[Ann Coulter's piece][1] does cites sources and she has some valid points, but she also clearly has a bias. She even downplays Chernobyl, making it sound like there were no deaths due to radiation (she acknowledges 30 deaths, but blames it on the explosion).

What is **Radiation [Hormesis][2]**? ([Source][3])

![enter image description here][4]

The **linear no-threshold (LNT) hypothesis** basically says:

> Radiation exposure is harmful at all
> exposure levels

The **Threshold model** implies:

> no effects of radiation up to certain
> level 

The **Hormetic model** shows

> beneficial effects at low levels of
> exposure as it drops below ZEP (*Zero-Equivalent Point*)


----------
**Explanation for *Radiation Hormesis***:

> **Because the protective and reparative
> mechanisms are working at a higher
> level than they would in the absence
> of radiation exposure, mutations** (both
> those caused by radiation and those
> that occur spontaneously) **are found
> and repaired or destroyed**. Thus, the
> whole-organism response to low-level
> radiation exposure in the radiation
> hormesis paradigm is a state of
> improved health when compared with
> that in the absence of radiation
> exposure.

----------


Examples of **Epidemiological Studies**:

> - [China][5]: *The cancer mortality rate was lower in the high-background
> group, but this difference was
> statistically significant only in the
> 40- to 70-y age group (i.e., those who
> had the greatest lifelong exposure to
> high background levels of radiation)*
> 
> - [India][6]: *inverse correlation between background radiation levels
> and cancer incidence and mortality*

> - [Cosmic radiation at high altitudes][7]: *The cancer death rate was lower in the high-altitude group.* 



----------
Examples of **Experimental Studies**:

> - [Very low doses of X-rays can cause human lymphocytes to become less
> susceptible to ionizing radiation][8]
> 
> - [Decreased deletion mutation in radioadapted human lymphoblasts][9]
> 
> - [Low-dose ionizing radiation decreases the frequency of neoplastic
> transformation][10]
> 
> - [The suppression of metastases and the change in host immune response
> after low-dose total-body irradiation
> in tumor-bearing rats][11]
> 
> - [A review of certain low-level ionizing radiation studies in mice and
> guinea pigs][12]
> 
> - [Evidence for Radiation Hormesis After In Vitro Exposure of Human
> Lymphocytes to Low Doses of Ionizing
> Radiation][13]


----------
But *Radiation Hormesis* remains a controversial subject.

According to [this][14] (2001):

> **The LNT hypothesis has been adopted by
> every national and international body
> that offers radiation protection
> recommendations or interprets
> scientific data.**

> These include, but
> are not limited to, the National
> Council on Radiation Protection and
> Measurements (NCRP), the International
> Commission on Radiological Protection
> (ICRP), the National Academy of
> Sciences (NAS) Biological Effects of
> Ionizing Radiation (BEIR) Committees,
> the International Atomic Energy Agency
> (IAEA), and the United Nations
> Scientific Committee on the Effects of
> Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR).

But The **U.S. Department of Energy** has a [Low Dose Radiation Research Program][15]

> [The] Program has been studying the
> biological effects of very low doses
> of ionizing radiation in relevant
> experimental systems for a decade.
> Program research has contributed
> significantly to the body of
> scientific understanding needed to
> inform public debate and future
> regulatory decision making.

which some proponents of *Radiation Hormesis* view as a "first step" toward acceptance of this hypothesis.



  [1]: http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=42347
  [2]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hormesis
  [3]: http://www.snm.org/docs/Radiation_Hormesis_JNMT_March_O3.pdf
  [4]: https://i.sstatic.net/cfHno.gif
  [5]: http://www.sciencemag.org/content/209/4459/877.full.pdf?ijkey=1bcee11f165ea8b90c9d036eb49e6072e4d7a4a6&keytype2=tf_ipsecsha
  [6]: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3570803?dopt=Abstract
  [7]: http://carcin.oxfordjournals.org/content/3/5/461.abstract?ijkey=9ca35e4f7a2f11995b3d6570b9bd20f78545fafe&keytype2=tf_ipsecsha
  [8]: http://mutage.oxfordjournals.org/content/2/2/95.abstract?ijkey=348d7fb07e141688b803f944ad0c87b1222d46d7&keytype2=tf_ipsecsha
  [9]: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8434119?dopt=Abstract
  [10]: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8927708?dopt=Abstract
  [11]: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10360792?dopt=Abstract
  [12]: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3553079?dopt=Abstract
  [13]: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2564764/
  [14]: http://www.iem-inc.com/prlnt.html
  [15]: http://lowdose.energy.gov/