And the BEIR VII once again supports all prior medical research indicating that low doses of ionizing radiation do effect human health.
I think we should track this kind of information. If from Fukushima, that dose is going to increase because the 300+ tons of radioactive waste flowing into the ocean daily since the start of the disaster does not end...there is no projected ending. IF this dose is from Fukushima then it has to increase indefinitely with the amount of radiation dumped. THere is no known way to stop the flow of radiation from Fukushima into the air and water until there just isn’t any left at that location.
Denver? Are you referring to thinner atmosphere allowing more gamma? If so - not comparable with radioactive waste which is ingested or inhaled or absorbed through skin in fallout. Medically no comparison.
Interesting that 300mrem from man-made sources. Did you know that the nuke industries around the world have “agreed” to raise the level of “Background” radiation as needed so that above ground testing and unclaimed portions of Chernobyl can be counted as “background” because it happened BEFORE Fukushima? Radon is not comparable but pro nukers like to point to radon locations as “proof” of safety.
After Fukushima, safety limits for Japanese and US foodstuffs was arbitrarily increased.
Nuke workers aren’t protected from radiation damage by the mrem per year dose - but the oganizations that use the badge readings to limit nuke worker exposure ARE protected by lawsuits. Let me explain. For years the department of defense litigated against any worker suing for medical illnesses related to working with radiation by pointing to the tracking of the badge reading. Finally in 2000, Congress halted that practice by stating that it was clear rare forms of cancer and other radiation illnesses could occur and did occur in workers who stayed below that limit. Small exposure increases risk by a small amount. Exposure is cumulative. There aren’t “free” or safe threshold exposures - there are only legal claims that “We let him go when he reached the limit on his badge so why should we have to pay for his medical treatment.”
I’m not going to get into a drawn out discussion about the risks of low level radiation exposure with you. I have two post-graduate degrees, one in health physics and one in radiation oncology physics. I have worked in the radiation field for 30 years. It is my belief that the Linear Non-Threshold models for radiation exposure over estimates the health risk.
I do find it interesting that you discount the radiation exposure in Denver because it is not inhaled or injested. In the next paragraph, you pooh-pooh radon exposure which is inhaled/ingested. Radon is an alpha emitter and thus the radiation biological equivalent dose per interaction is quite large as compared to a gamma interaction. Radon is thought to be the second leading cause of lung cancer in the US.