Abstract
In his editorial `Collective dose: kill or cure?' John Dunster (2000 J. Radiol. Prot. 20 (1) 3-4) states that a build up of small doses from many sources could easily be prevented in the future.
Based on our experience with other sources of pollution, I feel this is somewhat rash. The early producers (The West) of CFC and carbon dioxide pollution incurred no internal costs. Now highly populated developing countries want to industrialise and create these gases on a level playing field with developed countries. The consequences of the rest of human kind producing US per caput levels of pollution are catastrophic.
A lot is being said about this dilemma; the only thing that is not being said is that the problem can `easily be prevented'.