Linear Model and Theory

[HWADE@aol.com]

The following reference is from a peered reviewed journal and a partial
quotation from it shows that the Linear Model has no theoretical basis.

Bond, V.P., Benary, V. Sondhaus, C.A., and Feinendegen, L.E.
The Meaning of Linear Dose-Response Relations, Made Evident by Use of
Absorbed Dose to the Cell.  Health Physics, v68, no.6, pp 786-792.
The last paragraph of the discussion states that:
"These arguments, which demonstrate clearly the misconception in the linear,
non-threshold hypothesis, indicate that the hypothesis actually means:
Any number of absorbed doses to cells (hits), however small, even one, can
potentially be harmful or even lethal.
This statement of probabilities, however, needs amendment because for any
such hit to be harmful or lethal, its magnitude must be above that value of
the HSEF (Hit Size Effectiveness Function) at which either response is
registered.  It is indeed ironic that the function that is alleged to
demonstrate the harmful potential of even the smallest amount of radiation,
and which has caused so much confusion, apprehension, and fear cannot be
linearly proportional unless the purported independent variable, the average
absorbed dose, but now at the cell level, is, for any given HNRF ( Hit Number
Response Function), a specific constant, the mean value of a z  (specific
energy or hit size) distribution extending above the value of the HSEF at
which quantal responses are registered, i.e., above a value commonly called a
threshold."