Re: A question of ethics

[Bernard L Cohen <blc+@pitt.edu>]

In response to Marv Goldman's question on how to explain risk, I have had 
good success with loss of life expectancy, LLE, which is easily compared 
with other sources of LLE. My paper on this---Health Phys 61: 317-335; 
1991-- gives LLE as 1 mrem=2.1 minutes (based on linear-no threshold), 
radon in homes= 29 days average, motor vehicle accidents = 207 days, 
overweight = 37 days per pound if you are more than 10% overweight, etc 
for hundreds of other risks.

Bernard L. Cohen
Physics Dept.
University of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, PA 15260
Tel: (412)624-9245
Fax: (412)624-9163
e-mail: blc+@pitt.edu