Answer to Question #1164 Submitted to "Ask the Experts"

Q

I am interested in resource material concerning the long-term effects of radiation on the circulatory and nervous systems of the extremities. My father was part of a steel rolling mill crew that rolled radioactive materials for the Manhattan Project and suffered debilitating circulatory and nervous system problems of his extremities within a decade or so after processing these weapons-grade materials. Could close encounters with weapons-grade materials cause circulation and nerve problems such as accelerated plaque formation in the arteries and degeneration of the major nerve tracts of the legs?

A

Long-term effects of radiation—that is, effects that appear many years after exposure—are typically what are termed stochastic or probabilistic effects such as cancer. The type of illness that your father regrettably suffers from is not known to be radiation induced. Thus, close encounters with, as you put it, or more specifically radiation exposure from, weapons-grade materials are extremely unlikely to have produced the medical problems that you described your father to be suffering from. There are a number of good solid scientific references that discuss chronic or long-term radiation effects. For a nontechnical and highly readable overview, I would suggest Radiation: Doses, Effects, Risks published by the United Nations Environment Programme. Also, although now quite old, one of the most readable textbooks is Radiation Biology by Casaret and Casaret. Another is the book by Sohei Kondo, Health Effects of Low-Level Radiation. Perhaps the most comprehensive and technical is the so-called BEIR V Report, "Health effects of Exposure to Low Levels of Ionizing Radiation" published by the National Research Council; this is sort of the "bible" of radiation effects studies. None of these scientific sources will mention that there is any relationship between the types of ailments your father suffers and exposure to weapons-grade materials, however, as such effects have never been observed. Ronald L. Kathren Professor Emeritus Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences Washington State University