protection of radiation (original) (raw)

report deals with the influence of radiation quality on doseresponse relationships (stochastic effects only), as indicated by experimentally determined values of RBE. With the exception of internal emitters, there are no data on which RBE for high-LET radiation for cancer can be estimated for humans. This is contrary to earlier expectations, i.e., those existing prior to the revised dose assessment for the atomic bomb survivors, at which time it was thought that the neutron contribution to the dose in Hiroshima was sufficiently large to permit such values to be deduced. Thus, the focus of this report is on RBE data for lower organisms, to the almost total exclusion of RBE data for humans. No recommendations are made on values for Q to be used in radiation protection. This is because, even though RBE plays a large role in the determination of Q, several additional factors must be taken into account. The differences between the two concepts are emphasized below, by describing some of the value judgments, including choices of RBE values, which may enter into a determination of Q: (a) Effective dose equivalent for high-LET radiations, especially with internal emitters such as the alpha particles from radon, involves