Quantitative Radiation Biology

Abstract

The biological effects of ionizing radiation were thrust into prominence by the explosion of the atomic bombs at Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Since then there has been a general awareness amongst the lay-public that a new potential hazard had joined the older accepted dangers such as electrocution and traffic accidents, as part of everyday life. However, this new hazard is different, it is intangible and incomprehensible and it can take years before the effect of exposure is revealed in the form of one of the most feared diseases, cancer. In spite of continuing research into radiation effects and the imposition of stringent safety regulations in the radiation industry, the radiation hazard has become a bête-noire because of its insidious nature. The general reaction of the population and news media to the reactor accident at Harrisburg, U.S.A., serves to emphasize the general horror with which the radiation threat is viewed.