Saving normal tissues - a goal for the ages

Almost since the earliest utilization of ionizing radiation, many within the radiation community have worked toward either preventing (i.e. protecting) normal tissues from unwanted radiation injury or rescuing them from the downstream consequences of exposure. However, despite over a century of such investigations, only incremental gains have been made toward this goal and, with certainty, no outright panacea having been found. In celebration of the 60th anniversary of the International Journal of Radiation Biology and to chronicle the efforts that have been made to date, we undertook a non-rigorous survey of the articles published by normal tissue researchers in this area, using those that have appeared in the aforementioned journal as a road map. Three 'snapshots' of publications on normal tissue countermeasures were taken: the earliest (1959-1963) and most recent (2013-2018) 5-year of issues, as well as a 5-year intermediate span (1987-1991). Limiting the survey solely to articles appearing within International Journal of Radiation Biology likely reduced the number of translational studies interrogated given the basic science tenor of this particular publication. In addition, by taking 'snapshots' rather than considering the entire breadth of the journal's history in this field, important papers that were published during the interim periods were omitted, for which we apologize. Nonetheless, since the journal's inception, we observed that, during the chosen periods, the majority of studies undertaken in the field of normal tissue countermeasures, whether investigating radiation protectants, mitigators or treatments, have focused on agents that interfere with the physical, chemical and/or biological effects known to occur during the acute period following whole body/high single dose exposures. This relatively narrow approach to the reduction of normal tissue effects, especially those that can take months, if not years, to develop, seems to contradict our growing understanding of the progressive complexities of the microenvironmental disruption that follows the initial radiation injury. Given the analytical tools now at our disposal and the enormous benefits that may be reaped in terms of improving patient outcomes, as well as the potential for offering countermeasures to those affected by accidental or mass casualty exposures, it appears time to broaden our approaches to developing normal tissue countermeasures. We have no doubt that the contributors and readership of the International Journal of Radiation Biology will continue to contribute to this effort for the foreseeable future.

Michael Reese Hospital and the Campaign to Warn the US Public of the Long-Term Health Effects of Ionizing Radiation, 1973-1977

In July 1973, a study at the University of Chicago linked radiation treatment during childhood to a variety of diseases, including thyroid cancer. A few months later, a worker at Michael Reese Hospital in Chicago, Illinois found a registry of 5266 former patients who had been treated with radiation during the 1950s and 1960s. Hospital officials decided to contact these patients and arrange for follow-up medical examinations. Media coverage of the hospital's campaign had a snowball effect that prompted more medical institutions to follow suit, resulting in the National Cancer Institute (NCI) launching a nationwide campaign to warn the public and medical community about the late health effects of ionizing radiation. This study describes how the single action of a hospital in Chicago and the media attention it attracted led to a national campaign to warn those who underwent radiation treatment during childhood.

State Institution «National Research Center for Radiation Medicine of the National Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine» - research activities and scientific advance in 2016

Research activities and scientific advance achieved in 2016 at the State Institution «National Research Center for Radiation Medicine of the National Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine» (NRCRM) concerning medical problems of the Chornobyl disaster, radiation medicine, radiobiology, radiation hygiene and epidemiology in collaboration with the WHO network of medical preparedness and assistance in radiation accidents are outlined in the annual report. The report presents the results of fundamental and applied research works of the study of radiation effects and health effects of the Chornobyl accident; fulfillment of tasks of «State social program for improving safety, occupational health and working environment in 2014-2018 years».The report also shows the results of scientific organizational and health care work, staff training. The NRCRM Annual Report was approved at the Scientific Council meeting of NAMS on March 17, 2016.

Twenty five years of the National Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine - progress and priorities for future of radiation medicine and biology

After the creation of the Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine in 1993 the Research Center for Radiation Medicine was among the first institutions to join the Academy (fig. 1). Estab lishing the Academy was among the first steps of the independent Ukrainian government and aimed to provide a high level health care for population. It was extremely needed for the minimization of Chornobyl medical consequences. This choice was related to a growing recognition of the scientific research in fulfilling the Сenter's mission - study of the effects of low dose radiation on human body and radiation protection of the exposed population.The Center entered the Academy as a potent insti tution. Director General Dr. Anatoly Romanenko and his first deputy prof. Oles Pyatak were lucky to concentrate in three institutes of the Center a talent ed workforce including director of the Institute of Clinical Radiology prof Volodymyr Bebeshko, director of the Institute of Epidemiology and Prophylaxis of radiation Injuries prof. Volodymyr Buzunov, director of the Institute of Experimental Radiology prof. Mikhail Rudnev. Drs. T. Azaren kova, S. Galkina, V. Boer, T. Treskunova were appointed as scientific secretaries. Dosimetry divi sion was headed by brilliant prof Ilya Likhtarev and his staff Drs. I. Los, V. Korzun, V. Repin, O. Pere voznikov, O. Bondarenko, V. Chumak and others.The Center met creation of the Academy with expe rienced research and clinical staff encountering 1587 members, including 272 research staff, 28 doctors of science and 98 PhDs, modern diagnostic and labo ratory equipment, 300 beds in clinical departments and construction of hospital and out patient hospi tal in Svyatoshin. Scientific staff included experi enced prof. I. Khomaziuk, prof. B. Prevarsky, prof. V. Zamostian, prof. P. Chayalo, prof. M. Omelya nets, prof. A. Prysyazhnyuk. Dr. A. Niagu, Dr. E. Stepanova, Dr. A.Chumak, Dr. V. Klymenko, Dr. D. Komarenko, M. Pilinska, L.Ovsiannikova, O. Pi rogova. were among the first academic supervisors in studies of Chornobyl health effects and got professor certificates in this new area. First PhD theses were successfully passed by Dr. E. Gorbov, and Dr. of Sciences - by Dr. D. Bazyka. Basics of future aca demic research directions were elaborated that time by Drs. O. Kovalenko, Zh. Minchenko, V. Talko, I. Holyavka, D. Belyi, D. Yakimenko, E. Mikhai lovska, V. Malyzhev, V. Sushko, A. Cheban, K. Lo ganovsky, K. Bruslova, I. Dyagil, T. Liubarets, O. Kucher, G. Chobotko, and others. Later the major ity of these studies formed a background for Chornobyl legislation, regulatory directives, pre sented as dissertations.A quarter of century passed. The Center as a part of the National Academy of Medical Sciences resisted the challenges and moved forward, was recognized worldwide and fulfilled its main mission - providing highly qualified health care to radiation exposed. Staff numbers decreased (1,091), but work amount has increased. Since 2000, new premises were installed - a hospital with the biggest in Ukraine outpatient clin ic, new laboratory facilities, the last of which was in troduced in 2013. The Academy became a national one and since 2011 the Center was recognized as a national research institution (NRCRM), staff mem bers received 3 State Awards of Ukraine in the Field of Science and Technology, numerous personal awards.During this period, NRCRM staff conducted and published priority research data on radiation risks and molecular mechanisms of leukemia, including chronic lymphocytic, myelodysplastic syndrome, multiple myeloma, thyroid cancer, breast cancer in Chornobyl accident cleanup workers. Studies of the mechanisms of non tumor pathology - cardio vascular, cerebrovascular, cognitive disorders are in process. Of high importance are studies of possible transgenerational effects of radiation. The devel oped new technologies and protocols for the advanced care of radiation exposed were intro duced to the general health care system, the addi tional departments of oncology and chemotherapy were equipped and started activities, databases of cancer cases in exposed population and separate groups of exposed were introduced, as well as an international database of radiation injuries. The Clinical and Epidemiological registry of the NRCRM is in function and developed. An adapta tion of research directions with a respect to the pathomorphosis of radiation induced diseases in the remote period after irradiation will continue.Performed complex studies of the effects of incorporation of 131I on the fetus and the next gen eration of experimental animals became important for understanding the mechanisms of formation of radiation effects. Introduction of new foodstuffs and supplements with radiation protective proper ties was of positive effect for population protection during the first years.In the area of dosimetry a substantial progress has been achieved in reconstruction of thyroid doses in the Ukrainian population, dosimetric passportisation of settlements, radiochemistry, the creation of new methods for reconstructive dosimetry for cleanup workers - SEAD, RADRUE, and ROCKVILLE. All developments are implemented to practice, tens of thousands of doses have been restored. International recognition has received for the method of in utero doses reconstruction. As editor in chief, I regard it successful to incorporate our bilingual edition «Problems of Radiation Medicine and Radiobiology» into the NCBI MedLine, SCOPUS and other data bases, that creates an unique opportunity to widely disseminate results of the Center's research.Strategies for the future. Ukraine belongs to countries with a priority development of nuclear energy. Even with the increase in the production of clean energy, there is no other way than the further deployment of a complete nuclear fuel cycle and energy industrial complex, the expansion of the nuclear technologies to all sectors of the economy.The main potential threats to radiation safety include the aging of the material base of the NPPs with the prolongation of the working life for nuclear reactors with the expired terms of exploitation; the existence of a «nuclear legacy» sites of the former USSR in the territories of enterprises for the extrac tion and processing of uranium ores. About 5,000 institutions and enterprises use more than 25,000 sources of ionizing radiation in general. The use of radiological technologies and sources of ionizing radiation in medicine is increasing, in particular the burden on patients and staff in invasive cardiac sur gery. This will require significant efforts from the NRCRM to ensure an adequate radiation protec tion of the population, taking into account the experience collected during the mitigation of health effects of Chornobyl. Radiological threats of malev olent use of nuclear technology hasn't be forgotten.The mission of the NRCRM is to expand basic research of the health effects of ionizing radiation, elaboration and implementation of the care and radiation protection of population. Background for future is paved by a successful implementation of a special program of medical and biophysical control of personnel during transformation of the Shelter object into an environmentally safe sys tem, the State social program of increasing safty, labor hygiene and environment for 2014-2018; many years of successful cooperation with the State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate, the Natio nal Commission for Radiation Protection, «Ener goatom» company, the relevant departments of the Ministry of Health, international organizations such as WHO, UNSCEAR, IAEA, IARC, the US National Cancer Institute, IRSN, Nagasaki, Hiroshima, Fukushima universities and others.From the editorial board I congratulate the staff of the Center with the twenty fifth anniversary of the Academy. I would like also to wish the National Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine new ad vances in medical science and practice, sustainabil ity, unity, development and worldwide recognition.

[Experience in health prevention work at the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant]

One of the main conditions for successful completion of liquidation tasks in the consequences of the accident at the Chernobyl nuclearpowerplant is of the swipe-effective sanitary and anti-epidemic (preventive) measures. The main directions of medical services in this area include the prevention of acute radiation injuries of personnel and distant effects of ionizing radiation, prevention of epidemics of acute intestinal, respiratory and other infections in the armedforces, pro-prevention of injuries, poisonings, accidents. Medical preventive measures were performed by the Medical Service, which took part in liquidation of consequences of military units, the specialists of the Operational Group of Civil Defense, the sanitary-epidemiological units and institutions formed the Belarusian, Kiev and Odessa Military District. Sanitary-epidemiological (preventive) activities carried out during the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, provided the sanitary-epidemiological well-being of the troops, which allowed to perform their tasks.

Human genetics after the bomb: Archives, clinics, proving grounds and board rooms

In this paper I track the history of post-1945 human genetics and genomics emphasizing the importance of ideas about risk to the scientific study and medical management of human heredity. Drawing on my own scholarship as it is refracted through important new work by other scholars both junior and senior, I explore how radiation risk and then later disease risk mattered to the development of genetics and genomics, particularly in the United States. In this context I excavate one of the central ironies of post-war human genetics: while studies of DNA as the origin and cause of diseases have been lavishly supported by public institutions and private investment around the world, the day-to-day labor of intensive clinical innovation has played a far more important role in the actual human experience of genetic disease and genetic risk for affected families. This has implications for the archival record, where clinical interactions are less readily accessible to historians. This paper then suggests that modern genomics grew out of radiation risk; that it was and remains a risk assessment science; that it is temporally embedded as a form of both prediction and historical reconstruction; and that it has become a big business focused more on risk and prediction (which can be readily marketed) than on effective clinical intervention.

Light damage to the retina: an historical approach

A brief review of retinal light damage is presented. Thermal damage requires a local rise in temperature of at least 10 °C, causing an instant denaturation of proteins. The primary absorber is melanin. Photochemical damage occurs at body temperature and involves cellular damage by reactive forms of oxygen. The photosensitizers are photoproducts of the visual pigments. First indications that non-thermal damage might exist, in particular in the case of eclipse blindness, was presented by Vos in 1962. Attribution thereof to photochemical action was presented in 1966 by Noell et al who also measured the first action spectrum, in rat. It turned out to be identical to the absorption spectrum of rhodopsin. However, in 1976 and 1982 Ham et al found a quite different spectrum in monkeys, peaking at short wavelengths. The latter spectrum, but not the former, was confirmed since in numerous publications with animal models including rat. In ophthalmological practice a 'sunburn' was at first the only complaint caused by light damage. To avoid this, patients with dilated pupils should always be advised to wear sunglasses. Since the invention of the laser accidents have been reported, the most recent development is youth playfully pointing a strong laser pen in their eyes with marked consequences. The operation microscope and endoilluminators should always be used as brief as possible to avoid photochemical damage. Arguments for implant lenses that block not only the UV but also part of the visible spectrum seem too weak to justify extra costs.

[Radiation-related health effects of major nuclear events]

Three major nuclear events, the Hirosima and Nagasaki bombings and the Chernobyl and Fukushima catastrophes, have been selected to Illustrate the health consequences, observed or anticipated, of irradation of populations. Differences in doses and modalities of irradiation, with the combination of clinical epidemiology and dose estimates, recently revisited, allow for more accurate dose-effect relationship models of the risks. However, extrapolation to the low-doses (< 0.1 Gy) or very low-doses of these models obtained with doses ≥ 0.2 Gy remains hazardous.

[On a border of toxicology and medical physics--atypical radiation accidents]

The paper reviews less known radiation accidents in the history, from deadly ones to those with short-term effects. Many of them were diagnosed with notable delay, particularly ones linked to lack of knowledge or criminal actions. In physician's life, the probability to examine the victim of radiation accident is extremely low, but still exists. Therefore an adequate amount of knowledge of radiation consequences should be provided in a training curricula of medical studies and medical specialization programmes, particularly those of internal medicine and clinical toxicology, also in ones of environmental protection, environmental health and medical physics.

Communication of benefits and risks of medical radiation: a historical perspective

X-rays were discovered by Wilhelm Röntgen in 1895. Within one year, benefits of x-rays, such as visualization of fractures, and detriments, such as x-ray dermatitis, were recognized. Nobel Laureates Pierre and Marie Sklodowska Curie discovered the radioactive element radium in 1898, and a year later the application of radiation to cure cancer was reported. A significant price was paid for this: Marie Curie died of aplastic anemia related to her radiation exposure, and her daughter Irene Joliot Curie, Nobelist for radiochemical research, died of radiation-induced leukemia. Internationally developed radiation protection recommendations were formalized starting in the late 1920s. The increasing use of ionizing radiation in medical diagnosis and radiation therapy has brought significant societal benefits. Known risks of therapeutic radiation include coronary artery disease and secondary malignancy. However, recently concerns have been raised of possible very small but incremental increases in malignancies due to diagnostic medical radiation. Patients are largely unaware of, and referring physicians and even radiologists often underestimate, the carcinogenic effects of radiation. There is a need to determine the appropriateness of imaging tests that use ionizing radiation prior to performance; optimize imaging protocols to reduce unnecessary radiation; include patients in the decision process and encourage and enable them to track their radiation exposure; and promote education about medical radiation to patients, referring physicians, radiologists, and members of the public. The basic radiation protection principles of justification, optimization, and application of dose limits still pertain.

Early victims of X-rays: a tribute and current perception

X-rays were discovered in 1895 and since then much has been written about Wilhelm Roentgen and the events surrounding the discovery. However, there have been only scattered references in the literature about the early workers who dedicated their life, and death, to X-rays. Radiology has come of age since then. Large exposure times have been reduced to milliseconds and there has been a change from analogue to digital. The advent of new and rapidly developing modalities and the ubiquitous presence of cone beam CT (CBCT) highlight the need to remember the early victims of X-rays, especially with the lack of universal guidelines for taking a CBCT scan. The aim of this article is to alert the oral radiologist to exposing patients irrespective of need, and to pay respect to the victims on the 116(th) anniversary of the discovery of X-rays.

Going for the burn: medical preparedness in early Cold War America

On September 23, 1949, President Harry Truman announced that the Soviet Union had successfully detonated an atomic bomb. The news that the Soviet Union had done this came as little surprise to a number of American scientists and to some members of the intelligence community who had predicted that the Soviets would quickly acquire this advanced weapons technology. But for many Americans this news was disturbing. Truman’s announcement was taken up by, among others, a young Baptist evangelist named Billy Graham. Opening a tent revival in Los Angeles just two days after the President’s report, Graham preached how the news of the Soviet bomb test had “startled the world” and launched an “arms race unprecedented in the history of the world.” President Truman, he informed his listeners, said that we “must be prepared for any eventuality at any hour….” Perhaps even more ominously he asked the crowd, “Do you know the area that is marked out for the enemy’s first atomic bomb? New York! Secondly, Chicago; and thirdly, the city of Los Angeles!” It was not only evangelical preachers who foresaw catastrophic implications from a growing arsenal of atomic weapons.

Suffering and death among early American Roentgenologists: the power of remotely anatomizing the living body in fin de siècle America

This manuscript has two aims. First, I extend the historiography on early American roentgenology that demonstrates that dozens of early adopters knowingly suffered intense pain, mutilation, and death for the sake of the X-ray. The objective is to pinpoint as precisely as possible when and to what extent the roentgenologists knew of the life-threatening risks of X-ray exposure. Second, I articulate a partial explanation for their behavior that is rooted in the social power of remotely anatomizing the living body in fin de siècle American scientific and medical culture.

Longitudinal trends of total white blood cell and differential white blood cell counts of atomic bomb survivors

In studying the late health effects of atomic-bomb (A-bomb) survivors, earlier findings were that white blood cell (WBC) count increased with radiation dose in cross-sectional studies. However, a persistent effect of radiation on WBC count and other risk factors has yet to be confirmed. The objectives of the present study were 1) to examine the longitudinal relationship between A-bomb radiation dose and WBC and differential WBC counts among A-bomb survivors and 2) to investigate the potential confounding risk factors (such as age at exposure and smoking status) as well as modification of the radiation dose-response. A total of 7,562 A-bomb survivors in Hiroshima and Nagasaki were included in this study from 1964-2004. A linear mixed model was applied using the repeated WBC measurements. During the study period, a secular downward trend of WBC count was observed. Radiation exposure was a significant risk factor for elevated WBC and differential WBC counts over time. A significant increase of WBC counts among survivors with high radiation dose (> 2 Gy) was detected in men exposed below the age of 20 and in women regardless of age at exposure. Effects on WBC of low dose radiation remain unclear, however. Cigarette smoking produced the most pronounced effect on WBC counts and its impact was much larger than that of radiation exposure.

Radiation a new paradigm...Societal impacts

Latency is associated with the time lag it takes for the health effects resulting from exposure to ionising radiation to show up. However, the term latency can also be applied to the time it takes for a policy to be implemented. This length of time has been suggested as broadly 40-year process. Given that radioactivity was identified and named in 1896, three paradigms are identified and examined from 1896 to 2016 and the criteria for a 4th paradigm suggested for the period 2017-2056. The review examines the changes that have taken place in scientific understanding and in public trust, a few key developments and the associated establishment of the related organisational infrastructure designed to collate and assess the evidence.

Nuclear energy in postwar Japan and anti-nuclear movements in the 1950s

The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945 revealed the most destructive power to-date of man-made weapons. Their impact was so great that Japanese scientists thought that a bigger disaster could be prevented only if war was abolished. Thus they welcomed the international control of atomic energy. It was, however, only after the occupation that the Japanese general public began to learn about the horror of these atomic disasters due to the censorship imposed by the occupational forces. The hydrogen bomb test by the US in the Bikini atoll on March 1, 1954 renewed fears of nuclear weapons. The crew of a Japanese fishing vessel, the "Daigo Fukuryu Maru" (Lucky Dragon No. 5) suffered from exposure to radiation from the test. Even after the incident the US did not stop nuclear tests which continued to radioactively contaminate fish and rains in Japan. As a result, the petition movement for the ban of nuclear trials suddenly spread all over the country. By the summer of 1955 the number of the signatures grew to more than one third of Japan's population at the time. Under the strong influence of anti-nuclear Japanese public opinion the Science Council of Japan announced the so-called three principles of atomic energy: "openness," "democracy," and "independence" to ensure atomic energy was used for peaceful uses only. These principles were included in the Atomic Energy Basic Law established in December 1955. With this law, military uses of nuclear energy were strictly forbidden.

One minute after the detonation of the atomic bomb: the erased effects of residual radiation

The U.S. Government's official narrative denies the effects of residual radiation which appeared one minute after the atomic bomb detonations in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This paper explores declassified documents from the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, the Atomic Bomb Casualties Commission, and others and shows that these documents actually suggested the existence of serious effects from residual radiation.

Korean atomic bomb victims

After colonizing Korea, Japan invaded China, and subsequently initiated the Pacific War against the United States, Britain, and their allies. Towards the end of the war, U.S. warplanes dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which resulted in a large number of Koreans who lived in Hiroshima and Nagasaki suffering from the effects of the bombs. The objective of this paper is to examine the history of Korea atomic bomb victims who were caught in between the U.S., Japan, the Republic of Korea (South Korea) and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea).

[Control of health risks in radiodiagnosis: a historic approach]

This paper presents the history of the discovery of ionizing radiation, as well as its biological effects and the resulting need to control subsequent health risks. It describes the historic evolution of risk control in radiodiagnosis in Brazil, demonstrating that it may be associated not only to the dose received, but also to errors in diagnosis and to costs to the health system. It is stressed that sanitary regulations have a broad remit of social co-responsibility to involve all the players with a view to safeguarding health.

Fallout from Bikini: the explosion of Japanese medicine

On 23 September 1954, Mr Aikichi Kuboyama died, the first Japanese victim of the Bikini incident--an American hydrogen bomb experiment on Bikini Atoll that took place on 1 March under the codename Operation Castle. This tragedy had several important consequences, influencing post-war negotiations between Japan and the United States over nuclear weapons, stimulating Japanese research into the biological effects of radiation and inspiring a commitment to the treatment of radiation sickness.

Mice and the reactor: the "genetics experiment" in 1950s Britain

The postwar investments by several governments into the development of atomic energy for military and peaceful uses fuelled the fears not only of the exposure to acute doses of radiation as could be expected from nuclear accidents or atomic warfare but also of the long-term effects of low-dose exposure to radiation. Following similar studies pursued under the aegis of the Manhattan Project in the United States, the "genetics experiment" discussed by scientists and government officials in Britain soon after the war, consisted in large-scale low-dose irradiation experiments of laboratory animals to assess the effects of such exposures on humans. The essay deals with the history of that project and its impact on postwar genetics. It argues that radiobiological concerns driven by atomic politics lay at the heart of much genetics research after the war and that the atomic links are crucial to understand how genetics became an overriding concern in the late 20th century.

Genetic effects of radiation in atomic-bomb survivors and their children: past, present and future

Genetic studies in the offspring of atomic bomb survivors have been conducted since 1948 at the Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission and its successor, the Radiation Effects Research Foundation, in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Past studies include analysis of birth defects (untoward pregnancy outcome; namely, malformation, stillbirth, and perinatal death), chromosome aberrations, alterations of plasma and erythrocyte proteins as well as epidemiologic study on mortality (any cause) and cancer incidence (the latter study is still ongoing). There is, thus far, no indication of genetic effects in the offspring of survivors. Recently, the development of molecular biological techniques and human genome sequence databases made it possible to analyze DNA from parents and their offspring (trio-analysis). In addition, a clinical program is underway to establish the frequency of adult-onset multi-factorial diseases (diabetes mellitus, high blood pressure, and cardiovascular disease etc) in the offspring. The complementary kinds of data that will emerge from this three-pronged approach (clinical, epidemiologic, and molecular aspects) promise to shed light on health effects in the offspring of radiation-exposed people.

A review of the history of U.S. radiation protection regulations, recommendations, and standards

Shortly after the discovery of x rays by Wilhelm Konrad Roentgen in 1895, and the isolation of the element radium by Pierre and Marie Curie three years later, the fascination with and potential for an array of uses of ionizing radiation in medicine, science, and technology was born. As with any new technology, there was a need to balance both the beneficial and potential detrimental effects of uses of these new technologies for the advancement of humankind. In the early days, radiation hazards were not well understood. Over the decades increasing concerns in the scientific community and lay population demanded that standardized guidance and recommendations be developed for the use of ionizing radiation. Today, U.S. radiation protection standards and recommendations to protect the occupational worker, members of the general public, and the environment are numerous and complex. This review summarizes the history of the development and application of radiation protection standards and regulations to assure the safe use of radiation and radioactive materials. The evolution and roles of international and national scientific recommending and regulatory organizations that shape U.S. radiation protection policy are described and discussed.

A history of the international commission on radiological protection

Within twelve months of the discovery of x rays, papers appeared in the literature reporting adverse effects from high exposure. By the time of the First World War, several countries were proposing restrictions for the exposure of radiation workers. In 1925, the first International Congress of Radiology, held in London, considered the need for a protection committee, which it established at its second Congress in Stockholm in 1928. This paper traces the history of the development, by ICRP, of its policies and the personalities involved in their development from its inception up to the modern era. The paper follows the progress from the early controls on worker doses to avoid deterministic effects, through the identification of stochastic effects to the concerns about increasing public exposure. The key features of the Recommendations made by ICRP from 1928 up to the current 1990 version are identified.

A history of the international commission on radiological protection

Within twelve months of the discovery of x rays, papers appeared in the literature reporting adverse effects from high exposure. By the time of the First World War, several countries were proposing restrictions for the exposure of radiation workers. In 1925, the first International Congress of Radiology, held in London, considered the need for a protection committee, which it established at its second Congress in Stockholm in 1928. This paper traces the history of the development, by ICRP, of its policies and the personalities involved in their development from its inception up to the modern era. The paper follows the progress from the early controls on worker doses to avoid deterministic effects, through the identification of stochastic effects to the concerns about increasing public exposure. The key features of the Recommendations made by ICRP from 1928 up to the current 1990 version are identified.

Radiation litigation and the nuclear industry--the experience in the United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, the Nuclear Installations Act 1965 places a "strict" statutory duty on the operators of nuclear facilities to ensure that any exposure to radiation resulting from operations does not cause injury or damage. A claimant does not have to prove fault to receive compensation under the Act, only causation. The 1965 Act has been fundamental in shaping litigation involving the nuclear industry in the UK. Civil law cases brought under the Act will be heard before a single judge (with no jury or technical assessor) who must present his or her decision in a reasoned judgment. This process leads to a considerable volume of expert evidence being presented to the court and extensive cross-examination of witnesses. The expense and uncertain outcome of cases involving claims by nuclear workers that occupational exposure to radiation had caused the development of cancer has led to employers and trade unions setting up the voluntary Compensation Scheme for Radiation-linked Diseases as an alternative to litigation. This Scheme has worked well and is held up as a model of alternative dispute resolution. However, a few cases concerning personal injury or damage to property have come before the courts when the defendant nuclear operator considered that the claims were technically unjustified and where settlement was not a policy option. As anticipated, these cases were lengthy, complex, and expensive. The radiation doses assessed to have been received by the individuals who were the subject of claims, whether workers or members of the public, have been crucial to the outcome. The technical expertise of health physicists and allied specialists has been vital in establishing defensible estimates of dose, and this contribution can be expected to remain of high importance in radiation litigation in the UK.

The whistleblower implications of radiation injury lawsuits: lessons learned from In re McCafferty

While it is widely known that strict regulations protect nuclear workers who raise safety-related concerns, few are aware that the riling of a claim for radiation-related injuries has been interpreted to constitute a "protected activity" under the Energy Reorganization Act, which endows the claimant with "whistleblower" status. This means that negative employment-related actions taken against a radiation injury claimant can result in detrimental, even draconian, consequences for the employer involved. The case of In re McCafferty illustrates this vividly. The claimants in McCafferty were six contract insulators who filed lawsuits for emotional distress they claimed to have suffered due to exposures they received at Centerior Energy's Davis-Besse nuclear plant. Because of the pending lawsuit and claim for emotional distress, Centerior denied all six claimants access to Centerior's plants, which resulted in their being terminated by their employer. The claimants brought an action with the Department of Labor, succeeded in convincing the Administrative Review Board that Centerior's actions constituted retaliation under the ERA "whistleblower" provision, and were afforded nearly full relief on their claims. This article explains how Centerior's actions ran afoul of the Energy Reorganization Act's "whistleblower" provision. It also describes what licensees and their subcontractors can do if faced with similar circumstances.