ML20058N467
| ML20058N467 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 07/26/1990 |
| From: | Carr K NRC COMMISSION (OCM) |
| To: | Geoffrey Miller HOUSE OF REP., INTERIOR & INSULAR AFFAIRS |
| Shared Package | |
| ML20055H726 | List: |
| References | |
| FRN-53FR49886, RULE-PR-CHP1 CCS, MILLER-900726, NUDOCS 9008140150 | |
| Download: ML20058N467 (2) | |
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f QUESTION 13.
Please provide an estimate of how many_ cancer deaths occur i
in' the United. States per. year. from exposure to background
- 1 radiation (excluding.indoorradon).
In addition, please
. provide an estimate of how many cancer deaths occur in the.
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United States par year.from exposure'to indoor. radon.
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ANSWER.
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l An estimate of the number of cancer-deaths per year in the United States-attributed to exposure to background radiation is highly uncertain.. As stated' in the BEIR V report, "No increase in the frequency of cancer has been i
l documented in populations residing in areas of high natural background."
i Nevertheless, a conservative estimate can be developed by multiplying the A
approximate-U.S. population (250 million), the average background radiation l
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dose excluding radon (100 mrem per year) and theflatent cancer fatality. risk:
coefficient of 5'x 10'# per rem for low doses'and dose rates of low linear l
energy transfer radiation (derived from the BEIR V report using a dose rate effectiveness factor of 2 for tumors).
Based on this calculation,,a l
hypothetical estimate of 12,500 annual-cancer-deaths would be attributed to-background radiation excluding radon.
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l Radon has been estimated to-cause an average additional exposure of 200 millirem per year: effective dose equivalent. EPA has stated that, " Scientists-estimated thet from about 5000 to about 20,000 lung cancer deaths a year in the United States ray be attributable to radon." BEIR IV provides an estimate 9008140150 900720 PDR COMMS NRCC t
CORRESPONDENCE PDC
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'i QUESTION 130 (Continued)'.,
of 13,000 deaths per year based on an extrapolation of information derived from uranium miners' exposed to levels much higher than background.
The estimates:of death attributable to natural background ' radiation including j
radon would'suggest that about 1 out of every 15 cancer deaths in the United States could.be caused by natural background radiation. To the best of I
our knowledge', no widely accepted scientific study exists which confirms!thisL estimate.
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