IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/envval/v4y1995i3p241-255.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Radiation Protection and Moral Theory

Author

Listed:
  • David Sumner
  • Peter Gilmour

Abstract

It seems likely that there is no threshold for the induction of cancer by ionising radiation. Hence even small radiation doses may result in a finite number of premature deaths if a large number of people are exposed. Various arguments are used to demonstrate that such deaths, if they occur, are acceptable; these arguments are shown to be flawed. Many of the arguments, and the ICRP's principle of justification, appear rooted in a utilitarian system of moral philosophy. Such a system is superficially attractive as it appears objective and rational; however, the objectivity may be an illusion masking the underlying aims of the interested parties.

Suggested Citation

  • David Sumner & Peter Gilmour, 1995. "Radiation Protection and Moral Theory," Environmental Values, , vol. 4(3), pages 241-255, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:envval:v:4:y:1995:i:3:p:241-255
    DOI: 10.1177/096327199500400311
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/096327199500400311
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/096327199500400311?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:envval:v:4:y:1995:i:3:p:241-255. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.