AW: [ RadSafe ] Question on occupational radiation exposure risk - 15country study

[Rainer.Facius at dlr.de]

Eric:
 
Exposures from natural sources and from medical sources are usually ignored in radioepidemiological studies and hence their variability is ignored too. They only account for the doses registrated by the personal dosimeters pretending to look at the excess engendered by the occupational exposure only.
 
Corresponding definite details of the Cardis BMJ 2005 paper, however, have yet to be published. 
 
Regards, Rainer
 
________________________________

Von: radsafe-bounces at radlab.nl im Auftrag von goldinem at songs.sce.com
Gesendet: Di 14.02.2006 19:15
An: radsafe at radlab.nl
Betreff: [ RadSafe ] Question on occupational radiation exposure risk - 15country study




Somehow I've been roped into helping some high school students on a
radiation biology project.  I suggested that they look into some major
epidemiological questions - one them being the risk from occupational
exposure.  I have the BMJ Cardis paper on the 15 countries and had a
quick question.  The cumulative exposure for the workers under
consideration averaged about 20 mSv.  But for the sake of argument, most
of the workers are about 40 years old so they'd have an additional 100
or more mSv from natural background alone.  I am far from an
epidemiologist but I assume that the basis for the risk coefficient
development was the determination of risks as a function of dose for the
dose distributions.  But wouldn't the variability in natural background
be a huge confounder?  I didn't see anywhere in the paper where natural
radiation exposure was even addressed.

Anyone have any clue whether that was considered or am I just missing
it?   Thanks, Eric

Eric M. Goldin, CHP
<goldinem at songs.sce.com>

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