Impact of Radiation Biology on Fundamental in Biology

S&T Accomplishment Report · Thu Jan 20 04:00:00 EST 1983

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/1095504· OSTI ID:1095504

Setlow, Richard B.

Research supported by OHER and its predecessors has as one of its major goals an understanding of the effects of radiation at low doses and dose rates on biological systems, so as to predict their effects on humans. It is not possible to measure such effects directly. They must be predicted from basic knowledge on how radiation affects cellular components such as DNA and membranes and how cells react to such changes. What is the probability of radiation producing human mutations and what are the probabilities of radiation producing cancer? The end results of such studies are radiation exposure standards for workers and for the general population. An extension of these goals is setting standards for exposure to chemicals involved in various energy technologies. This latter problem is much more difficult because chemical dosimetry is is a primitive state compared to radiation dosimetry.

• Research Organization: BNL (Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, NY (United States))
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• OSTI ID: 1095504
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

61 RADIATION PROTECTION AND DOSIMETRY
63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.