Abstract

AbstractThe doctrine for legal imputation (including the derivative concepts of legal charging, suing, indicting, prosecuting and judging) of detrimental health effects to those responsible for radiation exposure situations has been a matter of debate for many years and its resolution is still unclear. While the attribution of harm in the situations involving high radiation dose is basically straightforward, the challenge arises at medium doses and becomes a real conundrum for the very common situations of exposure to low radiation doses. The ambiguous situation could be construed to be a Damocles sword for the renaissance of endeavours involving occupational and public radiation exposure. This chapter describes the epistemological situation on the attribution of radiation health effects and the inference of radiation risks, relying on estimates from the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR) reported to the UN General Assembly. It discusses the implications of UNSCEAR’s refined paradigm for assigning legal liability. The chapter concludes with a recommendation to develop an international legal doctrine on the ability to impute detrimental radiation health effects.

Highlights

  • The purpose of this chapter is to address the legal imputation1 of radiation harm2 to radiation exposure situations.3 The concept of legal imputation is used as a precursor of its derivative legal concepts of suing and prosecuting, charging, indicting and judging

  • Other related terms are used for similar legal purposes, including the following: suing and prosecuting, which refer to the institution of legal proceedings following radiation exposure; charging, which refers to the formal accusation of a law offence; indicting, which is used to mean formally accusing of a crime; and, judging, which is used to mean giving a verdict by a public officer appointed to decide cases in a law court

  • After a long journey it seems that the scientific community has reached under UNSCEAR a consensus on the attributability of harm to radiation exposure situations

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Summary

Chapter 7

Keywords Radiation exposure situations · Legal imputation · Radiation effect attribution · Radiation risk inference · Radiopathological attestation · Radioepidemiological attestation · United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR) · Deterministic health effects · Stochastic health effects · Radiation safety

Aim
Summary of the Basic Scientific Consensus
From Estimating Effects to Imputing Harm
The Fundamental Paradigm
The Dose-Response Relationship
Verifiable Facts Vis-à-Vis Subjective Conjectures
Attestation
Legal Consequences
Jurisprudential (Case-by-Case) Legislation
Codified Legislation
Individual Imputation Vis-à-Vis Collective Imputation Vis-à-Vis Fictional Imputation
Conclusion

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