Much information—and misinformation—has been circulated of the sterilization and grotesque physical deformation that supposedly would result from exposure to atomic rays.
How about it? Is it true?
"Forget it," says Dr. Ralph W. Brauer, who directs the state's radiological defense program.
Studies at Hiroshima and Nagasaki plus research on animals indicates this probability is so remote as to be negligible, he de clared.
However, Dr. Brauer continued, the small amounts of radiation with which we deal each day in our food, plant life and even in our own bodies have been a factor which, among other things,c hanges human genes—the carriers of inheritable characteristics.
In other words, small quantities of ionizing radiation down through the years have altered the shape of living things. riod of time than lie could if delivered all at once."
Dr. Brauer continued: i ''The important thing, then, is that we can repair most types oi radiation damage/and if we receive radiation sufficiently slowly no harm, or virtually no harm, will come to us.
'The one exception to this rule is that, apparently, we are not capable of repairing damage done to our reproductive organs,
"In fact, it seems fair to say radiation normally enveloping us from sources such as radioactivity of the soil, carbonaceous materials of plants and animals or cosmic radiation have contributed significantly to the evolution of man.
Changes in Genes
"This contribution comes through the changes wrought in our genes which are shuffled around or altered by the impact of the rays."
These genetic changes, hje said, are not necessarily bad. Some are desirable. But they cannot be repaired as the other changes brought on by radiation.
'This does not mean," he added, "that we have to look forward to a generation of two-headed monsters because of unusual radiation exposure of the people of an area.
"Furthermore, the chances of any of these 'mutants," or genetic change, that may show up in the physical characteristics of people & generation hence are small.
"At best several generations must elapse and continuous intermarriage within the exposed pop-I ulatipn must have occurred before individuals manifesting the new characteristics will appear in abnormally large numbers."
He said research done on the people who were living in the Japanese cities when they were A-bombed shows there has not been an "unusual incidence of abnormal children to date."
No" Accurate Figures
Another factor tending to protect us from radiation is . that doses of radiation which produce a relatively larr|»3 proportion of mutations (genetic changes) are likely to produce temporary or even permanent sterility, he said.
"The dose which would perma-| nently sterilize man is uncomfortably close to a lethal dose," Dr. Brauer explained.
"In women the dose may be somewhat smaller, though nobody at this time can have accurate | figures."
Dr. Brauer concluded:
"Thus it all boils down to saying it is a good policy not to be exposed to large radiation doses. But we have a pretty good understanding of the doses we can be exposed to without suffering discomfort or harm.
"At those levels the chances of injuring your reproductive system or your children are very slight.
"To detect, any damage at all wil require widespread exposures and careful statistical studies.
"We can conclude, then, that at the present time one would appear justified in saying under virtually all conditions which we can envision as resulting from radiological warfare in forms now
