How does ionizing radiation affect children?
Like adults, children are exposed to small amounts of ionizing radiation that comes from the soil where they live, the food and water they eat and drink, the air they breathe, and from sources that reach earth from space. There is no evidence that exposure to normal background levels of ionizing radiation causes health effects in children or adults. If a pregnant woman is exposed to high levels of ionizing radiation, it is possible that her child may be born with some brain abnormalities. There is an 8-week period during early pregnancy when an unborn child is especially sensitive to the effects of higher-than-normal levels of ionizing radiation. As the levels of ionizing radiation increase, so does the chance of brain abnormalities.
