A recent international study found evidence for a marginal increased risk of dying from cancer due to prolonged low-level radiation exposure. While ionizing radiation has been established as a cause of cancer, previous research that forms the basis for radiation protection standards has mainly focused on people exposed to acute, high-level radiation.
Coordinated by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), the study followed cohorts of over 300,000 people who worked in nuclear industries for an average of 12 years in France, the U.K., and the U.S. Researchers estimated that 209 of the 19,064 deaths from cancers other than leukemia were associated with radiation exposure. The estimated relative rate of mortality due to cancers other than leukemia increased with cumulative dose.
There are, however, some flaws in the study. The study did not account for smoking or occupational asbestos exposure, though estimates remained unchanged even after excluding lung cancer and pleural cancer. The researchers did not have information on any treatment the workers might have had, and cautioned that there may be measurement errors related to personal dosimeters, monitoring practices, and historical records. Nevertheless, these findings show that low-dose radiation should not be taken lightly. “Contrary to the belief that high dose rate exposures are substantially more dangerous than low dose rate exposures, the risk per unit of radiation dose for cancer among radiation workers was similar to estimates derived from studies of Japanese atomic bomb survivors,” the authors concluded.
Monitoring radiation exposure, maintaining dose records, and minimizing dose remain crucial for nuclear workers as well as others who are regularly exposed to radioactive environments. Equipped with patented technology, radiation detectors from X-Z LAB stand out from the crowd, delivering quick and accurate measurements. Products such as RadTarge II | Electronic Personal Dosimeter and RadPavise | Personal Radiation Detector provide real-time readings and alarms in addition to accumulated dose logs, allowing users to know and evaluate their risk.