Radiation risks in perspective

Contents Risky Business More than a Number Safety without Risk? What's Risky? Is It Dangerous? Can I Get Exposed? Can It Hurt Me? What Are the Risks? Damage Control Perception Is Reality References Scientific Guesswork Making the Right Choice Predictive Theories in Risk Assessment Linear No-Threshold Theory Sublinear Nonthreshold Supralinear Hormesis Threshold Limitations and Uncertainties Speculation versus Reality Risk Management and Risk Communication Quantifying Risk at Small Doses References No Safe Dose LNT: The Theory of Choice The LNT Controversy Elements of the Debate The Question of Thresholds Repair of Radiation Damage and Cellular Autonomy Uses and Misuses of LNT Case 1: Estimation of Health Effects of Fallout from the Chernobyl Reactor Accident Case 2: Childhood Cancer Following Diagnostic X-ray Case 3: Public Health Impacts from Radiation in a Modern Pit Facility Uncertain Risk How Low Can You Go? Risk Assessment Considering Uncertainty Uncertain Choices Another Approach Zero or Bust Management Triggers Technical Triggers Size Matters Sensitive People Assigned Blame Social Triggers Safety Protection of Children and the Unborn Polluters Should Pay Catastrophe and Apathy Public Information and Distorting Risks Political Triggers Perceptions and Conflicts of Interest Management Strategies As Low As Reasonably Achievable (ALARA) Best Available Technology (BAT) The Precautionary Principle Risk-Risk Trade-offs and Unintended Consequences Risk Offset Risk Substitution Risk Transfer and Risk Transformation Challenges Misplaced Priorities Priorities and Realities Factors in Prioritization Scientific Evidence Public Perception of Risks Management Capacity Court Actions Influence of Stakeholder Groups Real Risks and Reordering Priorities Monetary Costs Environmental Cleanup at the Nevada Test Site Characterization of Waste Destined for WIPP Avoiding Risk The Case Against Risk Different Risks Agent-Agent Interactions Dose as a Surrogate for Risk The Case for Dose A Dose-Based System of Protection Regulatory Dose Limit Natural Background Acceptable Dose Management Decisions Based on Dose Proportion Simplification of Radiation Quantities and Units Review of the Current System of Radiation Protection Radiation from the Gods The Watras Case Human Exposure to Radon Health Hazards of Radon Is There Really a Public Health Hazard? Public Health Perceptions and Fears Economic Impacts National/Regional Differences Hold the Phone Will Cell Phones "Fry" Your Brain? Managing Phantom Risks Imprudent Precaution International Calls PR Campaign: Proportion, Prioritization, and Precaution Proportion Prioritization Precaution Glossary Index