RADIATION HAZARDS 



In recent years the testing of radioactive explosive devices has been 

 carried out at high level, resulting in bitter worldwide debate concerning 

 the hazards of radioactivity. It is not a function of this book to debate 

 these issues, but a few pertinent points should be made, especially since 

 much of the argument has little or nothing to do with known facts. 

 Radiation damages biological systems in essentially three ways: (1) It 

 kills cells and thus organisms, (2) it modifies metabolic systems gen- 

 erally to the detriment of the organism concerned, and (3) it induces 

 changes in genetic material usually detrimental to subsequent genera- 



lb) 



Figure 9-3. (Contin.) 



position of two small fragments located under the long chromosome. They 

 were omitted for reasons of clarity. (From Wilson, G. B. and Sparrow, A. H., 

 1960. "Configurations Resulting from Iso-Chromatid and Iso-Subchromatid 

 Unions after Meiotic and Mitotic Prophase Irradiation," Chromosoma, 11, 

 Figs. 10 and 11, p. 240. Courtesy of Dr. A. H. Sparrow, Brookhaven Na- 

 tional Laboratory.) 



RADIATION CYTOLOGY / 199 



