PATHOLOGIC EFFECTS 



33 



or with radioactive iodine results, respectively, in radiation to the skeleton and nearby tissues 

 and to the thyroid gland. These two isotopes are at present being measured in samples of 

 foodstuffs, including milk which in Western countries appears to be the major vehicle for their 

 uptake in man. Levels have been increasing in the past few years but remain well below those 

 that need to be considered cause for alarm. 



In relation to world-wide contamination, food chains are important. Fallout contami- 

 nates plants through ground and leaf deposition; animals eat these plants, and secrete some 

 isotopes in milk. The relative importance of foodstuffs in introducing radioactive isotopes in 

 man depends, of course, on each individual eating habit. In this country milk and cheese are 

 chief sources of calcium and of radio-strontium contaminants. Throughout this food chain, 

 strontium is discriminated against relative to calcium, which reduces the hazard somewhat. 

 It must be remembered that in regions where soil and water are low in calcium, calcium and 

 strontium will be more readily taken up.* 



Therapy of Radiation Injury: While treatment is difficult, some success has been 

 achieved with antibiotics and properly timed blood transfusions, and it now appears that 

 transfusion of bone marrow may have value in the treatment of single overexposures. Shield- 

 ing of a portion of the body appears to give a degree of protection disproportionately large for 

 the mass shielded. Experiments set up to explain this fact may help in developing a rational 

 treatment. Also, various forms of treatment given immediately before radiation have been 

 devised, but do not appear in any sense practical. Studies of this sort may, however, provide 

 a basis for future discoveries. 



In summary, it seems that the limitations of exposure suggested by the Committee on 

 Genetics should be adequate for purposes of establishing that no perceptible somatic effect 

 will occur, although theoretically minor shortening of life span or a slightly increased in- 

 cidence of tumors cannot be excluded as a possibility. 



Shields Warren, Chairman 

 Howard L. Andrews 

 Austin M. Brues 

 Henry A. Blair 

 John C. Bugher 

 Richard H. Chamberlain 

 Eugene P. Cronkite 

 Charles E. Dunlap 



Jacob Furth 

 Webb Haymaker 

 Louis H. Hempelmann 

 Samuel P. Hicks 

 Henry S. Kaplan 

 Harry A. Kornberg 

 Sidney C. Madden 



* See 1960 Summary Report of the Committee on Effects of Atomic Radiation on Agriculture and Food 

 Supplies. 



