Fear of radiation

See also: Nuclear_power_reconsidered

Fig.1 Humans have adapted to background radiation.

© Image: Robert Hargraves, PhD
Fig.2 Exposures even up to 100mSv in a short time won't overwhelm our immune systems.

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 materials around us. This assumption ignores the data on low-rate exposures (Figs.1&2) and the fact that there are mechanisms in our bodies that repair damage done at a low rate (Fig.3).

© Image: Robert Hargraves, PhD
Fig.3 Natural breakage and repair of our DNA occurs much faster than damage from low levels of radiation.

Over reliance on the LNT theory leads to policies that are very costly, like radon remediation in old homes (Fig.4)

Fig.4 Add image caption here.

and over-reaction to radiation accidents, like the evacuation after Fukushima, which caused far more deaths that the accident itself (Fig.5).

Fig.5 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 small increase in radiation over a very large area could lead to a large number of cancers and deaths. A more realistic assessment will show that the danger from nuclear power is much smaller than the public believes, and much smaller that the risks from ever-increasing CO2 in our atmosphere.

Further Reading

Section 6 in ElectrifyingOurWorld.com by Robert Hargraves has a much more thorough discussion of radiation fear and its impact on public policy.