6. Debate on low-dose exposure

The debate on the health effects of low doses of ionizing radiation is a recurring one, on a par with that on the effects of internal contamination. It is accepted that doses in excess of 100 mSv can cause stochastic effects in exposed individuals, with a probability that increases linearly with the dose (figure 6 ). For higher doses of radiation, deterministic effects may appear from "threshold" doses, the level of which depends on the tissue under consideration.

The low-dose debate concerns a range of doses from a few μSv to around 100 mSv, below which the statistical power of the epidemiological...