Genetic Hazards of Radiation to Man Part II

Experimental, clinical, and epidemiological data which have a bearing on the definition of the genetic risk to man from ionizing radiations are reviewed. Through a new analysis of the official Report of the U. S. Commission of inquiry in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, based on a consideration of the irradiation of each parent separately, the probability of a harmful genetic effect in the first generation born to persons exposed to the atomic bombs in 1945 is demonstrated. The total effect, as manifested by altered sex-ratfo, congenital malformations, and peri-natal mortality, is signfficant even when one considers only the exposure of fathers, in whom somatic changes cannot contribute to the observed effect. Autopsy evidence for the teratogenic effect of atomic radiations is also reviewed. (auth)