Health risks attributable to radiation


Draft document: Health risks attributable to radiation
Submitted by Yoshikazu Kumamoto, Retired
Commenting as an individual

Topic: The name of unit of deterministic effects (or tissue reactions) Page 28, lines 1170-1175, 3.1.7 Dose limits for specific tissues. The draft describes that in relation to Table 6 in Publication 60, the committee will continue to use sievert, not Gy-Eq in the case of the deterministic effects of skin and lens . Because sievert is intended to be used for the stochastic effects, the use of sievert for the deterministic effects of skin and lens is confusing even in this Table. In general, the suitable unit name for the deterministic effects might be Gy-Eq rather than Gy. Gy-Eq is used also in the field of radiation therapy with neutrons and heavy ions. The tabulation of the RBEs of deterministic effects which are presently known are welcome. On neutron exposure accidents, if the radiation-(quality) weighting factors were used for the calculation of doses for the deterministic effects and the results are made available to the public, unnecessary fear will be aroused.


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