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Page Title:
Table 2-2 Estimated Loss of Life Expectancy from Health Risks |
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|  DOE-HDBK-1130-98
annual dose to DOE workers is less than 100 mrem, which leads to a working lifetime
dose (40 years assumed) of no more than approximately 4,000 mrem.
2.
Comparison of risks
a.
Table 2-2 compares the estimated days of life expectancy lost as a result of
exposure to radiation and other health risks.
The following information is intended to put the potential risk of radiation into
perspective when compared to other occupations and daily activities.
Table 2-2
Estimated Loss of Life Expectancy from Health Risks
Health Risk
Estimated Loss of Life Expectancy
Smoking 20 cigarettes a day
6 years
Overweight (by 15%)
2 years
Alcohol consumption (U.S. average)
1 year
Agricultural accidents
320 days
Construction accidents
227 days
Auto accidents
207 days
74 days
Home accidents
Occupational radiation dose (1 rem/y), from
age 18-65 (47 rem total)
51 days
All natural hazards (earthquakes, lightning, flood)
7 days
Medical radiation
6 days
The estimates in Table 2-2 indicate that the health risks from occupational radiation
doses are smaller than the risks associated with normal day-to-day activities that we
have grown to accept.
b.
Acceptance of a risk:
1)
is a personal matter.
2)
requires a good deal of informed judgment.
c.
The risks associated with occupational radiation doses are generally considered acceptable as
compared to other occupational risks by most scientific groups who have studied them. There
are some scientific groups who claim that the risk is too high. DOE continues to fund and
review worker health studies to address these concerns.
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