Table 9: Developing Comparisons for Risks due to Plutonium Exposure
Voluntary Risks

Risk
Outrage (1)
Health Study
Appropriateness (2)
Sources of Radiation
Intercontinental Flight
no
4
Eating Bananas
no
4
High Background levels
no
3
Indoor Radon
no
3
Watching TV
no
4
Medical Tests/x-rays
no
4
Causes of Death
or Cancer
 Airplane Crash
no
4
Motorcycling
no
5
Driving a Car
no
5
Boating
no
5
Swimming
no
5
Scuba Diving
no
5
Hunting
no
5
Saccharin
no
5
Household Chemicals
no
4
Smoking
no
5
  1. For 'Outrage' a judgment was made as to whether or not the risk causes public anger, fear, defensiveness, frustration or suspicion.
  2. Risks were rated from Most Appropriate Comparisons (1) to Least Appropriate (5).

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