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Relevant Quantities & Units    
                 – for Individuals

	UNITS QUANTITY DEFINITION New            Old
	Absorbed Dose Energy per unit mass Gray (Gy)      rad
	Equivalent Dose Average dose X radiation Sievert (Sv)   rem weighting factor
	Effective Dose Sum of equivalent doses to Sievert         rem organs and tissues exposed, each multiplied by the appro- priate tissue weighting factor
	Committed Equivalent dose integrated Sievert         rem Equivalent Dose over 50 years (relevant to incorporated radionuclides)
	Committed Effective dose integrated Sievert         rem Effective Dose over 50 years (relevant to incorporated radionuclides)

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Principal Hazards of
Ionizing Radiation

	Genetic effects
	Carcinogenic effects
	Effects on the developing embryo/fetus

The Carcinogenic Effects of Radiation

"How does radiation cause cancer"

	How does radiation cause cancer?

"Ionizing radiation does cause cancer"

	Ionizing radiation does cause cancer
	Parts of the mechanisms are understood
	The full picture is still very unclear

Radiation and Cancer

	Ionizing radiation is quite efficient at inducing chromosomal aberrations such as
	deletions and translocations

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Solid Cancers – A-Bomb Survivors

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Gene Mutations

	Polydactyly
	Huntindon’s chorea
	Retinoblastoma
	Sickle-cell anemia
	Tay-Sachs disease
	Cystic fibrosis
	Color blindness
	Hemophilia

Radiation-Induced Mutations

	Radiation does not produce new, unique mutations, but simply increases the incidence of the same mutations that occur spontaneously

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Heritable Effects

	Children of the survivors of the A-bomb attacks have been studied for:
	Untoward pregnancy outcomes
	Death of live-born children
	Sex chromosome abnormalities
	Electrophoretic variants of blood proteins
	But no statistically significant effects have been observed

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Hereditary Effects - ICRP

	Probability / caput
	of severe hereditary disorder
	(working population)
	0.6% / Sv

IN UTERO EFFECTS
OF
RADIATION

Teratogenic Risks
(i.e., to the embryo/fetus, if relevant)

	Moderate doses of radiation can produce catastrophic effects on the developing embryo and fetus.

The principle effects of radiation on the developing embryo and fetus are:

	Growth retardation
	Embryonic, neonatal, or fetal death
	Congenital malformations and functional impairment, such as mental retardation.

Factors Influencing Probability
of Teratogenic Effects

	Dose to embryo/fetus
	Stage of gestation at time of exposure

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Microcephaly at Hiroshima

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In utero exposure & mental retardation

	Severe mental retardation,
	after in-utero exposure
	(8-15 weeks gestation period)
	Risk: 40% / Sv

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Typical sources of exposure to ionizing radiation

Stanley Watras at the
Limerick nuclear power plant, 1984

Stanley Watras and family, Boyertown, PA, 1985

Number of articles about radon in the New York Times

The uranium-238 decay chain

The Reading Prong:
 A granite formation

Radon: From Rocks to Lungs

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Radon risks are estimated by studying uranium miners

Estimated lung cancer risks from lifetime exposure to radon

Estimated lung cancer deaths
 per year in the US due to radon

In the range 15,000 to 22,000
(~1 in 8 of all lung cancer deaths)

About 85% of these deaths are attributable to radon + smoking

Testing houses for high radon levels

Radon remediation:
Sub-slab ventilation

1-800-SOS RADON