[ RadSafe ] Collective Dose and Death

[Jerry Cohen]

During a college lecture on radiation effects, I once offered the profound 
observation that, regardless of radiation exposure, the death rate will be 
exactly one per person. In the discussion that followed, a student said that he 
disagreed with my observation stating that, "if you consider all of the human 
beings who were ever born, most are still alive, so that based upon statistical 
evidence, the death rate must be < 0.5/person". I am still trying to think of 
what might have been an appropriate response.

Jerry Cohen



________________________________
From: Glenn R. Marshall <GRMarshall at philotechnics.com>
To: The International Radiation Protection (Health Physics) Mailing List 
<radsafe at health.phys.iit.edu>
Sent: Tue, January 4, 2011 8:41:13 AM
Subject: Re: [ RadSafe ] Collective Dose

I suspect, were we to add up all the statistical deaths from all hypothetical 
sources and hazards (not just deadly ionizing radiation) over the course of a 
year, the total would exceed the earth's population.  I do not intend to go to 
all the trouble to do that, but someone with a lot of spare time.....


Glenn Marshall, CHP, RRPT



-----Original Message-----
From: radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu 
[mailto:radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu] On Behalf Of Bernard L. Cohen
Sent: Tuesday, January 04, 2011 1:15 PM
To: The International Radiation Protection (Health Physics) Mailing List
Subject: Re: [ RadSafe ] Collective Dose

There is nothing complicated about this issue. Collective dose is very 
meaningful if linear-no threshold theory (LNT) is valid -- it predicts 
the number of deaths caused. But if LNT is not valid, it is essentially 
meaningless except as a political tool.

On 1/4/2011 9:47 AM, Otto G. Raabe wrote:
>
>> January 4, 2011
>
> Collective dose is meaningless and misleading. Only individual dose is 
> meaningful.
>
> Otto
>
>
> **********************************************
> Prof. Otto G. Raabe, Ph.D., CHP
> Center for Health & the Environment
> University of California
> One Shields Avenue
> Davis, CA 95616
> E-Mail: ograabe at ucdavis.edu
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-- 
Bernard L. Cohen
Physics Dept., University of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, PA 15260
Tel: (412)624-9245  Fax: (412)624-9163
e-mail: blc at pitt.edu  web site: http://www.phyast.pitt.edu/~blc

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