David Ropeik: International consultant on risk perception and risk communication - There are good physical and emotional reasons to fear nuclear radiation. At high enough doses it can cause more than 20 different kinds of cancer. Emotionally, human-made risks scare us more than natural ones (radiation from the sun doesn't scare us as much though it kills many more) and any risk we can’t detect with our senses leaves us feeling vulnerable and powerless and more afraid.
