• Countries utilizing food irradiation for various purposes include Japan, China, the Soviet Union, the Netherlands and France.
• In the U.S., irradiated foods have been used by astronauts, the military and hospital patients, but the adoption of the technology for other purposes has been slow despite approvals from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). For example, the process to control trichinosis in pork, approved in 1985, is still not used. With the recent approval of irradiation for controlling bacteria on red meats,  attention was again focused on food irradiation. The U.S. may be the closest it has ever been to seeing irradiation accepted for more widespread use, due to recent outbreaks from E. Coli O157:H7.
• In 1963, the U.S. saw its first approval of food irradiation when FDA approved its use to control insects in  wheat and wheat flour. In 1964, additional approval was given to inhibit the development of sprouts in white potatoes.
• In 1983, approval was granted to kill insects and control microorganisms in a specific list of herbs, spices and vegetable seasonings.
• in 1985, treatment of pork to control trichinosis
• approval was granted to control insects and microorganisms in dry enzyme preparations used in fermentation-type processes.
• In 1986, approval was granted to control insects and inhibit growth and ripening in such foods as fruits, vegetables and grains.
• Approval was granted in May, 1990, for irradiation of packaged fresh or frozen uncooked poultry.
• The latest approval for irradiation in the U.S. was granted in December 1997, for red meat.

• Sources of Radiation  (Ionizing Energy)

    There are three types of energy that can be used for irradiation of food: X-rays, electron beams and gamma rays
• n food irradiation, the radiation "dose" that a food receives should not be confused with something added to the food. The "dose" for food irradiation is the amount of radiation absorbed by the food and it is not the same as the level of energy transmitted from the radiation sources. The dose is controlled by the intensity of radiation and the length of time the food is exposed.

• The dose (number of kGy) permitted varies according to the type of food and the desired action.  Treatment levels have been approved by FDA as follows: 

   
  1. "Low" doses - (up to 1 kGy) designed to 
     1. control insects in grains 
     2. inhibit sprouting in white potatoes 
     3. control trichinae in pork 
     4. inhibit decay and control insects in fruits and  vegetables
       

  2. "Medium" doses - (1-10 kGy) designed to 
     1. control Salmonella, Shigella, Campylobacter, Yersinia and E. Coli in meat, poultry and fish 
     2. delay mold growth on strawberries and other fruits
       

  3. "High" doses - (greater than 10 kGy) designed to 
     1. kill microorganisms and insects in spices 
     2. commercially sterilize foods, destroying all microorganisms of public health concern (e.g., to sterilize food to the same degree as if they were thermally sterilized (canned); however, no commercial applications of this dosage have been approved by FDA for use in the U.S. with the exception of some special hospital diets for immune-deficient patients.)
• When radiation energy is absorbed by food, it causes a variety of chemical and physical reactions.  The amount of energy the food absorbs is controlled so the changes produced have desirable food preservation effects while maintaining the safety, quality, and wholesomeness of the food. The food itself does not become radioactive.
• Adoption of the Technology

  • Worldwide, over 30 countries approve some form of irradiation and many groups of consumers readily accept these products. As of 1986, Japan irradiated over 10,000 pounds of potatoes annually. The Netherlands irradiated 2 tons of food daily, and Belgium irradiated 1 ton daily. South Africa routinely irradiates mangoes, papaya, and other vegetables. Canada has a facility dedicated to irradiating potatoes.
• Food irradiation is sometimes called a "cold" process; it achieves its effect with little rise in the temperature of the food.
• Food remains close to its original state.  Problems that have occurred are some off-flavors in meat and excess tissue softening that has been documented in fresh peaches and nectarines.
• A market survey of the effects of irradiation on demand for papaya in California in the 1960s suggested that demand would be reduced by 23% if the fruit were treated with irradiation (Huang, et.al., 1987).
• Acceptance of irradiated produce is quite high in South Africa.

• Table 1. Summary of Approved Food Irradiation Processes

                                                

  Date	Food/Product	Dose (kGy)*	Purpose
  1963	Wheat and wheat flour	0.2 - 0.5	Disinfestation of insects
  1964, 1965	White potatoes	0.05 - 0.15	Inhibit sprouting (and extend shelf life)
  1983	Spices and dry vegetable seasonings (38 commodities)	30 maximum	Disinfestation of insects and decontamination
  1985	Pork (carcasses or fresh, non-heat processed cuts)	0.3 - 1.0	Control of Trichinella spiralis
  1985, 1986	Dry or dehydrated enzymes	10 maximum	Control of insects and/or microorganisms
  1986	Fruit	1 maximum	Delay of maturation (ripening) and disinfestation
  1986	Fresh vegetables	1 maximum	Disinfestation of insects
  1986	Herbs	30 maximum	Control of microorganisms (decontamination)
  1986	Spices	30 maximum	Control of microorganisms
  1986	Vegetable seasonings	30 maximum	Control of microorganisms
  1990	Poultry, fresh or frozen	3 maximum	Control of microorganisms (including Salmonella)
  1995	Meat, frozen and packaged (solely for use in NASA)	44 minimum	Sterilization (destruction of microorganisms)
  1995	Animal feed and pet food	2 - 25	Control of Salmonella
  1997	Red meat, uncooked, chilled Red meat, frozen	4.5 maximum 7.0 maximum	Control of microorganisms

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• Irradiation causes minor chemical changes in food, similar to cooking. The taste of food may be slightly altered. Vitamin losses can occur when doses exceeding the permitted levels are used. In general, irradiation does not affect the nutritive value of food at permitted levels.
• Studies have shown no adverse health effects when irradiated foods were part of a normal diet.
• Laboratory tests have revealed that certain bacteria are resistant to lower doses of radiation. Further testing is required to eliminate these more resistant bacteria.
• Regulations

   

   

   

  The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) recognize irradiated food to be safe to consume and nutritionally adequate.
• There are more than 50 countries that have approved the use of irradiation for more than 60 types of food products. Leaders of this technology are the United States, South Africa, The Netherlands, Thailand and France. The European Union (EU) has approved only dried aromatic herbs, spices and vegetable seasonings; some countries within the EU allow many other foods to be irradiated.
• Labelling Requirements
• International and Canadian regulations require that:

   

  Irradiated whole foods must be identified as such on the label and carry the internationally recognized "radura" symbol (as shown). This requirement applies to domestic and imported foods.

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• The Institute's Findings

    
  • Rats and mice fed diets containing freshly irradiated wheat showed increased levels of polyploid cells  [ cells with chromosome abnormalities ]  in their bone marrow. This was repeatedly observed in several separate experiments.

      

  • Normal monkeys and undernourished children fed diets containing freshly irradiated wheat showed elevated levels of polyploid  [ abnormal ]  cells   in circulating lymphocytes  [white blood cells] . Several months after the irradiated wheat was withdrawn, levels of polyploidy returned to normal.

      

  • Mice fed freshly irradiated wheat-based diets showed evidence of dominant lethal mutation as indicated by increased numbers of intrauterine  [ prenatal ]  deaths.

      

  • When wheat was stored for twelve weeks after irradiation, and then included in the diet, there was neither an increase in the number of polyploid cells nor was there evidence of dominant lethal mutation.

• Food irradiation

         
   

  Food irradiation is a processing technique with similar results to freezing or pasteurisation. During this procedure the food is exposed to doses of ionising energy, or radiation. At low doses, irradiation extends a product’s shelf life. At higher doses, this process kills insects, moulds, bacteria and other potentially harmful micro-organisms.
• Considerable scientific research over the past five decades indicates that food irradiation is a safe and effective form of processing. Food irradiation has been approved in 40 countries including the United States, Japan, China, France and Holland.
• In general, food irradiation is not permitted in Australia, unless specific permission is given by Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) in accordance with the FSANZ Food Standards Code. Irradiated foods will be clearly labelled so that consumers can make an informed choice.
• Irradiated foods are not radioactive
• the sources used emit only gamma rays and no neutrons.
• That means the food cannot become radioactive. The World Health Organization (WHO), the American Dietetic Association and the Scientific Committee of the European Union are three internationally recognised bodies which support food irradiation.
  
• The procedure
   The food is exposed to ionising radiation, either from gamma rays or a high energy electron beam or powerful X-rays. Gamma rays and X-rays are a form of radiation that shares some characteristics with microwaves, but is of much higher energy and penetration.
• Exposure to gamma rays does not make food radioactive. Electron beams and X-rays are produced using electricity, which can be switched on or off, and do not need the use of radioactive material.
• Food irradiation cannot kill viruses.

• The benefits of food irradiation
   Some of the benefits of this food processing technique include: 

   
  • Extended shelf life of some products. 
  • Less food spoilage. 
  • Reduced risk of food-borne diseases caused by micro-organisms, such as Campylobacter, Salmonella, E coli and Listeria (especially in meat, poultry and fish). 
  • Less need for pesticides. 
  • Less need for some additives, such as preservatives and antioxidants. 
  • Lower risk of importing or exporting insect pests hidden inside food products. 
  • Reduced need for toxic chemical treatments, such as those used to kill bacteria found in some spices. 
  • As an alternative to current treatment for disinfecting imported fruits, grains and vegetables, which uses an ozone-depleting gas. 
  • Reduced sprouting in potatoes and onions.
• The process alters the nutrient content of some foods because it reduces the level of some of the B-group vitamins, but this loss is similar to other accepted food processing techniques, such as canning or blanching.

  • Vitamie B loss is not so good.
• Not for consumer’s benefit - concern that food irradiation is driven purely by market needs, rather than consumer demand.
• If the meat is left unrefrigerated, these bacteria could still multiply and cause food poisoning.

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• Food irradiation^[1] is the process of exposing food to ionizing radiation to destroy microorganisms, bacteria, viruses, or insects that might be present in the food.
• Compared to the amount of food irradiated, the volume of those every-day applications is huge but not noticed by the consumer.
• The genuine effect of processing food by ionizing radiation relates to damages to the DNA, the basic genetic information for life. Microorganisms can no longer proliferate and continue their malignant or pathogen activities. Spoilage-causing micro-organisms cannot continue their activities. Insects do not survive or become incapable of proliferation. Plants cannot continue the natural ripening or aging process.
• The speciality of processing food by ionizing radiation is that the energy density per atomic transition is very high; it can cleave molecules and induce ionization (hence the name), which is not achieved by mere heating.

  • they use high dose of radiation in food irradiation. this bring new effects and problems.
• Food irradiation is currently permitted by over 40 countries and volumes are estimated to exceed 500,000 metric tons annually world wide.
• • 1 Processing of food by ionizing radiation
   
  • 2 Radiation absorbed dose 
     
    • 2.1 Unit of measure for irradiation dose
     
    • 2.2 Dosimetry
     
     
   
  • 3 Applications 
     
    • 3.1 Low Dose Applications (up to 1 kGy)
     
    • 3.2 Medium Dose Applications (1 kGy to 10 kGy)
     
    • 3.3 High Dose Applications (above 10 kGy)
     
     
   
  • 4 Technologies 
     
    • 4.1 Electron irradiation
     
    • 4.2 Gamma irradiation
     
    • 4.3 X-ray irradiation
     
     
   
  • 5 Irradiated foods in the market place 
     
    • 5.1 Current U.S. market
     
    • 5.2 General economic aspects
     
    • 5.3 Consumer perception
     
    • 5.4 The globalized food supply
     
    • 5.5 Labeling and terminology issues
     
    • 5.6 Enforcement of labelling
     
     
   
  • 6 US Regulators of Food Irradiation
   
  • 7 Safety aspects 
     
    • 7.1 Safety, security and wholesomeness aspects
     
    • 7.2 Criticism and concerns about food irradiation
     
    • 7.3 Worker safety and impact on the environment
     
     
   
  • 8 Alternatives
• By irradiating food, depending on the dose, some or all of the harmful bacteria and other pathogens present are killed. This prolongs the shelf-life of the food in cases where microbial spoilage is the limiting factor. Some foods (e.g., herbs and spices) are irradiated at sufficient doses (five kilograys or more) to reduce the microbial counts by several orders of magnitude; such ingredients will not carry over spoilage or pathogen microorganisms into the final product. It has also been shown that irradiation can delay the ripening of fruits or the sprouting of vegetables.^[1]
• , the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has approved the use of low-level irradiation as an alternative treatment to pesticides for fruits and vegetables that are considered hosts to a number of insect pests, including fruit flies and seed weevils; U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared among a number of other applications the treatment of hamburger patties to eliminate the residual risk of a contamination by a virulent E. coli.
• Furthermore, insect pests can be sterilized (be made incapable of proliferation) using irradiation at relatively low doses.
• he General assembly of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has urged to make wider use of the irradiation technology.
• the EC's Scientific Committee on Food (SCF) has given a positive vote for the respective application. Presently, six Member States (Belgium, France, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, United Kingdom) have adopted such provisions.^[9]
• Other countries including New Zealand, Australia, Thailand, India, and Mexico have permitted the irradiation of fresh fruits for fruit fly quarantine purposes amongst others. Other countries as Pakistan and Brazil have adopted the Codex Alimentarius Standard on Irradiated Food without any reservation or restriction, i.e. any food to any dose.
• Irradiated foods in the market place

• Current U.S. market

   

  Many U.S. supermarkets carry irradiated food products today ranging from fresh tropical fruit from Hawaii or Florida,^[23] dehydrated spices^[24] and ground meat products.
• Certain supermarkets like Whole Foods Market prefer not to carry irradiated products for reasons of consumer perception.
• General economic aspects
• irradiation to eliminate insect pests in order to fulfill quarantine requirements is gaining commercial significance.

•  

  The actual cost of food irradiation is influenced by dose requirements, the food's tolerance of radiation, handling conditions (i.e., packaging and stacking requirements), construction costs, financing arrangements, and other variables particular to the situation.
• Treatment costs vary as a function of dose and facility usage. Low dose applications such as disinfestation of fruit range between $US 0.01/lbs and $US 0.08/lbs while higher dose applications can cost as much as $US 0.20 / lbs.

• Consumer perception

   

  Opponents to food irradiation, consumer organizations and environmentalist groups refer to some studies suggesting that a large part of the public questions the safety of irradiated foods, and will not buy foods that have been irradiated.

• The globalized food supply

   

  Opponents of food irradiation sometimes state that large-scale irradiation would increase processing, transportation, and handling times for fruits and vegetables thus contributing to a negative ecological balance compared to locally grown foods.

• Labeling and terminology issues

   

  Labeling laws differ from country to country.
• In the US as in many other countries irradiated food must be labeled as "Treated with irradiation" or "Treated by radiation" and require the usage of the Radura symbol at the point of sale.
• Safety aspects
• Safety, security and wholesomeness aspects
• A large number of studies have been performed, some having demonstrated adverse effects of irradiation, and some concluding the process yields safer foods.^{[47][48][49][50]}
• Consumer advocacy groups such as Public Citizen or Food and Water Watch maintain that the safety of irradiated food is not proven, in particular long-term studies are still lacking, and strongly oppose the use of the technology.
• Criticism and concerns about food irradiation
• Food irradiation will 

   

  - be used to mask spoiled food,

   

  - discourage strict adherence to Good Manufacturing Practices,

   

  - preferentially kill 'good' bacteria, encourage growth of 'bad' bacteria,

   

  - devitalise and denature irradiated food,

   

  - impair the flavour,

   

  - not destroy bacterial toxins already present,

   

  - cause chemical changes which are harmful to the consumer,

   

   

   

  and, on top of all, is unnecessary in today's food system.
• Worker safety and impact on the environment
• Care must be taken not to expose the operators and the environment to radiation or radioactive contamination
• Interlocks and safeguards are mandated to minimize this risk.
• Nevertheless there have been radiation related deaths and injury amongst workers of such facilities, many of them caused by the operators themselves overriding the interlocks.
• An incident in Decatur, Georgia where water soluble caesium-137 leaked into the source storage pool requiring NRC intervention^[62] has led to near elimination of this radioisotope; it has been replaced by the more costly, non-water soluble cobalt-60.

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• Ionizing Radiation

   

  Main article: Ionizing radiation

   

  In common usage, "radiation" is synonymous with ionizing radiation. It refers to any radiation process in which the individual quanta of radiated energy are able to ionize atoms or molecules of the substance in which the energy is absorbed. This leads to chemical changes that can damage biological tissues and structural materials.

   

  Sources of ionizing radiation include most nuclear processes (e.g., nuclear fission, nuclear fusion, radioactive decay), X-ray equipment, high-energy physics experiments, and cosmic radiation.

• The health threat from cosmic rays is the danger posed by cosmic rays generated by the Sun and other stars to astronauts on interplanetary missions. Cosmic rays consists of high energy protons and other nuclei. They are one of the most important barriers standing in the way of plans for interplanetary travel by crewed spacecraft.^[1]

• Effects

   

  Like other ionizing radiation, high-energy cosmic rays can damage DNA, increasing the risk of cancer, cataracts, neurological disorders, and non-cancer mortality risks.^[3]
• specifically, it turns out that low energy protons cause more damage than high energy ones. This is explained by the fact that slower particles have more
• time to interact with molecules in the body.

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• Facts   about radiation<!-- #EndEditable -->

    <!-- #BeginEditable "mainbody" -->        

  Radiation and radioactivity occur naturally in the physical world.   All living beings require some kinds of radiation just to live.   Light and heat, for example, are two basic forms of radiation necessary   for all life on Earth.

   

  Radiation is a form of energy. Radioactivity is the spontaneous   emission of energy from certain elements, and from other elements   under special conditions, in the form of particles or electromagnetic   waves.
   
• Nature is source of 80% of exposure
• These sources account for less than one-fifth of our total   radiation exposure.
• There is no difference between natural radiation and its effects   and man-made radiation and its effects.
• The radiation produced from radioactive atoms is emitted in several   forms, most commonly, alpha and beta particles, and gamma rays.
• 

• Measuring radiation exposure and average   exposures

   

  A person’s exposure to radiation is measured in units called   millirem. A millirem measures the effects of radiation on the human   body much as degrees measure temperature. In the United States,   a person’s average exposure to radiation is about 360 millirem   per year. Roughly 300 millirem come from natural sources of radiation,   and 60 millirem come from man-made sources, primarily medical procedures.
• Location and lifestyle contribute to exposure
• People living in the northwest region of Washington state receive   about 240 millirem per year, on average, from natural and man-made   sour
• Because of other factors, it is not uncommon for a person to receive   far more than the average 360 millirem per year.
• Things that can   affect a particular person’s annual radiation exposure level   include airplane travel, dental and medical X-rays, and occupation.
• A person taking a cross-country flight would receive about   two to five additional millirem of radiation per roundtrip, depending   on flight altitude and shielding on the airplane.
• Due to the thinner   atmosphere at the altitudes involved in cross-country flights,   a traveler is exposed to more cosmic radiation.
• airline pilots and flight attendants routinely are   exposed to higher levels of radiation than many other workers.
• Airline crew members and frequent flyers receive annual doses   on the order of between 500 and 600 millirem.
• A person undergoing a full set of dental X-rays would receive   about 10-39 additional millirem per set.
• • A person working in a nuclear power plant would receive approximately   300 additional millirem per year (the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s   limit is 5,000 millirem per year for occupational exposures).
     
     
   
  • A person living directly outside a nuclear power facility would   receive approximately one additional millirem per year.
• Transportation casks are constructed with multiple layers of   dense metal designed to protect public health and safety during   transportation and shield people from radiation. A person standing   30 meters (100 feet) from a vehicle transporting spent nuclear   fuel, moving 15 miles per hour, would receive a radiation dose   of approximately 0.0004 millirem. If the same person were standing   the same distance from all potential shipments (approximately   50,000 truck shipments over 24 years), he or she would receive   a total whole-body dose of about 20 millirem. During the same   24-year timeframe, that same person would receive over 7,000 millirem   from natural background radiation.
• All matter is made up of atoms. Atoms   are particles held together by electrical charges and internal   forces. When an atom loses the delicate balance among the forces   holding its center, or nucleus, together, it tries to regain   its balance by giving off energy — radiation — in   a process called radioactive decay. An atom that emits radiation   is called a radioisotope or radionuclide. Over time, radioactive   elements decay to gain balance: some in a few minutes, some   in a few days or years, and some in thousands or millions of   years. The length of time needed for half the atoms of a radioactive   substance to decay is called its half-life.

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• Radiation is said to be ionizing if it has sufficient energy to  displace one or more of the electrons that are part of an atom.
• Common examples of ionizing radiation are x rays, which are  generated by machines, and gamma rays, which are emitted by radioactive materials. Others  include alpha and beta rays, which are also emitted from radioactive materials, and neutrons,  which are emitted during the splitting (fission) of atoms in a nuclear reactor.
• Everyone who lives on this planet is constantly exposed to naturally occurring ionizing  radiation (background radiation).

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• Low doses of radiation such as those from medical and dental X-rays, natural and other manmade sources pose some risk for cancer though the risk is small,
• The National Academies' National Research Council report says a preponderance of scientific evidence shows that even low doses of ionizing radiation, such as gamma and X-rays, are likely to pose some risk of adverse health effects.
• Approximately 400 million medical diagnostic examinations and 150 million dental X-ray examinations are performed annually in the United States, according to the report.

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• cone beam CT scanners provide an eight- to tenfold reduction, and as much as a fifteenfold reduction, depending on the precise nature of the study, compared to the same procedure on a medical CT scanner.

• Dental radiography
• A radiographic image is formed by a controlled burst of X-ray radiation which penetrates oral structures at different levels, depending on varying anatomical densities, before striking the film or sensor. Teeth appear lighter because less radiation penetrates them to reach the film. Dental caries, tooth decay, infections and other changes in the bone density, and the periodontal ligament, appear darker because X-rays readily penetrate these less dense structures. Dental restorations (fillings, crowns) may appear lighter or darker, depending on the density of the material.
• The dosage of X-ray radiation received by a dental patient is typically small, equivalent to a few days' worth of background radiation environmental radiation exposure, or similar to the dose received during a cross-country airplane flight.
• a lead shield, lead apron, sometimes with a lead thyroid collar.
• The full mouth series is composed of 18 films:
• full mouth series are to be discouraged due to the large numbers of radiographs involved, many of which will not be necessary for the patient's treatment. An alternative approach using bitewing screening with selected periapical views is suggested as a method of minimising radiation dose to the patient while maximizing diagnostic yield.
• A lateral cephalogram is used to evaluate dentofacial proportions and clarify the anatomic basis for a malocclusion, and an antero-posterior radiograph provides a face-forward view.
• Exposing eighteen films per soldier was very time consuming, and it was felt that a single panoramic film could speed up the process of examining and assessing the dental health of the soldiers; soldiers with toothaches are not very effective. It was later discovered that while panoramic films can prove very useful in detecting and localizing mandibular fractures and other pathologic entities of the mandible, they were not very good at assessing periodontal bone loss or tooth decay.^[2]
• use of CT (computed tomography) scans in dentistry, particularly to plan dental implants; there may be significant levels of radiation and potential risk.

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• Dental x-ray treatments and their risks

        

    

  Q:Are there any harmful side effects from the routine use of x-ray by dentists to examine teeth for cavities or from the lamps used to harden non amalgam fillings?
• According to Fulder, all x-rays are "very high frequency waves which have so  much energy that they crash through living tissues like birdshot through a  bush." Depending on how dense the tissues are, the body retains some of this  radiation those absorbed rays are what gets recorded on the film as white or  grey.
• Besides mammograms, bone x-rays and dental x-rays, the newest kind of x-rays include CAT scans, in which a moving beam of x-rays creates a three dimensional picture, usually of the brain, and fluoroscopy, which sends the x-ray shadow picture onto a television screen. Occasionally contrast mediums like dyes or barium are used to make a clearer picture.
• Although the newest equipment uses lower and more precisely targeted doses,  there is no such thing as a safe x-ray
• . That goes for dental x-rays too.
• the Health Research Group listing the dosage of millirads for each type of  x-ray, with the equivalent dosage the entire body gets zapped with and even the  likely number of deaths from each million examinations.

• Topping the list are x-rays of the upper intestines, which give an equivalent  dose to the entire body of 400-800 millirads; besides the other organs, the next  highest is the spine (100-500 millirads); stomach, breasts and pelvis (100-200  each); skull or shoulder rates (25-75), chest (20-60) with whole mouth dental  x-rays taking up the rear at 10-30 millirads.
• a single shot of the intestines, says Fulder, quoting the US National Academy of  Sciences, is the equivalent of smoking five to 20 cigarettes a year, in terms of  cancer risk.
• And each million single examinations is likely to cause 30 to 100 deaths. In case you're feeling complacent about that low dosage from dental x-rays, one single photograph of your mouth is like smoking half a cigarette every day for a year.
• Each million shots is likely to cause between two and six deaths.
• reasonable expectation of benefit" to the health of the patient.
• The biggest problem is the cumulative effect of x-rays on the body.
• x-ray harms people in three ways. First, it can damage individual cells  (although the harm caused by the lower doses is usually quickly repaired).  Rarely (but depending on exposure), this damage can convert the cell to a cancer  cell. Second, if a woman is pregnant, it can injure the developing foetus,  causing death or malformations. Finally, x-rays can injure the sperm or ovaries  of children or adults, causing abnormalities in future generations. So anyone  planning to have children should keep x-ray exposure to an absolute minimum, for  only those cases when there is a genuine problem to be investigated.
• For people in this category those x-rays with the highest exposure of the reproductive organs include: abdominal x-rays, arteriograms, barium enemas, body CAT scans, x-rays of the urethra, hip and thigh x-rays, and x-rays of the uterus, lymphatic system, back and spine.

• In sum he suggests you avoid:

   

  Routine dental examinations if there aren't specific problems to be checked  out.

   

  Exams being done by your doctor as "just in case" measures to avoid a  malpractice suit or to convince him or you that there's nothing there.

   

  Routine examinations requested for jobs, insurance, or institutions or the  army. This includes such things as a "routine" chest x-ray.

• Then if you must have an x-ray, make sure, says Fulder, to:

  Insist on a lead apron, even when your dentist shoots your teeth. That lead apron ought to be large enough to cover your reproductive organs and also the thyroid and thymus glands in the neck, which are also sensitive. I suffered the derision of my dentist for years in insisting on a lead apron in the States. If your dentist doesn't have one, you can buy one from a medical supply company and cart it with you to the dentist. Remember, he oftentimes goes out of the room when he switches the button or lets his dental hygienist get zapped by the radiation.

  * Make sure to obey instructions (and have the operator do so as well) to avoid having to have a re-take.

  * Keep a record of all your x-rays and those of your children.

  * Never have an x-ray if you could be, or are, pregnant. Best times for women to have an x-ray are during or just after your period. Children who are smaller, and thus more vulnerable over a larger part of the body to x-rays, should especially be protected.

  * Try to have a necessary x-ray done with one of the new lower dose machines (which has a rectangular opening, rather than the old plastic cone variety).

  * Take vitamins C and E, selenium, and the amino acids cysteine and glutathione, which have been shown to protect against radiation.

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• Heart scans such as computed tomography (CT) scans should be used judiciously to minimize exposure to ionizing radiation, according to an American Heart Association science advisory published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.
• One source of ionizing radiation is diagnostic tests that use X-rays such as computed tomography (CT), fluoroscopy (a video X-ray such as an angiogram), or nuclear medicine studies. There has been some concern about the relationship between low-dose ionizing radiation (the kind used in medical imaging) and cancer. While the risks are low, there is still uncertainty as to the exact level of risk. With the use of imaging on the rise, particularly cardiac imaging, the association saw the need to advise practitioners on the prudent use of medical imaging exams.
• Facts about ionizing radiation:
• the risk of developing malignancies as a result of exposure to ionizing radiation in medical imaging,

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