Radiation and reason : the impact of science on a culture of fear

著者

書誌事項

Radiation and reason : the impact of science on a culture of fear

Wade Allison

York Pub., c2009

  • : pbk

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注記

Bibliography: p. 199-206

Includes index

内容説明・目次

内容説明

This is a positive and accessible account of the effect of radiation on life that brings good news for the future of mankind. For more than half a century the view that radiation represents an extreme hazard has been accepted. This book challenges that view by facing the question "How dangerous is ionising radiation?" Briefly the answer is that radiation is about a thousand times less hazardous than suggested by current safety standards. For many this will come as a surprise and then quickly raise a second question "Why are people so worried about radiation?" This is the out-of-date result of Cold War politics combined with a concern about radiation that was appropriate in an earlier age when the scientific understanding was limited. In the book these answers are explained in accessible language and related directly to modern scientific evidence and understanding, for instance the high levels of radiation used to the benefit of health in every major hospital. Four facts illustrate the need for a new understanding. 1. The radiation levels in the nuclear waste storage hall at Sellafield, UK are so low (1 micro-sievert per hour) that anyone would have to stay there for a million hours to receive the same dose that any patient on a course of radiotherapy treatment receives to their healthy tissue in a single day (1 sievert or gray). 2. The radiation dose experienced by the survivors of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs caused 0.6% to die of radiation-induced cancer between 1950 and 2000, that is about 1/20 of the chance of dying of cancer anyway and less than the chance of being killed on US highways in that period. 3. The wildlife at Chernobyl today is reported to be thriving, despite being radioactive. 4. The mortality of UK radiation workers before age 85 from all cancers is 15-20% lower than comparable groups. The case for a complete change in attitude towards radiation safety is unrelated to the effects of climate change. But the realisation that radiation and nuclear energy are much safer than is usually supposed is of extreme importance to the current discussion of alternatives to fossil fuels and their relative costs. Further information and downloads are available from http://www.radiationandreason. com

目次

Table of Contents Preface 1. Perceptions A mistake - Personal risk and knowledge - Individual and collective opinions - Confidence and decisions - Science and safety 2. Atmospheric Environment Size and composition of the atmosphere - Atmospheric change - Energy and agriculture 3. The Atomic Nucleus Powerful and beneficial - Size scales - Atoms and electrons - The nuclear atom - The quiescent nucleus - Energy for the Sun 4. Ionising Radiation The spectrum of radiation - Damage from radiation - Nuclear stability - Measuring radiation - Natural environment 5. Safety and Damage Proportionate effects - Balancing risks - Protection of man - Damage and stress - Time to repair - Collective dose - Safety margins - Multiple causes - Beneficial and adaptive effects - Surprise at Chernobyl 6. A Single Dose of Radiation What happens to molecules - What happens to cells - Evidence at high dose - Repair mechanisms - Low and intermediate doses - Survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki - Radiation-induced cancers - Medical diagnostic scans - Nuclear medicine - People irradiated at Chernobyl - Thyroid cancer - Other cancers at Chernobyl 7. Multiple Doses of Radiation Distributed doses - Cancer therapy - Fractionation - Doses in the environment - Radon and lung cancer - Radiation workers and dial painters - Biological defence in depth 8. Nuclear Energy Realising nuclear energy - Explosive devices - Civil power from fission - Energy without weapons - Waste 9. Radiation and Society Perceiving radiation - Public concern - Testing and fallout - Deterrence and reassurance - Judging radiation safety 10. Action for Survival Relaxed regulations - New power stations - Fuel and politics - Waste strategy - Decommissioning - Proliferation and terrorism - Fusion power - Costs and the economy - Fresh water and food - Education and understanding 11. Summary of Conclusions Further Reading and References Index

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