Description
Elsevier Radiation and Homeostasis Proceedings of the International Symposium on Radiation and Homeostasis Kyoto Japan 13-16 July 2001 2002 Edition by Tsutomu Sugahara, Osamu Nikaido, Ohtsura Niwa
These proceedings aim to promote the understanding of the health hazard of radiation at low dose range and to construct a more solid basis for radiation safety policy. Radiation hazard has been the central issue of investigation in the field of radiation research. The two major approaches are mechanistic analysis by laboratory investigation and phenomenological analysis of radiation-exposed population as represented by epidemiology. In an increasingly safety-conscious society, the extremely low level risk associated with low dose of radiation has become an important issue. In this area, the phenomenological approach has a limit. DNA damage is the primary and direct cause of the risk. Tremendous progress has been made recently in the basic understanding of radiation effects on cells and tissues and the importance of damage response rather than damage itself. This challenges the classical linear non-threshold hypothesis.