Low dose radiation dangers
p2pnet.net OT News:- You know when you go to the dentist and he/she does four or five X-rays?
That may not be as safe as you’ve been led to believe.
“Even common X-rays pose some risk of adverse health effects,” says a National Academy of Sciences panel.
Although the panel said there’s not enough information available to accurately estimate the cancer risk from X-rays, “It rejected some scientists’ arguments that tiny doses are harmless or may in fact be beneficial,” says the Detroit Free Press.
“The findings could influence the maximum radiation levels that are allowed at abandoned reactors and other nuclear sites. The conclusions also raise warnings about excessive exposure to radiation for medical purposes such as repeated whole-body CT scans.
“While at low doses ‘the number of radiation-induced cancers will be small … as the overall lifetime exposure increases, so does the risk,’ the experts said.”
One out of 100 people exposed to 100 millisievert of radiation over a lifetime probably would develop solid cancer or leukemia, and that half of those cases would be fatal, the scientists estimated, says the story, adding:
“A millisievert is a measurement of radiation energy deposited in a living tissue. People absorb about 3 millisievert of radiation annually from natural sources and 0.1 millisievert every time they get a chest X-ray.”
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See:-
Detroit Free Press – Radiation doses pose cumulative risk, panel says, June 30, 2005
June 30th, 2005 at 9:28 pm
The main dose of radiation is natural (80%). There are cosmic rays which have been present since the formation of the solar system. There are other sources such as C14 &K40 which occur naturally and are ingested as well as the large amount of K40 in concrete buildings. The remaining smaller 20% are the new sources. So people are receiving 20% more than primeval man did. I’m not going to worry about that until I start getting a chest x-ray (or take an airline flight) everyday. Of course the presence of large amounts of radon in some part of the US could be a factor in deciding where to live.
July 1st, 2005 at 3:17 am
I would have to think that that stupid thing with the circle shape the dentist puts into your mouth to take the X-rays… is worse for your health… damn things hurts!