England, Finland and Germany

Mineral collectors have found places near the Cornish town of St. Austell where the background level reaches 4.3 mrem per minute (37,700 mrem or 37.7 cGy per year) according to the London-based Nuclear Issues. Cornwall and Devon have a cancer incidence well below the British national average. [Beckmann, Petr. Access to Energy, 19, 2, 1991.]

"Conclusions: Our results do not indicate increased risk of lung cancer from indoor radiation exposure." [Auvinen, A., et al. Indoor radon exposure and risk of lung cancer: a nested case-control study in Finland. Journal National Cancer Institute, 88: pp. 966-72, 1996.]

"The observed lung cancer rates of females in high residential radon areas in former uranium mining areas of Southern Saxony are substantially lower than the population average of East Germany. Thus the data from various countries, showing biopositive effects of increased radon levels, can be confirmed in an area which has been closely associated with the history of radiation health effects." [Statement by Schuttmann, W. and Becker, K. (of the German Standards Institute), 1998. Reported in Low Level Radiation Health Effects: Compiling the Data. Muckerheide, James, ed., Radiation Science and Health, Inc., Needham, Mass., Chapter 1.2.6.3., pp. 1-2.]

Leukemia Mortality Among Survivors

Leukemia is a family of cancer involving the white blood cells. With the exception of lymphocytic leukemia - which is often erroneously included - the disease can be induced by ionizing radiation, and hence is the model of a radiation-engendered disorder. One would therefore expect a sizable increase in leukemia as the exposure level increases from background level of 0.1 cGy as shown in Figure 15. The data - taken from M. Delpha's "Fear of nuclear power could be met with data from Hiroshima" [Delpha, M. Nuclear Europe, 42, 3 1989] - indicate that the leukemia mortality rate shows a minimum at 3.5 cGy, or about ten times the average annual U.S. background level. Only a single data point gives and indication of hormesis; however, a threshold is positively demonstrated, and a clear difference in the effect of low- and high-level radiation is evident - both in conflict with expectations of the LNT.

Source of Figure 15: Leukemia Mortality Among A-Bomb Survivors: Delpha, M. Fear of nuclear power could be met statistically with data from Hiroshima. Nuclear Europe, 42, 3, 1989.