What are radiations effects on humans?
Radiation effects fall into two broad categories: deterministic and stochastic. At the cellular level, high doses of ionizing radiation can result in severe dysfunction, even death, of cells. At the organ level, if a sufficient number of cells are so affected, the function of the organ is impaired. Such effects are called “deterministic.” Deterministic effects have definite threshold doses, which means that the effect is not seen until the absorbed dose is greater than a certain level. Once above that threshold level, the severity of the effect increases with dose. Also, deterministic effects are usually manifested soon after exposure. Examples of such effects include radiation skin burning, blood count effects, and cataracts. In contrast, stochastic effects are caused by more subtle radiation-induced cellular changes (usually DNA mutations) that are random in nature and have no threshold dose. The probability of such effects increases with dose, but the severity does not. Cancer is th
