RE: Chenobyl and Genetic Effects

["David P. Turkow" <TURKOW.DP@a1.rit.edu>]

          The term "genetic" implies the effect of the radiation carries on 
          to other generations. For all practical purposes, it is very 
          difficult to say there is reliable scientific evidence that 
          radiation induced effects carry on to the next generation. Even 
          in Hiroshima and Nagasaki (very high exposures) there was no  
          demonstrated genetic effects in succeeding generations above what 
          would be expected in the normal population. Chromosome 
          aberrations do not necessarily result in clinical expressions (at 
          least in humans). Exposure of the fetus can definitely have a 
          teratogenic effect and can be related to a dose-response 
          relationship. It cannot be shown that these effects carry on to 
          the following generations - with any statistical significance.
          
          It irks me to see 2-3 year old babies in the Chernobyl region 
          being used as symbols of the damage caused by radiation. If they 
          were 9-10 years old it could be credible. Conception even 2-3 
          months after exposure has been shown to lower the risk of genetic 
          damage, dramatically.
          
          David Turkow, RSO
          Rochester Institute of Technology
          DPTCPS@RITVAX.ISC.RIT.EDU
          
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