What's New?
•	Ryan Appointed to NRC Advisory Committee
•	August Newsletter
•	August ORS
•	August Journal

Upcoming Events
•	IRPA 12 19-24 October 2008
•	HPS Midyear Meeting Recent Advances in Planning and Response to Radiation Emergencies 31 January - 3 February 2009 San Antonio, Texas
•	54th Annual Meeting of the Health Physics Society 12-16 July 2009 Minneapolis, Minnesota

25 July 2008

Answer to Question #5871 Submitted to "Ask the Experts"

Category: Radiation Effects — Low-Dose Effects

The following question was answered by an expert in the appropriate field:

I have been reading about radiation exposure on several sites and am a little perplexed. Have any formal studies been done to find out if low to moderate exposure to external ionizing radiation (such as gamma rays) can have a significant positive effect on health and/or longevity? Some of the sites I have visited contend that certain types of cancers are dramatically lower in people exposed to significant (although well below those doses that would cause near term mortality) levels of radiation. I had heard of this effect many years ago, but some of the claims seemed quite significant. Please see this Web site http://www.lewrockwell.com/miller/miller12.html for what I mean. I am a high school physics teacher currently doing nuclear physics in my class.

There is a great deal of confusion in the literature about effects from low doses of radiation. In most cases, for every paper on this topic it is matched by an equal and opposite paper. In most cases, the results are statistically marginal. Papers purporting to show harmful effects from these small doses have been promoted beyond reason, generally by antinuclear activists. Papers purporting to show beneficial radiation effects have been similarly used by supporters of peaceful uses of radiation. Many of the abusers of the data have been otherwise competent scientists who went off the deep end—"kooks with credentials."

The jury is still out on the issue of radiation effects at small doses. The problem is the effects are rare events, difficult to detect in a population of finite size.

S. Julian Gibbs, PhD, DDS

Answer posted on 24 October 2006. The information and material posted on this Web site is intended as general reference information only. Specific facts and circumstances may alter the concepts and applications of materials and information described herein. The information provided is not a substitute for professional advice and should not be relied upon in the absence of such professional advice specific to whatever facts and circumstances are presented in any given situation. Answers are correct at the time they are posted on the Web site. Be advised that over time, some requirements could change, new data could be made available, or Internet links could change. For answers that have been posted for several months or longer, please check the current status of the posted information prior to using the responses for specific applications.