66 BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF ATOMIC RADIATION 



VIII. Effects of Waste Management Operations on 

 Man's Over-All Radiation Exposure 



Man is exposed to radiation from several man-made sources: (1) medical and indus- 

 trial use of X-ray machines, (2) industrial applications of radioactive materials and atomic 

 energy, (3) radioactive fallout from weapons tests, (4) radioactive waste materials, as well 

 as naturally occurring radionuclides. From available evidence, medical exposures from X-rays 

 constitute the major source of radiation to man. At the present time the contribution from 

 radioactive wastes is substantially less than that from world-wide fallout. 



From an environmental health and safety standpoint, the types of potential waste man- 

 agement problems that will require continued surveillance and supervision in the future in 

 order to minimize exposure of man and his natural resources are as follows: ( 1 ) control and 

 careful supervision of releases of low-level wastes in order to assure adequate protection of the 

 environment, (2) possible leaching or relocation of small fractions of high-level wastes from 

 underground storage sites, and (3) accidental irregular releases from nuclear energy opera- 

 tions. Since effluent control technology for low-level wastes is relatively straightforward, the 

 contribution of radiation exposure from waste dispersal operations should continue to be a 

 small percentage of the total exposure of man from all radiation sources. Continuous surveil- 

 lance and monitoring is required, however, to control build-up of contaminants in individual 

 links of the food chain from particular environmental concentration factors that might prevail. 



There does not appear to be anything inherent in the over-all waste control problem that 

 need retard the development of the nuclear energy industry, at the same time assuring ade- 

 quate protection of the public health and safety. 



Abel Wolman, Chairman H. M. Parker 



J. A. LlEBERMAN WALTER A. PATRICK 



F. L. Culler, Jr. Sheppard T. Powell 



A. E. Gorman Leslie Silverman 



L. P. Hatch Philip Sporn 



H. H. Hess Conrad P. Straub 



C. W. Klassen C. V. Theis 



Sidney Krasik F. Western 



