Muller misled the Pugwash Conference on radiation risks – Calabrese and Selby

The 1957 Pugwash Conference addressed nuclear safety and radiation risks.
Hermann J. Muller promoted the Linear No-Threshold (LNT) model, claiming any radiation dose is harmful.
He ignored evidence suggesting low-dose radiation may be safe or have thresholds.
Key mouse studies by William Russell showing flaws in LNT were withheld for decades.
Muller dismissed a major study on 75,000 Hiroshima/Nagasaki offspring showing no genetic damage.
He relied on Edward Lewis’s flawed leukemia study to support his claims.
His influence led to global adoption of the LNT model for cancer and genetic risk assessments.
The NAS BEAR I Panel hid uncertainties about low-dose risks to push strict policies.
Muller’s views shaped nuclear policy and slowed acceptance of nuclear energy.
Recent evidence shows Muller misled scientists and policymakers, distorting decades of radiation risk science.