Carcinogenesis from ionizing radiation

Additional cases of radiations-induced cancer resulting from an increase in the effective radiation dose to the public have become a matter of public interest after the Chernobyl 'disaster'. There has since been general concern in the minds of many people that they, their children and grandchildren would develop cancer after years or even decades because of the additional radiation exposure. An attempt has been made so settle this question for good by applying the 'dose-effect relationship', a principle generally accepted in radiation protection. This dose-effect relationship, which has been recommended by the International Commission on Radiological Protection and is used in radiation protection practice in Germany, implies the existence of a linear relationship between the added radiation dose and the relative rate of additional cases of cancer caused in the public. Any added dose, even the lowest dose, increases the rate of cancer in the public. There is no radiation dose threshold below which the cancer rate would not be increased. The new dose-effect relationship presented here, however, is not linear, contains a pronounced threshold level, but constitutes a better description of reality than the model used by the International Commission on Radiological Protection. The essence of the new concept is derived from principles of chaos theory. (orig.)