Fear of radiation

See also: Nuclear_power_reconsidered

© Image: Robert Hargraves, PhD
Fig.1 Add image caption here.

Government agencies have for decades assumed that deaths and other bad effects of radiation on our health follow a theory called Linear No Threshold (LNT) in which death and disease is simply proportional to the total cumulative radiation, no matter how low the rate, even as low as the normal background radiation from space and the Earth. This ignores the data on low-rate exposures (Fig.1) and the fact that there are mechanisms in our bodies that repair damage done at a low rate (Fig.2).

© Image: Robert Hargraves, PhD
Fig.2 Add image caption here.

Over reliance on the LNT theory leads to policies that are very costly, like radon remediation in old homes (Fig.3)

Fig.3 Add image caption here.

and over-reaction to radiation accidents, like the evacuation after the Fukushima meltdown, which caused more deaths that the accident itself (Fig.4).

Fig.4 Add image caption here.

LNT theory has also had a devastating effect on nuclear power. It has lead to the belief that an accident causing a very small increase in radiation over a very large area could lead to a very large number of cancers and deaths. A more realistic assessment of the danger from nuclear power would show many fewer deaths, and only in an area with very high contamination.

Further Reading

ElectrifyingOurWorld.com by Robert Hargraves has a much more thorough discussion of radiation effects and irrational fear.