Radiation Risks in Perspective

Public misperception of radiological risk consistently directs limited resources toward managing minimal or even phantom risks at great cost to government and industry with no measurable benefit to overall public health. The public's inability to comprehend small theoretical risks arrived at th...

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Tác giả chính: Mossman, Kenneth
Định dạng: Sách
Ngôn ngữ:English
Được phát hành: CRC Press 2009
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Truy cập trực tuyến:http://scholar.dlu.edu.vn/thuvienso/handle/DLU123456789/969
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Thư viện lưu trữ: Thư viện Trường Đại học Đà Lạt
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institution Thư viện Trường Đại học Đà Lạt
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language English
topic Environmental Sciences
spellingShingle Environmental Sciences
Mossman, Kenneth
Radiation Risks in Perspective
description Public misperception of radiological risk consistently directs limited resources toward managing minimal or even phantom risks at great cost to government and industry with no measurable benefit to overall public health. The public's inability to comprehend small theoretical risks arrived at through inherently uncertain formulae, coupled with an irrational push to eliminate all risk with no contextual understanding of overall benefit, results in a forfeiture of valuable advances in technology in favor of an illusion of safety. Radiation Risks in Perspective uses general concepts underlying radiological risk as a model to illuminate the fundamental problems in public perception, reaction, and policy when faced with possible health risks. Presenting three distinct themes, the author summarizes the causes for the failure of the current system and proposes methods for correction. Beginning with a discussion of the methods used to measure threat, the author weighs the nebulous assessment of risk with the use of a quantifiable assessment of hazardous dose, which uses actual numbers that the public can readily understand and that decision makers can confidently use to enact policy and measure success. Secondly, the author addresses the contextual balancing of cost versus benefit when prioritizing expenditure, specifically emphasizing that it is inappropriate to analyze and discuss individual risks without regard to the presence of other risks. Finally, the author analyzes the public's tendency to push toward zero risk tolerance, an extremist approach that leads to unreasonable restrictions on technologies, excessive regulatory compliance costs, and the ultimate loss of goods and services. With detailed explanations and illustrative case studies, Radiation Risks in Perspective offers scientists, lawyers, engineers, policy makers, and public health professionals, the skills they need for a rational evaluation of risk.
format Book
author Mossman, Kenneth
author_facet Mossman, Kenneth
author_sort Mossman, Kenneth
title Radiation Risks in Perspective
title_short Radiation Risks in Perspective
title_full Radiation Risks in Perspective
title_fullStr Radiation Risks in Perspective
title_full_unstemmed Radiation Risks in Perspective
title_sort radiation risks in perspective
publisher CRC Press
publishDate 2009
url http://scholar.dlu.edu.vn/thuvienso/handle/DLU123456789/969
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spelling oai:scholar.dlu.edu.vn:DLU123456789-9692009-10-12T03:39:35Z Radiation Risks in Perspective Mossman, Kenneth Environmental Sciences Public misperception of radiological risk consistently directs limited resources toward managing minimal or even phantom risks at great cost to government and industry with no measurable benefit to overall public health. The public's inability to comprehend small theoretical risks arrived at through inherently uncertain formulae, coupled with an irrational push to eliminate all risk with no contextual understanding of overall benefit, results in a forfeiture of valuable advances in technology in favor of an illusion of safety. Radiation Risks in Perspective uses general concepts underlying radiological risk as a model to illuminate the fundamental problems in public perception, reaction, and policy when faced with possible health risks. Presenting three distinct themes, the author summarizes the causes for the failure of the current system and proposes methods for correction. Beginning with a discussion of the methods used to measure threat, the author weighs the nebulous assessment of risk with the use of a quantifiable assessment of hazardous dose, which uses actual numbers that the public can readily understand and that decision makers can confidently use to enact policy and measure success. Secondly, the author addresses the contextual balancing of cost versus benefit when prioritizing expenditure, specifically emphasizing that it is inappropriate to analyze and discuss individual risks without regard to the presence of other risks. Finally, the author analyzes the public's tendency to push toward zero risk tolerance, an extremist approach that leads to unreasonable restrictions on technologies, excessive regulatory compliance costs, and the ultimate loss of goods and services. With detailed explanations and illustrative case studies, Radiation Risks in Perspective offers scientists, lawyers, engineers, policy makers, and public health professionals, the skills they need for a rational evaluation of risk. 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 2009-10-12T03:39:35Z 2009-10-12T03:39:35Z 2006 Book 084937977 http://scholar.dlu.edu.vn/thuvienso/handle/DLU123456789/969 en application/octet-stream CRC Press