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Recent and Future Research

Scientists have examined the risk of cancer in groups of people who were exposed to doses of radiation that are higher than normal but lower than those received by atomic bomb survivors. Examples include radiologists, airline flight crews (who are exposed to increased amounts of cosmic rays during flight), and people who live in areas with unusually high background radiation. Overall, the results of such studies have not been conclusive, and research is ongoing.

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AMERICAN COUNCIL ON SCIENCE AND HEALTH

1995 Broadway, Second Floor New York, NY 10023-5860

Frederick Anderson, Esq.

McKenna Long & Aldridge

Jack Fisher, M.D.

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Nigel Bark, M.D.

University of California, San Diego

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Rodney W. Nichols

Elissa P. Benedek, M.D.

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Donald A. Henderson, M.D., M.P.H. Thomas Campbell Jackson, M.P.H.

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Conclusions
Over a centurys experience in working with radiation has given scientists a detailed understanding of radiation, its properties, and its health effects. There is little doubt about the effects of high levels of radiation exposure, but there remains controversy about exposure to low levels of radiation. There is only a small chance that radiation entering a cell will cause significant permanent changes in the DNA. Thus, there is only a small chance that exposure to low doses of radiation will lead to cancer or genetic damage. Though nothing is without potential risk, radiation provides a net benefit to society. As with all technology, the safe use of radiation depends on developing the best possible scientific understanding of its effects and on rationally weighing both risks and benefits.

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Introduction
The possibility of suffering adverse health effects as a result of exposure to radiation is a cause of concern and fear for many people. They may think that little is known about the health effects of exposure to radiation and that exposure to even low levels of radiation can be disastrous. Neither of these beliefs is true, and they shouldnt cause people to make unwise decisions such as foregoing beneficial medical procedures that involve radiation. This pamphlet by the American Council on Science and Health will summarize the scientific facts about the health effects of exposure to low levels of radiation.

Models for Radiation and Cancer Risk

Scientists must rely on mathematical models to predict the likely effects of low-dose exposure to radiation. They are based on scientific data, but they are estimates, not established facts. The best known of these models is the linear nothreshold (LNT) model, which assumes that the harmful effects of radiation are proportional to the radiation dose, all the way down to near-zero doses. This model assumes that any exposure to radiation in excess of the usual background level carries with it an additional risk of cancer.

What Is Radiation and How Is It Measured?

The word radiation refers to energy that travels in the form of waves or highspeed particles. Many different types of radiation exist including visible light, microwaves, and radio waves. We will use the term radiation to refer only to the types of radiation classified as ionizing radiation, including some ultraviolet radiation, x-rays, and the type of radiation given off by radioactive elements (alpha, beta, and gamma radiation). In this pamphlet, the principle term used to express radiation doses is the rem, a measure of the biological risk resulting from exposure to radiation. Low levels of radiation are often expressed in millirems (mrem), 1/1000 of a rem. On average, one year of exposure to natural background radiation results in a radiation dose of 300 mrem. A chest x-ray exposes a person to about 5 mrem.

Sources of Radiation
Most of the radiation to which people are exposed comes from the natural environment (called background radiation) and includes cosmic rays from the sun and stars, radionuclides (radioactive forms of stable atoms) naturally present in our bodies, and naturally-occurring radioactive materials in rocks and soil including radon. The chief sources of radiation exposure from human activity are medical procedures, such as x-rays. People are also exposed from some consumer products, nuclear power plants, fallout from nuclear weapons testing, and other sources. In North America, the average radiation dose from medical sources is 53 mrem/year; total exposure from human activity averages 65 mrem/year.

Health Effects of Radiation

Exposure to radiation at doses of hundreds of rems (hundreds of thousands of mrems) can cause radiation sickness, fatal in extreme cases. Symptoms of radiation sickness have been observed in survivors of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombs and radiological accidents, and may also occur as side effects of high-dose radiation therapy for cancer. However, people are not often exposed to radiation in doses high enough to cause this type of illness. At somewhat lower but still high doses, radiation may damage the genetic material (DNA) of cells, rather than killing cells outright. This does not cause any immediate illness, but it may increase the risk of later development of cancer and other diseases. In most instances, however, DNA damage does not lead to cancer. The fact that radiation exposure can lead to cancer is known from high-dose research on experimental animals and from studies of people who were exposed to high doses of radiation such as the survivors of the atomic bombings in Japan and the 1986 accident at the nuclear plant at Chernobyl. At doses of 10 rem or higher (about 30 times the average annual background radiation exposure), the increase in the risk of cancer due to radiation exposure has been shown to be dose-related: the higher the dose, the greater the risk. However, few people are exposed to such high doses. To predict effects at low doses, if any, scientists extrapolate downward from the effects of higher doses.

In a second model, the threshold model, a dose exists below which radiation does not cause any harmful effects. The dose-response curves for most toxic substances are of the threshold type. The results of some experimental research in organisms other than humans suggest that a threshold may also exist for harmful effects of radiation exposure. A third model involves the concept of hormesis, in which exposure to low levels of radiation (or of any substance that is known to be harmful in high doses) actually has beneficial effects. Proponents of a radiation hormesis model suggest that exposure to small doses of radiation may help keep the bodys DNA repair and cancer suppression mechanisms at peak efficiency. Thus, when continually exposed to mildly elevated levels of radiation, cells are better able to repair both radiation-induced and background DNA damage more effectively. Of these models, the LNT model has received the most widespread acceptance, but it is by no means certain the LNT model is the most appropriate one. Developing a better understanding of the precise shape of the radiation dose-response curve at low levels of exposure is important because virtually all occupational, medical, and natural radiation exposure is low-level. If we overreact to small exposures, we may needlessly waste time and resources that would be better spent countering other problems, while if we were to ignore real dangers from low levels of radiation, people might be made ill needlessly.

Societys Use of Radiation

The most important uses of radiation are medical, including x-rays and cancer treatment. Nuclear power is another important use of radiation. At present, 16% of global electrical energy and 23% of U.S. electrical energy production comes from nuclear power plants. Human exposure to radiation from this source, however, is extremely small. Nuclear power exposes people to less radiation than burning coal or fuel oil for power.

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