Effective dose: a flawed concept that could and should be replaced. Comments on a paper by D J Brenner (Br J Radiol 2008;81:521-3).

摘要

The Editor-Sir,The author is uncompromising in his criticisms of the quantity "effective dose" and proposes its replacement with a quantity termed "effective risk". The uninformed use and misapplication of effective dose is a recognised problem [1-4]. However, used as intended within the protection system recommended by the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) [1, 5], it provides a risk-related quantity for the control of exposures and the optimisation of protection. In response to the article by Brenner [6], we would like to take the opportunity to explain the purpose of effective dose and answer some specific criticisms. We agree with Brenner to the extent that an alternative approach is required in situations for which effective dose was not intended, but conclude that risk calculations should be made for clearly defined purposes, not to provide a general replacement scheme.