In addition to the gamma ray highintensity dosimetry systems discussed in Nucleonics in October, 1959, several special systems have been utilized by this laboratory in studying radiation effects on materials. A few of these systems are discussed below in the belief that they offer certain advantages in cost or performance and may be of interest to other workers in the field. Since almost any material that exhibits a measureable and reproducible change in physical or chemical properties can be used as a dosimeter, the usefulness of such systems depends on a thorough knowledge of these changes. The foremost requirement, that property changes be accurately measureable, limits their usefulness to limited regions of integrated dose. The requirements for approximating the energy sensitivity, volume, and density of the test materials must also be considered when the energy spectra of the source is unknown or when self-absorption characteristics of the material sample are believed significant. In addition to using dosimetry that approximates the test materials in effective atomic number and sample self-absorption characteristics, more standard techniques such as graphite ion chambers and ferrous-ferric chemical dosimeters are used for comparison with other facility results when possible. At high dose rates or high total dose applications only a few satisfactory systems are available. The use of more than one system is of value for reliability as well as for diagnosis of dose rate and energy sensitivity effects which may influence results obtained with the test material. Integrated dose systems generally involve measurement of some chemical change in a material and are most useful in performing two functions. The first is as a monitor of the total radiation received. This is particularly valuable in sources having a rapidly changing dose rate, especially when the dosimeter system is chosen to have a spectral response similar to the test specimen. The other function is as an absolute calibration of dose or dose rate.

This book reevaluates the health risks of ionizing radiation in light of data that have become available since the 1980 report on this subject was published. The data include new, much more reliable dose estimates for the A-bomb survivors, the results of an additional 14 years of follow-up of the survivors for cancer mortality, recent results of follow-up studies of persons irradiated for medical purposes, and results of relevant experiments with laboratory animals and cultured cells. It analyzes the data in terms of risk estimates for specific organs in relation to dose and time after exposure, and compares radiation effects between Japanese and Western populations.