From Jill Sutcliffe, Imperial College Centre for Environmental Technology
Stuart Neilson’s work on the dangers of natural radiation merits attention (This Week, 4 May, p 4). However, geographically based surveys have their limits. Research is needed on dose rates and subsequent health profiles. Studies up to now have been based on radon concentrations, not the dose actually received. Given the adverse impact on health now ascribed to “natural background radiation”, a longitudinal study examining the health of families over generations could yield some interesting findings.
Work on alpha particle irradiation by Wright and colleagues at the Medical Research Council indicates that it may be 3 to 150 times as dangerous as was previously thought. Rather than leading to an excess of a particular cancer, alpha particles might be giving rise to small increases in a variety of adverse effects.
West Sussex
