John R. Cameron - 2003 Oct: Recent results from long term studies indicate that mild radiation exposure improves health A double blind study is needed to confirm the hypothesis that mild radiation improves longevity. Several long term studies indicate that this is so. Even fairly high doses, high enough to increase cancer rates, seem to cause enough beneficial effect to make overall longevity remain constant despite the inceased cancer deaths. Many standards for radiation safety are based on cancer rate statistics, so this may be the wrong base if it misses the positive effects. Settings dose standards too low as a result of using the wrong measure is causing increased costs for industry without producing any benefit. The basis for setting standards should be longevity which will the be influenced by the positive results of radiation exposure.