The True Health Effects of Radiation

1
The True Health Effects of Radiation

• Presented by Y. C. Luan
• On behalf the 14 authors from
• Nuclear Science and Technology Association
• NBC contamination prevention Society
• and three Universities

2
Abstract

• . Health effects of radiation depend on the
  circumstances or the dose-rate of radiation being
  received.
• . Radiation might be classified into acute and
  chronic exposure radiation.
• . Health effects of acute and chronic exposure
  radiation are contradicting each other.
• . Acute radiation is mostly harmful to people,
  but Chronic radiation is always beneficial to
  people.

3
Introduction-1

• 1. The health effects of radiation depend on the
  circumstances or dose rate of radiation being
  received.
• 2. Acute radiation is radiation received
  instantaneously in high dose rate in a short
  period of time.
• 3.  Chronic radiation is the radiation received
  continuously in low dose rate in long time.
• 4.  Chronic radiation, though is feared as acute
  radiation, is actually beneficial to people.
• 5. Chronic radiation was serendipitously
  observed to be always beneficial to humans from
  the incident of Co-60 contaminated apartments in
  Taiwan.

4
Introduction-2

•   6. Health effects of acute and chronic
  radiation are entirely different 86,572 atomic
  bomb survivors in Japan had 5.4 cancer
  mortality increasing in 40 years but 10,000
  irradiated residents in Taiwan had 97 cancer
  mortality decreasing.
• 7. 31 Chernobyl firemen and workers received
  acute radiation from fission products died
  workers and public outside of plant were
  benefited when fission products diluted and
  decayed to chronic radiation,.

5
Introduction-3

•   8. The chronic radiation experienced in
  Taiwan, might be used in preventing of cancers
  and hereditary diseases.
• 9. Traditional radiation protection should be
  revised for promoting the nuclear energy
  application.
• 10. Fearing of chronic radiation should be
  abolished, spending of billions dollars for
  radiation protection should be saved.

6
The health effects of acute radiation

• 1. Deterministic effects of the acute radiation
  could cause radiation sickness and death.
• 2. Stochastic effects of acute radiation could
  increase cancer mortality as described in
  ICRP-60.
• 3.  LNT hypothesis implies that all radiation are
  harmful, the effects of low dose could be
  extrapolated from the high dose based on LNT
  model.
• 4.  LNT model of ICRP is simple, logical, and
  conservative for governing of the radiation
  protection.
• 5. But the LNT model is not appropriate for
  doseslt100 mSv.

7
The health effects of chronic radiation

• 1. Radiation from natural background is chronic
  radiation.
• 2. Radiation received by workers, and
  occasionally by public from the nuclear power
  plants, is also chronic radiation.
• 3.  Chronic radiation with doses lower than 100
  mSv, should be less harmful physiologically and
  pathologically than the same dose of acute
  radiation.
• 4.  Dr. Sternglass and other scientists claimed
  in 1960s chronic radiation had same or even more
  harmful effects than the acute radiation.
• 5. Radiation is thus to be always afraid by
  people.

8
The controversy of radiation health effects-1

• 1. LNT model was mainly derived from the leukemia
  deaths at high doses of acute radiation cohort
  of 905 survivors (1 of total 86,572) with dose
  in gt2 Sv, leukemia mortality increased 14 times
  cohort of 2819 survivors (3.2 of total 86.572
  )with dose gt1 Sv, leukemia deaths increased 5
  times of the public. Two cohorts of 32915 and
  5613 survivors ( 44.5 of total 86,572) with dose
  in 5 mSv-100 mSv, had no excess but less leukemia
  deaths based on LNT.

9
The controversy of radiation health effects-2

• 2. The survivors received doses lt 100 mSv, had
  no excess cancer deaths as LNT predicated, LNT
  model is not appropriate for low dose acute
  radiation.
• 3. Preston et al 2003 RERF report had more data,
  but no new results obtained.
• 4.  Dr Sohei Kondo, professor emeritus of Osaka
  University, asserted low acute radiation from
  atomic explosion could reduce the cancer
  mortality, and increase life span.
• 5. Both ANS and HPS had statements of 50 mSv/y
  or 100 mSv whole life would be unnecessary to
  evaluate the individual radiation risk.

10
A radiological incident in Taiwan revealed
chronic radiation is always beneficial to
humans-1

• 1. Epidemiological studies of people in the
  higher natural background radiation areas in
  Kerala, India, Yangjing, China and Mountain
  States in USA, had lower cancer deaths. And
  higher doses received by nuclear workers in many
  countries had received higher doses but had lower
  cancer deaths These results have still not
  accepted as human data in proving chronic
  radiation is beneficial to people by all
  regulatory communities until today.
• 2. The incredible Co-60 contaminated apartments
  incident 20 years ago in Taiwan, did not show
  harmful effects to people, but serendipitously
  revealed it was beneficial to them.

11
A radiological incident in Taiwan revealed
chronic radiation is always beneficial to
humans-2

• 3. A Co-60 source was mixed in the metal scrap,
  melted and drawn into steel bars which used
  finally in construction of 1700 apartments for
  about 10,000 residents in 1082-84. The first
  apartment was discovered in 1992, the residents
  irradiated at least for 9 years, long up to 20
  years. The annual dose in the first year 1983 was
  close to 50 mSv/y, high up to 600 mSv/y. The
  total averaged dose was about 0.4 mSv, and high
  up to 6 Sv.

12
A radiological incident in Taiwan revealed
chronic radiation is always beneficial to
humans-3

• 4. The total doses cumulated in 20 years were
  higher than the average doses received by the
  atomic bomb survivors in Japan, and the Russian
  recovery workers in Chernobyl accident. If LNT
  model is appropriate for chronic radiation, the
  excessive doses could induce at least 35 excess
  leukemia and 35 solid cancer deaths in 20 years,
  actually none of such deaths observed, on the
  contrary, the spontaneous cancer deaths of the
  residents of about 232 in 20 years based on the
  vital statistics in Taiwan, but reduced to only
  7, or 3 of the general population, as shown in
  the following curve plotted by Luan et al since
  1983.

13
A radiological incident in Taiwan revealed
chronic radiation is always beneficial to
humans-4

14
A radiological incident in Taiwan revealed
chronic radiation is always beneficial to humans-5

• 5. The radiation could reduce hereditary
  malfunctions of the descendants of the residents
  was also observed, 46 based on LNT and 21 on
  congenital, but reduced to 3, or 6.5 of the
  general public.
• 6. No harmful health effects chronic radiation
  observed in cytogenetic analysis.
• 7. As the doses received from the natural
  background and the peaceful uses of nuclear
  energy are seldom bigger than the doses received
  in the Co-60 incident, it meant any chronic
  radiation is always beneficial to humans.

15
A radiological incident in Taiwan revealed
chronic radiation is always beneficial to humans-6

• 8. The beneficial health effects of radiation
  observed in the Taiwan was coincidental to the
  theory of Dr. T.D. Luckey and his Complete
  Dose-Response Curve 100 mSv/y is optimum to
  human health, 10 Sv/y is still in hormetic range.
  
• 9. The chronic radiation is always to humans was
  discovered by a group independent and
  knowledgeable scientists and published the
  reports in many international conferences and
  journals.

16
Most radiation is chronic radiation and
beneficial to humans

• 1. Nuclear power plants, and related facilities,
  usually equipped with safety design and
  shielding, the nuclear workers and public could
  receive only chronic radiation.
• 2. The doses of chronic radiation received by the
  nuclear energy and public would be never higher
  than 50 mSv/y, so that it is always beneficial to
  them.
• 3. Population in the higher natural background
  areas have always lower cancer mortality.
• 4. Beneficial effects of chronic radiation should
  be accepted by scientists, communities and
  regulation authorities.

17
Out of control Radioactive source is still risky

• 1. The health effects of chronic radiation from
  Co-60 incident in Taiwan were serendipitously
  observed beneficial to humans, but most incident
  of out of control of Co-60, Cs-137 or other
  isotope is still harmful, even could kill people.
  
• 2. There were quite number of people killed out
  of control incidences in Mexico, China, Brazil
  and in Tailand.
• 3. A big out of control incident of Co-50 in
  Mexico 1984, but no people were killed and the
  contaminated steel bars shipped to USA were
  shortly identified and recovered.
• 4. The out of control incident in Taiwan was an
  unique case showed the true health effects of
  radiation.

18
The health effects of radiation from the
Chernobyl accident-1

• 1. The Chernobyl accident emits both acute
  radiation and chronic radiation,
• 2. Chernobyl accident was considered to be a
  catastrophe, to frighten all people in the
  world but was also a good opportunity to observe
  the health effects of radiation.
• 3. When the meltdown high radioactive fission
  products released abruptly into the reactor hall,
  31 firemen and workers received high doses of
  acute radiation in a short time, just like the
  radiation received by atomic bomb survivors.

19
The health effects of radiation from the
Chernobyl accident-2

• 4. The radiation received in Chernobyl accident
  was longer time and consisted of not only gamma,
  but beta and alpha. the dose rate was about 1
  Gy/hr on April 26, 1986, but high enough to kill
  people.
• 5. When Fission products dispersed and deposited
  on spacious ground, highly diluted and decayed of
  its radioactivity to one tenth every seven-fold
  time lapses, 49 hours later would decrease to
  about 1, 10 mGy/r.
• 6. So that in a few days after the accident, the
  acute radiation from fission products turned to
  be chronic radiation, and beneficial to the public

20
The chronic radiation from the accident is
harmless-1

• 1. 200,000 Russian workers engaged for
  decontamination received an average dose of about
  100 mSv, followed-up by the International
  Chernobyl Project (ICP) under the supervision of
  the IAEA and WHO.
• 2. The ICP predicated that 150 leukemia deaths
  in ten years after the accident based on LNT
  model. But none of such results were observed and
  reported so in the one decade after Chernobyl
  conference co-sponsored by the EC, IAEA and WHO,
  held in Vienna in 1996 7
• 3. There were also no such results described in
  UNSCEAR 2000 annul report to the General Assembly
  

21
The chronic radiation from the accident is
harmless-2

• 4. These reports meant that emergency workers
  and the evacuated public suffer no excess solid
  cancer deaths, though they had received quite
  amount of radiation.
• 5. A severe nuclear accident like Chernobyl could
  only harm only few workers in the reactor hall,
  could not harm workers and public outside of
  power plants.
• 6. Both reports indicated quite amount of thyroid
  cancer incidences observed among the children,
  but no proper control cohort for exact comparison
  of thyroid cancer deaths of the children under
  the ages of 18.

22
Most radiation from accident is chronic radiation
and beneficial to people-1

• 1. Russian specialists from the national science
  and medical academy followed the health results
  of the workers with their own RNMDR system, and
  the summary report sent to IAEA as a letter to
  the IAEA BULLTIN editor ( IAEA BULLETIN 42/4/2000
  ) They found cancer deaths of the emergency
  workers were statistically lower than the control
  public, 48 leukoses cases verified among the
  180.000 emergency workers in 14 years
  (1986-2000).

23
Most radiation from accident is chronic radiation
and beneficial to people-2

• 2. Assuming Russian workers in particular age
  had the same spontaneous leukemia mortality of
  the Japanese ( the cancer of total population is
  found often close to male in the ages of 20-50),
  their spontaneous leukemia deaths of the workers
  should be about 118 (180,000/86,572x162 x14/40
  118)
• 3. And assuming also they had the similar
  cancer mortality of the population in Taiwan in
  200 persons/100,000 person-years (ages in 34-64),
  and leukemia in about 2.6 of all caners, The
  Russian workers should be at least 131
  (200/100,000 x180,000x.026x14 131).

24
Most radiation from accident is chronic radiation
and beneficial to people-3

• 4. Even 48 leukose incidences meant leukemia
  death, it was lower for Russian workers.
• 5. Only the cancer deaths decreased in the
  Russian paper was attributed to healthy worker
  effects and better medical care.
• 6. What did healthy worker effect and
  better medical care mean? If these could be
  clarified as not dominant, or the cancer deaths
  of the workers in a big number, it could be
  concluded that the chronic radiation from
  Chernobyl accident is beneficial to the emergency
  workers, and to public in the fallout areas in
  the world

25
Follow-up study of Chernobyl workers revealed
chronic radiation also beneficial-1

• 1. 65,905 emergency workers with external doses
  averaged in 100 mSv were followed by Russia
  Academy of Medical Science and reported in 2001
  HPJ.
• 2. The report indicated that the all causes
  death mortality is in 0.6-0.9, average in 0.82
  lower than the the public.
• 3. The cancer mortality of the workers in 1998
  was in 110 persons /100,000 person-years, and the
  total cancer deaths were 515 observed in 8 years
  (1991-1998).
• 4. There was no comparison with Russian public
  reported. Assuming the workers had same cancer
  deaths as the Japanese, the cancer deaths should
  be about 1102 (65,905/86,572x7244 x8/401102)

26
Follow-up study of Chernobyl workers revealed
chronic radiation might be also beneficial-2

• 5. Assuming the workers ( In ages of about
  36-66) has similar spontaneous cancer mortality
  as population in Taiwan of 200 persons/100,000
  person-year, the cancer deaths of the workers was
  about 1054 ( 200 /100,000 x 65,905 x8 1054)
• 6. 515 cancer deaths among 4995 total deaths in
  8 years, was only 10, seemed too low in
  comparing with most countries of about 25 . it
  should be over 1000.
• 7. Peter Fong predicated in his paper to
  Chernobyl conference after one decay in 1996,
  3,000,000 cancer deaths might be prevented (not
  officially disclosed).

27
Follow-up study of Chernobyl workers revealed
chronic radiation might be also beneficial-3

• 8. The study by Russia Medical Academy indicated
  also the lower mortality might be attributed to
  the Healthy worker effects and the incomplete
  data collection. if these uncertainty factors
  could be clarified as not dominant, the health
  effects of chronic radiation from accidents
  should be globally recognized.
• 9. A nuclear accident might be only harmful to
  the workers inside of reactor hall, but
  beneficial to the workers and public outside the
  reactor. The public should also not fear of
  nuclear accident.

28
Conclusion and remarks-1

• 1. Chronic radiation is different to acute
  radiation and always beneficial to humans were
  serendipitously observed in Taiwan.
• 2. The cancer mortality induced to humans by
  acute radiation is hard to discerned from the the
  spontaneous cancers, which often in big number
  and has long latent period but people has the
  highest cancer death rate, and the chronic
  radiation could strongly immune it, it could be
  easily identified in an epidemiological study.
• 3. The incident of the Co-60 contamination had
  incidentally indicated chronic radiation could
  effective immunize the cancers as a vaccine.

29
Conclusion and remarks-2

• 4. There were no evidence indicating hereditary
  defects could be caused by acute radiation but
  the chronic could prevent the defects.
• 5. The beneficial health effects of chronic
  radiation observed in Taiwan was limited to the
  low LET gamma radiation to whole body exposure.
  High LET radiation from radioactive material or
  internal contamination of Alpha and Beta has also
  beneficial effects observed in animal tests.

30
Conclusion and remarks-3

• 6. Atomic bomb explosion in Japan produced also
  big quantity of radioactive substances (fission
  products), but evaporated immediately to the
  stratosphere, and became of global fallout, then
  gradually deposited on the ground in the world,
  which is also known as chronic radiation, and
  beneficial to people.
• 7. Dr Peter Fong ever studied the fallout from
  the US atmosphere nuclear tests which did not
  increase but prevent millions of cancer deaths of
  Americans.

31
Conclusion and remarks-4

• 8. Chronic radiation exposed to the workers and
  public from the nuclear power plants is similar
  to the radiation exposed to the residents in the
  Co-60 contamination in Taiwan, only in smaller
  doses, so that it is surely also beneficial to
  them.
• 9. People receive the natural background
  radiation every day, and people in higher natural
  background areas often receive higher doses than
  the nuclear workers, so that natural radiation is
  essential to human beings.

32
Conclusion and remarks-5

• 10. The public in suburb of the nuclear power
  plants, should never fear of radiation but
  welcome it, even in accident.
• 11. Governmental radiation protection measures
  should not be strictly conducted based LNT model,
  and nuclear energy should be considered as the
  most safe energy.
• 12. A nuclear accident could occasionally incur,
  only its acute radiation could harm a few
  workers, and they could be avoided with some
  reasonable procedure.

33
Conclusion and remarks-6

• 13. Cancer deaths and hereditary defects are the
  disastrous and miserable sickness, it is now
  known that it could be prevented by chronic
  radiation in proper doses.
• 14. Numerous animal tests in many countries
  indicated the dose rate gt 1mSv/hr were beneficial
  to the animals. And authors in our study had
  purposely to test the health of mice with dose
  rate gt1 mSv/hr which showed also healthy results
  to mice.

34
Conclusion and remarks-7

• 15. The incident of Co-60 contamination in Taiwan
  showed that many residents living in 1 mSv/hr
  apartments in 1983 was still be healthy.
• 16. This paper tentatively suggests lt1 mSv/hr as
  the acceptable dose rate limit of chronic
  radiation. If a person lives all year in such
  radioactive environment, he might receive many Sv
  in one year, which is still in the beneficial
  range of Luckeys dose-effect curve, though it
  might not be the optimum dose rate to health.

35
Conclusion and remarks-8

• 18. Many studies indicated beneficial health
  effects of chronic radiation could be useful in
  cancer therapies, enhance of immune system,
  activation of gene p53, suppress diabetes, AIDS
  and for pain relief etc. Such studies are
  valuable to human beings, should be further
  studied.

36
Recommendation-1

• 1. The findings in the Co-60 incident could be
  regarded as more important than the findings
  obtained in the atomic bomb explosion in Japan,
  but they need more studies by the international
  scientists and communities, especially on the
  mechanism of the beneficial effects, and
  communicate the entire world of the results to
  the medical and nuclear energy applications.
• 2. From the experiences obtained from the
  incident of Co-60 contamination, and the
  beneficial effects observed in the Chernobyl
  accident, the conventional radiation protection
  should be revised for elevating application of
  nuclear energy.

37
Recommendation-2

• 3. This paper tentatively recommended
  the1mSv/hr and 1 Sv/y as the acceptable hourly
  and annually dose rate limit for the nuclear
  energy workers and the public. The 50 mSv as the
  optimum annual doses to people,
• 4. The emergency plans for the nuclear reactor
  accidents and for out of control of radioactive
  sources of course should be also revised.
• 5. As cancers and hereditary defects are the
  miserable sicknesses, the medical scientists and
  communities should design appropriate radiation
  irradiators, and use the optimized doses in
  preventing the miserable sicknesses

38
Profile of the authors (I)
W.L. Chen Ph. D. Director, Department of Medical Radiation Technology, National Yang-ming University Head, Radiation Protection Department of AEC, and former Head, Health Physics Division of INER
Y.C. Luan Senior Scientist and Manager of Radiation Protection, NUSTA consultant to NBC Society, and former Manager, Radioactive Waste Management Plant and Manager, Cobalt-60 Irradiation Plant of INER, AEC
M.C. Shieh Ph. D. General Secretary, NUSTA Professor of National Chung-Kung University, and former Manager, Uranium Conversion Project of INER, AEC
S.T. Chen MS Senior Scientist and Head, Nuclear Reactor Engineering, NUSTA, and former Director, Nuclear Engineering Division of INER, AEC
H.T. Kung MS Senior Scientist and Nuclear Material Manager, NUSTA, and former Manager, Nuclear Fuel Fabrication Plant of INER, AEC
39
Profile of the authors (II)
K.L. Soong Ph. D. Senior Scientist, NUSTA, and former Senior Scientist and Leading Scientist, Geology and Mineralogy Research Project of INER, AEC
Y. C. Yeh Ph. D. Secretary General, Chinese Nuclear Society Senior Scientist, NUSTA, and former Director, Analysis Center of INER, AEC
T.S. Chou Ph. D. Head, Radiation Research Group, NBC Society Professor of Feng Chia University, and former Head, Chemical Engineering Division of INER, AEC
S. H. Mong MS Head, Protection Research Group, NBC Society former NBC consultant to Saudi Arabia, and Commandant, Army NBC School, Taiwan
J.T. Wu M.D. Biology Consultant, NBC Protection Society, Taiwan Professor of Pathology, School of Medicine, University of Utah, USA, and Medical Director, Special Chemistry and Reagent Development Laboratory at ARUP
40
Profile of the authors (III)
C.P. Sun Ph. D. Board member of NBC Protection Society, and Associated Professor of Social Risk Analysis, National Chiao-Tung University.
W.P. Deng Ph. D. Associated Professor, Biological Material Institute, Taipei Medical University. And former Associated Professor, Graduate Institute of Biological Material, Harvard University, USA.
F.M. Wu Ph. D. Professor of Pathology and Director of Animal Testing Center, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei
M.L. Shen Ph. D Professor, Biometry Division, Department of Agronomy, National Taiwan University, Taipei