[How to understand low dose risks].

It is well established that those who were exposed to ionizing radiation have increased risks of developing malignancies. The magnitude of the risk varies depending on not only the dose but also age at the time of exposure, gender, background incidence rate etc. In the case of atomic bomb survivors, the relative risk of cancer is linearly related to the dose, and the sex averaged relative risk (exposure age is 30, risk calculation is when they reached age 70) is 1.5 at 1 Gy. Because the increased risks below 100 to 200 mGy are too small and not statistically significant, there are arguments in interpreting the risks at the low dose range.