저선량 방사선 노출과 건강 영향에 대한 역학적 고찰

• 영문명: Epidemiology of Low-Dose Ionizing Radiation Exposure and Health Effects
• 발행기관: 한국환경보건학회
• 저자명: 이원진(Won Jin Lee)
• 간행물 정보: 『한국환경보건학회지』제49권 제1호, 1~10쪽, 전체 10쪽
• 주제분류: 공학 > 환경공학
• 파일형태: PDF
• 발행일자: 2023.02.28

영문 초록

Low-dose radiation exposure has received considerable attention because it reflects the general public’s type and level of exposure. Still, controversy remains due to the relatively unclear results and uncertainty in risk estimation compared to high-dose radiation. However, recent epidemiological studies report direct evidence of health effects for various types of low-dose radiation exposure. In particular, international nuclear workers’ studies, CT exposure studies, and children’s cancer studies on natural radiation showed significantly increased cancer risk among the study populations despite their low-dose radiation exposure. These studies showed similar results even when the cumulative radiation dose was limited to an exposure group of less than 100 mGy, demonstrating that the observed excess risk was not affected by high exposure. A linear dose-response relationship between radiation exposure and cancer incidence has been observed, even at the low-dose interval. These recent epidemiological studies include relatively large populations, and findings are broadly consistent with previous studies on Japanese atomic bomb survivors. However, the health effects of low-dose radiation are assumed to be small compared to the risks that may arise from other lifestyle factors; therefore, the benefits of radiation use should be considered at the individual level through a balanced interpretation. Further low-dose radiation studies are essential to accurately determining the benefits and risks of radiation.

키워드

Cancer causality epidemiology ionizing radiation risk