ICRP evolutionary recommendations and the reluctance of the members of the public to carry out remedial work against radon in some high-level natural radiation areas

Abstract

International and national advisory bodies have issued guidelines regarding acceptable levels of exposure to ionizing radiation and radon. These guidelines are intended to help protect the public against the ill effects of exposure to radiation. However, these guidelines are also far lower than the amount of radiation to which residents of Ramsar, Iran are exposed to natural sources. Under these guidelines, the good public health policy suggests that the residents should be relocated to an area of lower radiation levels. However, these residents seem perfectly healthy and, in fact, preliminary studies show that the residents of Ramsar's HBRA have no increase in the background levels of chromosomal aberrations. Furthermore, the residents exhibit fewer induced aberrations when subjected to a 1.5 Gy challenge dose, compared to the residents of nearby areas with normal background radiation levels. These findings suggest that it may be possible to relax the guidelines set by these advisory bodies regarding occupational and non-occupational exposure to ionizing radiation.