[en] A comparison of RBE - LET relations are made for reproductive death and chromosome aberrations in mammalian cells, as a means of providing insight into the type of mechanisms involved. An analysis of the survival curves for X-rays and gamma rays is discussed and a schematic representation is presented of differences in the dependence of the effectiveness per unit dose on LET, for which data were derived from experiments with X-rays, gamma rays, fast neutrons and heavy ions. (Auth./C.F.)