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Dose and dose-rate effects of ionizing radiation: a discussion in the light of radiological protection

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Abstract

The biological effects on humans of low-dose and low-dose-rate exposures to ionizing radiation have always been of major interest. The most recent concept as suggested by the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) is to extrapolate existing epidemiological data at high doses and dose rates down to low doses and low dose rates relevant to radiological protection, using the so-called dose and dose-rate effectiveness factor (DDREF). The present paper summarizes what was presented and discussed by experts from ICRP and Japan at a dedicated workshop on this topic held in May 2015 in Kyoto, Japan. This paper describes the historical development of the DDREF concept in light of emerging scientific evidence on dose and dose-rate effects, summarizes the conclusions recently drawn by a number of international organizations (e.g., BEIR VII, ICRP, SSK, UNSCEAR, and WHO), mentions current scientific efforts to obtain more data on low-dose and low-dose-rate effects at molecular, cellular, animal and human levels, and discusses future options that could be useful to improve and optimize the DDREF concept for the purpose of radiological protection.

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Acknowledgments

The present paper is based on presentations held at and discussions stimulated during a one-day workshop on DDREF jointly organized by ICRP and JANUS, on May 22, 2015, in Kyoto, Japan. RS and WR acknowledge the contribution of Dr. Linda Walsh (Bundesamt für Strahlenschutz, Germany) toward the planned meta-analysis of epidemiological studies. RERF, Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, is a public interest foundation funded by the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) and the US Department of Energy (USDOE). RERF research is also funded in part through USDOE award DE-HS0000031 to the NAS. This publication is associated with RERF Research Protocol 1-75. The views of the authors do not necessarily reflect those of the two governments. The study at IES is performed under contract with the Aomori Prefectural Government, Japan.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Radiation Protection, Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Ingolstädter Landstr. 1, 85764, Neuherberg, Germany

    Werner Rühm

  2. Department of Radiation Oncology, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA

    Gayle E. Woloschak

  3. Radiation Effects Research Foundation (RERF), 5-2 Hijiyama Park, Minami-ku, Hiroshima City, 732-0815, Japan

    Roy E. Shore

  4. Southern Urals Biophysics Institute (SUBI), Ozyorskoe Shosse 19, Ozyorsk, Chelyabinsk Region, Russian Federation, 456780

    Tamara V. Azizova

  5. Federal Office for Radiation Protection, Ingolstaedter Landstr. 1, 85764, Oberschleissheim, Germany

    Bernd Grosche

  6. Fukushima Medical University, Hikarigaoka 1, Fukushima, 960-1295, Japan

    Ohtsura Niwa

  7. Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, Kagoshima University Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, 8-35-1 Sakuragaoka, Kagoshima City, Japan

    Suminori Akiba

  8. Institute for Environmental Sciences, 1-7 Ienomae, Rokkasho, Aomori-ken, 039-3212, Japan

    Tetsuya Ono

  9. Department of Radiation Medical Sciences, Atomic Bomb Disease Institute, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Japan

    Keiji Suzuki

  10. Radiation Safety Research Center, Nuclear Technology Research Laboratory, Central Research Institute of Electric Power Industry (CRIEPI), 2-11-1 Iwado-kita, Tokyo, 201-8511, Japan

    Toshiyasu Iwasaki

  11. Faculty of Nursing, Tokyo Healthcare University, 2-5-1 Higashigaoka, Meguro, Tokyo, 152-8558, Japan

    Nobuhiko Ban

  12. Department of Environmental Health Science, Oita University of Nursing and Health Sciences, 2944-9 Megusuno, Oita, 840-1201, Japan

    Michiaki Kai

  13. International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP), PO Box 1046, Station B, 280 Slater Street, Ottawa, ON, K1P 5S9, Canada

    Christopher H. Clement & Nobuyuki Hamada

  14. Centre for Radiation, Chemical and Environmental Hazards, Public Health England (PHE), Chilton, Didcot, OX11 ORQ, UK

    Simon Bouffler

  15. JAPAN NUS Co., Ltd. (JANUS), 7-5-25 Nishi-Shinjuku, Shinjuku-Ku, Tokyo, 160-0023, Japan

    Hideki Toma

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  1. Werner Rühm
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  2. Gayle E. Woloschak
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  3. Roy E. Shore
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  4. Tamara V. Azizova
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  7. Suminori Akiba
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  9. Keiji Suzuki
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  10. Toshiyasu Iwasaki
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  11. Nobuhiko Ban
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  12. Michiaki Kai
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  13. Christopher H. Clement
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  15. Hideki Toma
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  16. Nobuyuki Hamada
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Nobuyuki Hamada.

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Rühm, W., Woloschak, G.E., Shore, R.E. et al. Dose and dose-rate effects of ionizing radiation: a discussion in the light of radiological protection. Radiat Environ Biophys 54, 379–401 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00411-015-0613-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00411-015-0613-6

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