ProZES - a tool for assessment of assigned share of radiation in probability of cancer development

Wide use of radiation and radioactivity in medicine, industry, science, and military applications leads to inevitable occupational exposures of personnel involved. Existing radiation protection limits for occupational exposure are set up to prevent deterministic effects of radiation and minimize potential harm of radiation due to stochastic effects (ICRP 2007). Stochastic effects include cancers and hereditary effects. Cancer is a common disease and development of cancer might result from either occupational exposure or other cause not related to radiation exposure. Correspondingly, any decision on a compensation claim should investigate causal links between occupational exposure and observed disease. Various implementations of compensation schemes have been developed in Argentina, France, Japan (for A-bomb survivors), Russia, UK, and US (ILO, 2010). In Germany, decision-making on compensation in the case of cancer after occupational radiation exposure is made using radiation-epidemiological tables (Chmelevsky et al. 1995), which neither reflect current state of knowledge on radiation-induced carcinogenesis nor account for inherent uncertainties of risk estimates and probability of cancer causation. Thus, existing tables need to be upgraded and replaced with modern, flexible approach, capable to account for details of personal occupational radiation exposure history as well as existing uncertainties in epidemiological data and models used to express risk of radiation exposure.