.Kan.1984). A court is not bound by the mere assertions of an expert, but it must “pay special attention to expert testimony,” United States v. Lundy, 809 F.2d 392, 395 (7th Cir.1987), and must “look behind the expert’s ultimate conclusion ... and analyze the adequacy of its foundation.” Peterson v. Sealed Air Corp., 1991 WL 66370, 1991 Lexis 5333 (N.D.Ill.1991) (quoting Richardson v. Richardson-Merrell, Inc., 857 F.2d 823, 829 (D.C.Cir.1988)). Otherwise any case in which an expert was willing ... to [testify] “to a reasonable degree of scientific certainty” and [say] “the basis of my opinion is X, on which experts in my field reasonably rely,” every case requiring expert testimony would get to the jury. If a court is not permitted to examine the basis of an expert opinion in order to rule on the admissibility of that opinion, then Rule 703 should read: “An expert may cite as the basis of his opinion anything he likes.” In re Paoli R.R. Yard PCB Litig., 706 F.Supp. 358, 368 (E.D.Pa.1988), rev d on other grounds, 916 F.2d 829 (3rd Cir.1990); accord, Richardson v. Richardson-Merrell, Inc., 857 F.2d 823, 830 (D.C.Cir.1988) (whether expert’s opinion has adequate basis is question of law for court), cert. denied, 493 U.S. 882, 110 S.Ct. 218, 107 L.Ed.2d 171 (1989). See also Mid-State Fertilizer Co. v. Exchange Nat’l Bank, 877 F.2d 1333, 1339 (7th Cir.1989). Such scrutiny is required because an expert’s opinion “bears an aura of reliability and trustworthiness.” It is axiomatic that summary judgment is not precluded merely because a party has produced an expert to support its position. Peterson v. Sealed Air Corp., 1991 WL 66370, 1991 Lexis 5333 (N.D.Ill.1991); Mid-State Fertilizer Co., 877 F.2d at 1339. United States v. Tranowski, 659 F.2d 750, 757 (7th Cir.1981) (quoting United States v. Brown, 557 F.2d 541, 556 (6th Cir.1977)). The subject of radiation and its effect on humans is complicated and not easily understood. Therefore, it is necessary to qualify would-be experts who might otherwise obfuscate the issues and interfere with the outcome of this case. See Akins v. Sacramento Municipal Utility District, 6 Cal.App.4th 1605, 8 Cal.Rptr.2d 785 (3rd Dist.1992). As the Seventh Circuit has warned, “there is not much difficulty in finding a medical expert witness to testify to virtually any theory of medical causation short of the fantastic.” Stoleson v. United States, 708 F.2d 1217, 1222 (7th Cir.1983). Judge Learned Hand observed that expert testimony creates the risk of a special type of prejudice: The trouble with all this is that it is setting the jury to decide, where doctors disagree. The whole object of the expert is to tell the jury, not the facts ... but general truths derived from his specialized experience. But how can the jury judge between two statements each founded upon an experience confessedly foreign in kind to their own? It is just because they are incompetent for such a task that the expert is necessary at all. Christophersen v. Allied-Signal Corp., 939 F.2d 1106, 1112 n. 10 (5th Cir.1991), petition for cert. denied, — U.S. -, 112 S.Ct. 1280, 117 L.Ed.2d 506 (1992), (quoting Hand, Historical and Practical Considerations Regarding Expert Testimony, 15 Harv.L.Rev. 40, 53 (1901)). Federal Rules of Evidence 702 and 703 provide courts with the means to screen carefully the qualifications, and factual and scientific bases of an expert’s opinion. Lundy, 809 F.2d at 395. A court has broad discretion to exclude an expert’s opinion if it cannot withstand the requirements of Rules 702 and 703. Twin Disc, Inc. v. Big Bud Tractor, 772 F.2d 1329 (7th Cir.1985) (court has broad discretion to assess admissibility of expert testimony); Contractor Utility Sales Co. v. Certainteed Corp., 748 F.2d 1151, 1155 (7th Cir.1984) (same). The Federal Rules of Evidence allow a court to intercede and to limit expert testimony where a witness attempts to give an opinion on a subject for which he is not qualified, when there is no factual basis for that proffered opinion, when that opinion is based upon an error of logic, and when the expert cannot supply the court with any verifiable scientific support for the opinion. The Rules recognize that there is some limit to every expert’s expertise and that he can not be allowed to go beyond it. For example, no medical doctor is automatically an expert in every medical issue merely because he or she has graduated from medical school or has achieved certification in a medical specialty. Indeed, a medical doctor who is quick to proclaim general and universally binding principles based on his or her own very limited knowledge or experience in the precise medical issue in question is more likely to mislead a jury than to help them find the truth. In science, a proposition is not true just because one claiming to be an “expert” is willing to make such a statement. In law, a statement is not admissible just because a self-proclaimed “expert” is willing to say it on the witness stand. Scientific truths must be verifiable or they are not scientific truths at all. An expert's opinion must also be verifiable or it is not expert at all. Rules of both science and evidence require a scientist or an expert to have a verifiable scientific basis for his opinion. Such controls are important in both fields to minimize error due to “junk” science. D. Rule 702 An expert witness must be qualified by specialized “knowledge, skill, experience, training or education.” Fed.R.Evid. 702; Carroll v. Otis Elevator Co., 896 F.2d at 212. However, an “expert’s opinion is helpful only to the extent that expert draws on some special skill, knowledge, or experience to formulate that opinion.” United States v. Benson, 941 F.2d 598, 604 (7th Cir.1991). District courts must ensure that expert opinion testimony is in fact expert opinion, “(that is, an opinion informed by the witness’ expertise) rather than simply an opinion broached by a purported expert.” Id. See also Lundy, 809 F.2d at 396 (7th Cir.1987). “Whether a witness is qualified as an expert can only be determined by comparing the area in which the witness has superior knowledge, skill, experience, or education with the subject matter of the witness’s testimony.” Otis Elevator Co., 896 F.2d at 212; Jurka v. Commonwealth Edison Co., No. 88 C 7852 Transcript of Proceedings at 5 (N.D.Ill., Aug. 9, 1990) (summary judgment appropriate because plaintiff had an “unqualified expert who relies upon an insupportable theory of causation”). A medical degree “alone does not qualify [an expert] to give an opinion on every conceivable medical question.” Christophersen, 939 F.2d at 1113. O’Conner intends that Dr. Scheribel would give to the jury at trial an opinion in the unique, sophisticated and highly specialized field of radiation induced cataracts, and yet Dr. Scheribel does not qualify as an expert in this field through personal experience, specific education or even study of the relevant literature. In short, Dr. Scheribel’s opinion that radiation cataracts are pathognomonic is not based on any special skill, knowledge, research or experience. He admitted in deposition that he never studied or performed research in radiation physics, that he has never conducted any studies on the medical effects of radiation on the eye, that he did not know the threshold dose required to induce cataracts and that he did not even have a rudimentary knowledge of the dose response curves for the effects of radiation. Dr. Scheribel’s Evidence Dep. at 22, 62, 66, 69. Based on the five patients he has observed with cataracts induced by radiation therapy, he developed his “binding universal rule” that he applied to O’Conner, thus committing the logical fallacy known as the Converse Accident (hasty generalization). The logical fallacy of Accident is the improper application of a general rule to a particular case. The logical fallacy of Converse Accident (hasty generalization) is the reverse. It occurs when a person erroneously creates a general rule from observing too few cases. Dr. Scheribel has illogically created a “binding universal rule” based upon insufficient data. For example, observing the value of opiates when administered by a physician to alleviate the pains of those who are seriously ill, one may be led to propose that narcotics be made available to everyone. Or considering the effect of alcohol only on those who indulge in it to excess, one may conclude that all liquor is harmful and urge that its sale and use should be forbidden by law. Such reasoning is erroneous and illustrates the fallacy of converse accident or hasty generalization. I. Copi, Introduction to Logic, at 68 (3rd ed.). When pressed by this court for the bases of his opinion he abandoned any reliance on his personal experience and relied only on medical articles (which he admitted he had not read before giving his opinion). See Aff. of Dr. Scheribel. E. Ruling on Rule 702 As shown by the testimony of five of the world’s leading experts in the field of radiation induced cataracts {see Affidavits of Drs. Merriam, Cogan, Upton, Well-man and Casarett), and the testimony of plaintiff’s treating ophthalmologists (Cf Dr. Bond’s Dep. at 17; Dr. Nelson’s Dep. at 16; Dr. Ward’s Dep. at 34, 6,10, 23), this field is highly specialized and is not a part of the routine practice of ordinary ophthalmologists. It requires a demonstrated expertise, if not by experience, at least by a study of all the published literature. Dr. Scheribel has no such experience and did not even take the time to examine the published literature before giving his bald opinion. Accordingly, Dr. Scheribel is not qualified to render an expert opinion that radiation cataracts are pathognomonic or that plaintiff’s cataracts could only be caused by radiation exposure. His testimony on this one point can be excluded on that basis alone. Fed.R.Evid. 702. Dr. Scheribel is qualified to testify on matters of general ophthalmology, such as the fact that O’Conner has posterior subcapsular cataracts. But such testimony is not sufficient to survive a motion for summary judgment on the facts of this case. F. Rule 703 An additional independent evi-dentiary basis exists for excluding Dr. Scheribel’s opinion. An expert’s opinion must have a sufficient verifiable scientific basis; the scientific data underlying his opinion must be of the type that is reasonably relied upon by experts in the field. Fed.R.Evid. 703; United States v. Lundy, 809 F.2d at 395; United States v. Tranowski, 659 F.2d at 755; Viterbo v. Dow Chem. Co., 826 F.2d 420, 422 (5th Cir.1987) (where expert’s opinion is not supported by scientific evidence his opinion “that it is so” is not admissible); In Re Agent Orange, 611 F.Supp. at 1244. “Courts are particularly wary of unfounded expert opinion when causation is the issue.” Id. at 1249. This is especially true in cases such as this where the plaintiff claims that exposure to a toxic substance caused his injury. The court is concerned that the jury may blindly accept an expert’s opinion that conforms with their underlying fears of toxic substances without carefully understanding or examining the basis for that opinion. Whether an expert’s opinion has a sufficiently verifiable scientific basis is an issue of law for the court to decide. Richardson, 857 F.2d at 833. Although an expert opinion is indispensable to a case, that is not to say that the court’s hands are inexorably tied, or that it must accept uncritically any sort of opinion espoused by an expert merely because his credentials render him qualified to testify. Id. at 829. A court has a duty “to examine the reliability of an expert’s sources to determine whether they satisfy the threshold established by [Rule 703].” Christophersen, 939 F.2d at 113 (quoting Slaughter v. Southern Talc Co., 919 F.2d 304, 306-07 (5th Cir.1990)). Such critical evaluation of the bases of an expert’s opinion furthers the court’s interest in providing relevant, accurate information to the jury to help it decide a fact in issue. Where the basis of an expert’s opinion “is of such little weight” the jury should not be allowed to receive the opinion because such unsupported opinion “offers no expert assistance to the jury.” Viterbo, 826 F.2d at 422; United States v. Davis, 772 F.2d 1339, 1344 (7th Cir.1985), cert. denied, 474 U.S. 1036, 106 S.Ct. 603, 88 L.Ed.2d 581 (1985). If the basis of the expert opinion is unsound, his conclusion is inaccurate, and the jury does not have sufficient evidence on which to decide the case. See, e.g., Ealy v. Richardson-Merrell, Inc., 897 F.2d 1159, 1161-62 (1990); Brock v. Merrel Dow Pharm. Inc., 874 F.2d 307, 309 (5th Cir.1989). Courts must reject opinions “founded on critical facts that are plainly untrustworthy, principally because such an opinion cannot be helpful to the jury.” Christophersen, 939 F.2d at 1114. In December 1989, this court entered an Order requesting plaintiff to supplement “the information that provides the basis for this opinion,” that “radiation cataracts cannot be mistaken for anything else.” See court Order dated December 22, 1989. In response, plaintiff submitted an affidavit by Dr. Scheribel which stated: “Regarding my opinion ... I rely on scientific articles such as those attached to this affidavit.” In his Affidavit, Dr. Scheribel did not claim to rely on his personal experience of seeing only five cases of radiation induced cataracts as support for his opinion. Thus, he abandoned the sole basis upon which he had made his opinion because in his deposition he admitted that he had not reviewed the medical literature prior to coming to his conclusion. Dr. Scheribel attached or listed the following articles and excerpts: (1) Diseases of the Lens and Vitreous; Glaucoma and Hypotony by Duke-Elder, Vol. XI, (1969) pages 82-83; (2) Duane, Clinical Ophthalmology, page 8; (3) Apple, Diseases of the Lens (a medline search failed to reveal any such book or article and defendants repeated requests for a copy of the article from the plaintiff have remained unanswered); and (4) an excerpt of a section entitled “X-Ray and Radium Cataracts” from an unknown book by an unknown author. See Aff. of Dr. Scheribel at ¶ 3. “The mere recitation of a list of studies is not a magical incantation paving the way to the witness stand unless it is accompanied by reasoned and scientifically accepted analysis.” Eggar v. Burlington Northern Railroad Co., 1991 WL 315487, 6 (D.Mont., Dec. 18, 1991) (quoting Carroll v. Litton Systems Inc. No. B-C-88-253, 1990 WL 312969, 1990 U.S.Dist. Lexis 16833 (W.D.N.C., Oct. 29, 1990) (magistrates opinion adopted by district court by Order dated July 15, 1991)). The court has examined these references and the associated affidavits and briefs and concludes that not one of these articles or excerpts supports Dr. Scheribel’s opinion that a radiation induced cataract “cannot be mistaken for anything else.” To the contrary, the three articles (that were attached) all stated what consensus science has discovered through years of research: posterior subcapsular cataracts have a characteristic appearance in that radiation induced cataracts are of the posterior sub-capsular type, but not all posterior subcap-sular cataracts are radiation induced. Duke-Elder, System of Ophthalmology, (1972) Vol. XIV, Ch. X at 994-95; Aff. of Dr. Apple at ¶ 14; Aff. of Dr. Silberstein at ¶ 22; Aff. of Dr. Apple at ¶¶ 14, 19. Dr. Scheribel's first reference to a dated 1969 edition of the Duke-Elder Series cited the wrong pages and totally missed the relevant sections pertaining to radiation induced cataracts in humans. He cited from a section in Chapter Three titled Experimental Cataract that concerns experimentally producing cataracts in animals, not in humans at all. This error is particularly egregious since the very section Dr. Scheri-bel cited explicitly instructs the reader to turn to the section that is directly relevant to radiation cataracts: A radiational cataract ... These will be discussed in the volume of Injuries where full details with the appropriate bibliographies will be found. Duke-Elder, System of Ophthalmology, (1969 ed.), Yol. XI, Chapter III, at 81. It would appear that Dr. Scheribel never even read the pages that he cited to the court or he would have seen his error. An examination of that relevant section directly contradicts Dr. Scheribel’s opinion: “The clinical picture of a radiational cataract from whatever source it is derived is characteristic [not pathognomonic].” Duke-Elder, System of Ophthalmology, (1972 ed.), Vol. XIV, Chapter X, at 994-95 (emphasis added). The court notes that Duke-Elder cites to and relies upon the very studies performed by defendants’ experts, Drs. Merriam and Cogan. This court finds that Dr. Scheribel misinterpreted and cited the wrong sections of the very reference upon which he himself relies