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Deconstructing Linearity
Kenneth L. Mossman
Professor of Health Physics
Director, Office of Radiation Safety
Arizona State University
Tempe, AZ
Deconstructing Linearity
• Nature of the debate
• Dose extrapolation
• Uncertainties in risk estimates
• Other predictive theories
• Problems / Solutions
The LNT Debate
• Economic costs– environmental clean up (>$100 billion)– regulatory compliance (>$10 billion/y)
• Fear of radiation– abortions following Chernobyl– mammography
Cos
t ($)
Per
Lif
e S
aved
Cost of Regulation
• Viscusi, 1992
• 1990 US dollars
• Nuclear regulations not cost effective
1
10
100
1,000
10,000
100,000
1,000,000
10,000,000
100,000,000
1,000,000,000
Passiv
e Res
traint
s & B
elts
Alcoho
l/Dru
g Con
trol
Radion
uclid
es/U
Mine
s
U mill
tailin
gsRad
ionuc
lies
DOE Fac
ilities
The LNT Debate
LNT Proponents
• Risk conservatism justified because of uncertainty in risk
• Precautionary principle
• LNT supported by LSS and other human data
• LNT is simple, easily explained to public
LNT Opponents
• Regulatory compliance costs are excessive
• Fear of radiation at low doses
• LNT not supported by LSS and other human data
• Radiogenic risk is lower than predicted by LNT
The LNT Debate
• Very large extrapolation factors• Very large uncertainties in risk at low doses• Uncoupling regulatory decision making from
predictive theories• What is a “safe dose”• Precautionary principle
Extrapolating Health Risks
1
10
100
1000
Ex
tra
po
lati
on
Fa
cto
r
Risk Uncertainty at Low Doses
Lifetime cancer risk ~ 5%/Sv CL: ??
BEIR V: lower limit of risk includes zero at natural background levels
Lifetime cancer risk ~ 5%/Sv 90% CL: 1.15-8.08%/Sv
Dose Extrapolation Factor ~ 100Pro
babi
lity
of
Rad
ioge
nic
Can
cer
Dose (mSv)
0 10 20 30 200 400 600 800 1000
Uncertainties in Risk(NCRP 126)
• Population of all ages: 5%/Sv
• Work population: 4%/Sv
• 90% CL: 1.15% - 8.08%/Sv
Sources of Uncertainty(NCRP 126)
• DDREF (40%)• Population transfer (19.9%)• Statistical uncertainties (4.2%)• Dosimetric uncertainties (4.2%)• Misclassification of cancer deaths (0.6%)• Lifetime projection (0.5%)• Unspecified uncertainties (30.6%)• Uncertainty due to dose extrapolation (?)
Extrapolating To Low Dose And Low Dose Rate
• NCRP 126
• Tumor incidence in animals exposed at HDR and LDR
• Curve A: Linear fit at HDR
• Curve B: Curvilinear fit to experimental data
• Curve C: Linear fit at LDR
LNT: To Be Or Not To Be?
Evidence for LNT• Uranium miner data• Domestic radon
exposure• Total solid cancers in
LSS
Evidence against LNT • Leukemia in A-bomb
survivors• Ecological studies of
lung cancer from domestic radon exposure
• Total solid cancers in LSS
Hypotheses, Models and Theories
Data Observations
Theory
Hypothesis Testing
ConceptualModel
Models Lead to Theories
Model Theory
Billiard balls collide and Kinetic theory of gases
bounce off one another
Bohr model of the atom Quantum theory
Target model of radiation action Linear no-threshold theory
LSS Data Supports Mutually Exclusive Theories
Theory Source of Data Comment
Linear no-threshold Pierce et al., 1996 The dose response for cancer mortality is linear
down to 50 mSv
Curvilinear or Little and Muirhead Upward curvature in dose response for
threshold 1996 leukemia incidence and mortality; no curvature observed for solid cancers; evidence for
threshold in non-melanoma skin cancer
Curvilinear or Hoel and Li, 1998 A-bomb cancer incidence data agree more with
threshold a threshold or nonlinear dose-response curve
than a purely linear one although the linear
dose-response is statistically equivalent
Supralinearity Pierce et al., 1996 Excess relative risk per Sv increases with decreasing dose
Hormesis Kondo, 1991 Cancer mortality is reduced in male survivors of the
Nagasaki bomb below ~50 mGy
LSS Data Supports Mutually Exclusive Theories
• RERF - LSS data
• Dose-response for pooled non-cancer disease mortality
Radon-Induced Lung Cancer Mortality: Support for LNT?
• Lubin and Boice, 1997
• Meta-analysis of 8 indoor radon studies
• pooled analysis of uranium miner studies
• Cohen’s ecological study
Resilience of the LinearNo-Threshold Theory
• External correction factors– e.g. DDREF
• Anomolous results explained– e.g. Radon ecological studies
The LNT Debate
Problems
• High cost of environmental cleanup (one radioactive atom might cause cancer?)
• Radon gas in homes causes about 16,000 deaths/year according to EPA (support from epidemiology?)
• Radiophobia: IAEA estimates 100,000-200,000 Chernobyl related induced abortions in Western Europe (insignificant risk from small doses? threshold?)
Solutions
• Continue epidemiological studies (LSS) recognizing limitations
• Mechanistic studies to clarify shape of dose-response curve (eliminate competing theories)
• Wingspread and Airlie Conferences
– bridge policy and science
– coherent system of regulations
– use of best science available
– Sen. Domenici - $18M to DOE
If Not LNT, Then What?
• No legal requirement to base regulations on predictive theories
• Avoid use of predictive theories• Base exposure limits on annual average natural
background levels in U.S. • Base exposure limits on lowest dose at which
statistically significant risk is observed
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