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There are places on earth where radioactive radiation exceeds even 200 times the accepted norm. People who live there live no shorter lives and don’t get cancer more.
We are all afraid of radioactive rays. Firstly, because we have seen photos of Hiroshima and Nagasaki after the explosion of the atomic bomb more than once. Second, the long-term effects of irradiation are known. These include more frequent cases of cancer, especially leukemias, lymphomas, gliomas, thyroid and bone tumors. In addition, there are accelerated aging, infertility and birth defects in the offspring.
The influence of ionizing radiation
However, it was noticed that in the areas contaminated after the Chernobyl disaster, the vegetation is more abundant, and the number of animals is not smaller than elsewhere. Radiobiologists are not surprised. Scientists have observed that among approx. 80 Japanese who survived the nuclear blasts in Hiroshima and Nagasaki and absorbed radiation doses not exceeding 0,1 gray (gray is a unit of energy absorbed = 1 joule / kg), the incidence of cancer is not higher, and in some cancers even lower than in non-irradiated people . The mechanisms of such positive effects of low doses of radiation are currently the subject of intensive research. One of the centers where this research is carried out is the Department of Radiobiology and Radiological Protection of the Military Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology in Warsaw. – It is already known that the absorption of a small dose of ionizing radiation stimulates the repair of DNA damage in our cells, both those resulting from the natural metabolism and cell division, as well as those resulting from radiation. In fact, the number of the former is many times the number of radiation damage. As a result, the probability of a permanent pro-cancer mutation decreases and we suffer from cancer less frequently. Small doses of ionizing radiation clearly stimulate also those reactions of our immune system that counteract the development of cancer – says Prof. Marek K. Janiak, head of the Department of Radiobiology and Radiological Protection of the Military Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology in Warsaw.
Annual radiation dose in Poland
So why the panic fear of even small doses of rays? In the 50s, the American scientist and Nobel Prize winner Hermann Muller studied genetic changes caused by radiation. He irradiated fruit flies with radioactive rays and checked the level of damage to their DNA. Increasing the dose of radiation increased mutations in genes. So the scientists concluded that lower doses of radiation damage genes less, and larger ones more. It never occurred to anyone that a small dose could do the opposite.
Meanwhile, from the beginning of our lives we are accompanied by ionizing cosmic rays and radioactive substances are found in the natural environment of the earth. K-40 radioactive potassium is present in our body, which we take with milk and other food products, and its presence certainly does not harm us. – The surrounding radioactive materials together with cosmic radiation lead to the consumption of an average of 2,5 to 3,5 millisievert per year by a Polish inhabitant (1 millisievert is a derivative of 1 gray and takes into account the biological effectiveness of radiation). It is assumed that the average citizen can safely receive an additional 1 millisievert during the year. However, there are places on earth where natural radiation exceeds 10, 100 and even 200 millisieverts, e.g. in Ramsar in Iran, on some beaches in Brazil, in some provinces of China or India. People who live there do not live shorter lives and do not suffer from cancer more often than residents of regions where the level of natural radiation is the same as in Poland – says prof. Janiak.
Are nuclear power plants dangerous?
– And if only for this reason, we should not be afraid of nuclear power plants. The radiation doses they generate are several orders of magnitude lower for the inhabitants of the neighboring areas than those generated by natural radiation, he adds. Its task is still the safest for the environment and atmosphere, as well as the most efficient source of energy. – The effects of the catastrophic earthquake and tsunami wave in Japan also speak in favor of nuclear energy. Despite the enormous force of the cataclysm, which the designers of the Fukushima I plant had not foreseen, none of the reactors of this and other plants were damaged. Only the external power and cooling systems failed, leading to the release and explosion of hydrogen. Science and technology will undoubtedly draw conclusions from this failure and the new power plants will be even safer – says the professor.
Text: Halina Pilonis
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