Health Effects of Exposure

Ionizing radiation has sufficient energy to cause chemical changes in cells and damage them. By damaging the genetic material (DNA) contained in the body's cells, radiation can cause cancer. Cancer is produced if radiation does not kill the cell but creates an error in the DNA blueprint that contributes to eventual loss of control of cell division, and the cell begins dividing uncontrollably.

Evidence of injury from low or moderate doses of radiation may lie dormant for months or even years. For example, the minimum time period between the radiation exposure and the appearance of leukemia (latency period) is two years. The latency period is more than five years for solid tumors. The types of effects and their probability of occurrence can depend on whether the exposure was chronic or acute.

Damage to genetic material in reproductive cells can cause genetic mutations that can be passed on to future generations. In rare instances where there is a large amount of radiation exposure, sickness or even death can occur in a matter of hours or days.

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