Part of the book: Chemistry, Emission Control, Radioactive Pollution and Indoor Air Quality
The currently established linear nontreshold (LNT) risk model is used for radiation protection and is actually not intended for risk assessment. Also dose concepts such as effective dose are constructions used for radiation protection, focusing on the regulatory use in standards for workers but is seldom useful for members of the public. Both the LNT model, as well as use of the concept effective dose, are also not applicable in the low dose area. An alternative method for public health risk assessment and disease surveillance can be the combination of environmental radiation monitoring and health databases. For example, after the Chernobyl accident, airborne measurements of cesium-137 gamma spectrum from the ground, activity data from food samples and high quality national health registries were used for the risk assessment of cancer development.
Part of the book: Risk Assessment