Re: Commissioner Dicus speaks on the public's perception about Radiat ion Protection

[Gary Isenhower <garyi@BCM.TMC.EDU>]

At 3/29/2001 12:20:00 PM, you wrote:

>In a recent speech*, Commissioner Dicus had this to say about Radiation

>Protection and the public's perception of it:

>1) Society is willing to accept familiar and freely chosen risks more

>readily than those that are imposed upon them.  Public risk acceptance

>usually occurs as a result of an offsetting public benefit to that risk. For

>example, the public is willing to accept an average 39 millirem/year from

>diagnostic x-rays because the procedure is familiar, freely chosen and

>considered beneficial in terms of their health. However, 0.05-millirem/year

>exposure from the nuclear fuel cycle is not readily acceptable because the

>benefit is not identifiable and is a risk they feel is imposed upon them.



What an interesting thought.  If only there were some way to safely sell 

personal "nuclear" power sources, like installing solar cells to reduce your 

electricity bill.  Since people would be choosing them, they would feel better 

about the radiation.  It is ironic that the public might feel better about a 

scenario that would be inherently much more risky than current nuclear power 

options.







Thanks,

Gary Isenhower

Baylor College of Medicine

713-798-8353

garyi@bcm.tmc.edu



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