Linear No Threshold Model (LNT) Is Inaccurate

Linear No Threshold Model (LNT) Is Inaccurate

The Linear No Threshold (LNT) model is a measurement of Radiation Dose vs Risk of Cancer.  Because of research performed with the effects of radiation on Hiroshima and Nagasaki survivors scientists were able to obtain data on high doses of radiation (>500 millisievert (mSv)).  However it was uncertain what effect low doses of radiation had on people so the assumption was made that there was “no threshold” and all radiation levels were dangerous. The average worldwide background radiation dose is 2.4mSv per year.

The LNT model was adopted in 1959 but in reality there is doubt that doses of radiation under 100mSv are harmful or cancerous (The safety threshold is probably higher than 100mSv). A survey found that only 23% of scientists in the field subscribed to the LNT model and only 36% of 1,737 Department of Energy scientists. See http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1299203/ . A report to the US Senate on Radiation Standards in June 2000 stated:

"According to a consensus of scientists, there is a lack of conclusive evidence of low-level radiation effects below total exposures of about 5,000 to 10,000 millirem (50 to 100 mSv).  The model under which these effects are assumed, lacking conclusive evidence, is called the “linear, no-threshold” hypothesis or model. According to this model, even the smallest radiation exposure carries a quantifiable cancer risk."

http://nuclearradiophobia.blogspot.com/p/linear-no-threshold-model-lnt-is.html