Health Risks of Ionizing Radiation: - Clark University

may be of little benefit to those who bear the burden
of risk.
A figure such as this can also be misleading
because of the variability of individual exposure
histories. For example, a person who works in a
nuclear facility will probably be exposed to more
manmade radiation than a person who does not; this
will alter the distribution of the pie chart and the
overall amount of exposure. A person who lives in
an area of particularly high fallout from the Nevada
Test Site will also have a different exposure pattern
than the average American, and so will someone
with a history of extensive diagnostic radiation for a
medical condition such as scoliosis.
1.4 Standards
In 1946 the Atomic Energy Act established the
Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) to maintain
control of atomic technology and to further its use
for military purposes. In 1954 Congress passed new
legislation outlining three roles for the AEC: 1)
continue its weapons program, 2) promote the private
use of atomic energy for peaceful application, and 3)
protect public health and safety from the hazards of
commercial nuclear power. It soon became apparent
that there was a conflict of interest with the same
agency promoting the use of nuclear power and
setting the standards of safety for this use. In 1974
Congress divided the AEC into the Energy Research
and Development Administration (ERDA) and
the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). The
NRC is not the sole agency with regulatory power
regarding nuclear safety. The Federal Radiation
Council, established in 1959 and consolidated into
the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in
1970, advises the President regarding radiation and
health. The EPA’s radiation protection guides (RPG)
are approved by the President and have the force and
effect of law as all federal agencies are required to
follow them. NRC regulations, which nuclear power
facilities must follow, must be consistent with the
RPGs. Other agencies responsible for regulating
aspects of radiation exposure include the Food
and Drug Administration (FDA), the Occupational
Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the
Introduction 3
Postal Service (USPS), and the Department
of Transportation (DOT). Naturally occurring
radionuclides are normally regulated by state
governments. Twenty nine states regulate byproduct
radioactive material and radiation devices within the
state. 3
Two series of reports provide much of the data
used in radiation standard setting. The reports are
produced by the National Academy of Sciences’
Committee on the Biological Effects of Ionizing
Radiation (NAS/BEIR) and the United Nations
Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic
Radiation (UNSCEAR). Both committees prepare
reports as new data or analyses are made available
indicating that previous risk estimates need to be
revised either up or down.
A relatively new radiation protection advisory
committee was formed in 1997, the European
Committee on Radiation Risk (ECRR). This
committee was formed by the Green Group in the
European Parliament to discuss details of recent
progress in radiological protection standards.
The ECRR strives to make no assumptions about
radiation safety based on preceding analyses and
to remain independent of previous risk assessment
committees such as the ICRP and the UNSCEAR. A
report from the ECRR was released in 2003.
Over the years, as the general consciousness
has evolved about the risks of radiation exposure,
the international and national radiation protection
standards have dramatically changed. Figure 1-
2 depicts the change in protection standards for
nuclear workers. Because there is no one standard
that all facilities and workplaces follow, the figure
is based on recommendations of a variety of sources
and summarizes the overall trend of standards.
1.5 Radiation basics
The physics and chemistry of radiation can be
confusing, and the extensive terminology associated
with radiation makes the problem much worse.
We present below a minimum of information to
avoid clouding our focus on epidemiology. Much
more information is available online in the form of
tutorials and factsheets 4 .
3 www.fpm.wisc.edu/safety/Radiation/2000%20Manual/chapter3.pdf
4 For example: www.physics.isu.edu/radinf/cover.htm or www.nirs.org/factsheets/whatisradiation.htm