Published October 1980 | Version v1
Journal article

BEIR III

  • 1. UKAEA Atomic Energy Research Establishment, Harwell. Nuclear Environment Branch

Description

The most recent report prepared by the National Academy of Sciences Committee on the Biological Effects of Ionising Radiation entitled The Effects on Populations of Exposure to Low Levels of Ionising Radiations (BEIR III) is reviewed. With respect to the somatic effects of low doses of those types of radiation that are of primary practical importance when considering possible environmental and public health impacts of nuclear electricity generation - the low LET radiations, the final report gives a range of risk estimates rather than a set of numbers which were agreed to by all but two members of the full committee, whose dissenting statements are also included in the final report. The genetic effects of low levels of radiation were arrived at by two different estimating methods which are claimed to be in reasonable agreement. Results given in BEIR III are compared with those from BEIR I (1972), UNSCEAR (1977) and ICRP (1977). (U.K.)

Additional details

Publishing Information

Journal Title
Atom (London)
Journal Issue
no.288
Series
Atom (London).
ISSN
0004-7015