FOREWORD 



Sir F. MacFarlane Burnet, O.M,, F.R.S. 



Opening remarks to the Conference, December 15, 1958 



INTRODUCTION 



This Conference is concerned with the action of ionizing radiation on Hving 

 cells. Its objectives are purely scientific and, in one sense, it is only indirectly 

 concerned with the human implications of radiobiology. 



But in my position, I feel that it is necessary that I should underline those 

 implications. Radiation of the sort we are interested in is perhaps the most 

 two-edged of all weapons. We all know the medical and industrial benefits 

 of the use of X-rays and natural and artificial radio-active substances. And 

 equally we are aware of the dangers that, in one way or another, are associated 

 with atomic radiation. 



I shall say nothing about the value and the problems of radio-therapy for 

 cancer and other diseases, though much of the programme will, of course, be 

 relevant to this field. 



But I should like to speak for a few minutes on the problem of assessing 

 the dangers of radiation to human beings. 



* * * 



At the present time we are all only too conscious of the dangers of radiation — 

 and if there is one practical task for radiobiology it is to provide a realistic 

 understanding of the extent of the danger — and to express this in terms that 

 can be clearly understood by anyone. 



It is becoming a common practice in scientific publication to put a summary 

 of conclusions at the beginning of the paper and I think that it will make 

 my position clearer if I start with two simple statements which I believe do 

 express the practical essence of current thought on radiobiological hazards. 



1. That a major war fought with nuclear weapons would be an unimagin- 

 able calamity, resulting in the complete destruction of Western civilization 

 and the death, directly or indirectly, of probably more than half the human 

 population of the world and a tremendous increase in the burden of genetic 

 damage carried by the survivors. The prevention of such a war is the over- 

 riding political and social necessity of our time. 



2. That the danger associated with limited exposure to ionizing radiation, 

 whether from cosmic rays and other natural sources, fall-out from test 

 explosions, the medical uses of X-rays, or from work in laboratories and 

 industrial establishments concerned with atomic power, is unimportant in 

 comparison with the ordinary hazards of life. 



I should like to elaborate the second of those statements because it is 

 within its field that most of the work to be discussed at this conference will 

 have its human relevance. 



