Re: hormesis, threshold, LNT theorizing

["Otto G. Raabe" <ograabe@UCDAVIS.EDU>]

At 11:12 AM 9/4/2004, A  Karam wrote:

>there is also some well-intentioned reluctance to relax regulations 

>because of the assumption that LNT provides the greatest level of 

>protection to the public.

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Ionizing radiation safety standards evolved without any real concern for or 

interest in LNT. Those standards are based on prudent dose limits not risk 

estimates. The standards of ICRP 2 (1958) are still appropriate and 

provided safe limits for occupational and public safety. There is no 

demonstrable improved safety under current modified and sometimes 

drastically lowered standards. Does that mean there is zero risk for those 

exposed below those standards? Actually that is a useless question since 

zero risk is a meaningless abstraction (except for those who are already 

dead). I know of no occupational safety standard that is based on a 

guarantee or even the possibility of zero risk. But if the risk is so small 

that it cannot be readily detected, or it may take a study of 100,000 

workers to try to detect the mathematical possibility of a risk, it should 

not be of major concern. There are plenty of societal risks where we can 

readily count bodies on a daily basis. Maybe we should spend our money on 

those obvious problems rather than spending billions on moving virtually 

clean dirt from one state to another because of some ridiculously small 

radioactivity "clean-up: standard.



Otto





**********************************************

Prof. Otto G. Raabe, Ph.D., CHP

Center for Health & the Environment

(Street Address: Bldg. 3792, Old Davis Road)

University of California, Davis, CA 95616

E-Mail: ograabe@ucdavis.edu

Phone: (530) 752-7754   FAX: (530) 758-6140

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