(Source: R. Wilson, Analyzing the Risks of Daily Life, Technology Review, V 81, 1979)
Activity | Cause of Death |
Smoking 1.4 cigarettes | Cancer, heart disease |
Drinking 1/2 liter of wine | Cirrhosis of the liver |
Traveling 10 miles by bicycle | Accident |
Traveling 300 miles by car | Accident |
Flying 1,000 miles by jet | Accident |
Traveling 6,000 miles by jet | Cancer caused by cosmic radiation |
Living 2 months in average brick building | Cancer caused by natural stone or radioactivity |
1 chest x-ray taken in a good hospital | Cancer caused by radiation |
Living 2 months with a cigarette smoker | Cancer, heart disease |
Eating 40 tablespoons of peanut butter | Liver cancer caused by aflatoxin B |
Eating 100 charcoal broiled steaks | Cancer from benzopyrene |
Drinking 30 12 oz. cans of diet soda | Cancer caused by saccharin (No longer classified as a carcenogin) |
Living 5 years at site boundary of a typical nuclear power plant in the open | Cancer caused by radiation |
Living 20 years near PVC plant | Cancer caused by vinal chloride (1976 standard) |
Living 150 years within 20 miles of a nulcear power plant | Cancer caused by radiation |
Risk of accident by living within 5 miles of a nuclear reactor for 50 years | Cancer caused by radiation |