Consequences of low dose radiation exposure

Potentially harmful consequences of significant exposure to irradiation have been recognized for many decades. Radiation protection approaches adopted in the US and internationally has assumed a no-threshold model in order to establish permissible radiation dose limits in the normal population and for radiation workers. More than 50 years have now elapsed since the devastating effects of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki A-bombs. Extensive and thorough studies of the exposed Japanese populations as well as more recent studies of the consequences of Chernobyl now make possible an initial estimate of the accuracy of this no-threshold approach in estimates of secondary malignancy, longevity, birth defects and genetic alterations. These studies, recently analysed, have yielded surprising results that may lead to a paradigm shift in our approach to radiation protection. Result from these several new studies as well as an analysis of the measurable impact of irradiation or consequences such as longevity tumor production and genetic effects will be presented