The Tooth Fairy Project is part of the Radiation and Public Health Project, RPHP, study into the relationship between low-level nuclear radiation and worldwide increases in cancer. Concerning America's cancer epidemic, RPHP has analyzed official National Cancer Institute, age-adjusted, breast and prostate cancer mortality rates, available since 1950 for every county in the United States, and demonstrated highly significant correlations between high cancer death rates and proximity to nuclear reactors.

RPHP research shows that of the over 3,000 counties in the United States, women living in about 1,300 nuclear counties, within 100 miles of a reactor, are at the greatest risk of dying of breast cancer.

The RPHP Tooth Fairy Project examines the levels of Radioactive Strontium-90, Sr-90, in teeth donated to the project. The chemical structure of Sr-90 is so similar to that of calcium that the body gets fooled and deposits Sr-90 in the bones and teeth where it remains, continually emitting cancer-causing radiation. According to the research, "Most of the strontium in baby teeth is transferred to the fetus by the mother during pregnancy. Because we know when and where the baby was born, and where the mother lived while carrying, we can accurately determine when and where radioactivity was absorbed from the environment."

RPHP has the support of scientists, physicians and citizens directly affected by proximity to nuclear power plants. In an endorsement for RPHP's work, Dr. Patch Adams writes, "As a scientist and physician for 35 years, I am well aware of the research in low-level radiation. We clearly have political leaders indifferent to and ignorant of the consequences. For twenty years I've gone yearly to the hospitals of Russia and have seen first hand the horrors of Chernobyl." RPHP offers a wealth of information and resources regarding low-level, nuclear radiation to cancer.