3 ms·
yes, but we can bolster our confidence somewhat because we know radiation causes leukemia. it's not a statistical association, but causual
by vasilipupkin 11y ago
yes, but we can bolster our confidence somewhat because we know radiation causes leukemia. it's not a statistical association, but causual
- paulmd 11y agoIt depends on the dosage. In medium to large doses that's certainly true, but it's not a settled question for low doses. The model that assumes that any radiation (no matter how little) causes damage is called the Linear No-Threshold model, and there's actually not a lot of scientific consensus on its validity. It's a conservative model, and thus it tends to get used out of an abundance of caution, but it's hard to quantify low-dose effects accurately. Since we're all exposed to a fair bit of radiation naturally, low doses don't represent much change in total radiation exposure. Average dosage to the public in the affected countries was about 9 millisieverts [1]. A CT scan is about 10 mSv. The average natural exposure is about 2.4 mSv per year in America, but in some places with high radon levels exposure can be up to 7 mSv/year. It's difficult to reach significance with small changes like that. [1] http://nuclearsafety.gc.ca/eng/resources/health/health-effects-chernobyl-accident.cfm http://nuclearsafety.gc.ca/eng/resources/health/health-effec...
- mohawk 11y agoPlease update your beliefs with this new data http://www.nature.com/news/researchers-pin-down-risks-of-low-dose-radiation-1.17876 http://www.nature.com/news/researchers-pin-down-risks-of-low...
- deleted 11y ago[deleted]