Do persons exposed to radiation suffer genetic effects that threaten their yet-to-be-born children? Researchers are concluding that the genetic risks of radiation are less than previously thought.

This finding is explored in this volume about the children of atomic bomb survivors in Hiroshima and Nagasaki--the population that can provide the greatest insight into this critical issue. Assembled here for the first time are papers representing more than 40 years of research. These documents reveal key results related to radiation's effects on pregnancy termination, sex ratio, congenital defects, and early mortality of children. Edited by two of the principal architects of the studies, J. V. Neel and W. J. Schull, the volume also offers an important comparison with studies of the genetic effects of radiation on mice.

The wealth of technical details will be immediately useful to geneticists and other specialists. Policymakers will be interested in the overall conclusions and discussion of future studies.

Contents

• Preface
• Orientation
  • BEGINNINGS
  • THE THREE PHASES OF THE STUDY
  • AN ESTIMATE OF THE GENETIC DOUBLING DOSE OF RADIATION
  • REFERENCES
• Genetic Effects of the Atomic Bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki
• THE EFFECT OF EXPOSURE TO THE ATOMIC BOMBS ON PREGNANCY TERMINATION IN HIROSHIMA AND NAGASAKI
  • Chapter I. BACKGROUND
  • Chapter II. THE PLAN
  • Chapter III. A COMPARISON OF HIROSHIMA AND NAGASAKI
  • Chapter IV. THE CRITERIA OF RADIATION EMPLOYED IN THE STUDY
  • Chapter V. THE COMPARABILITY OF IRRADIATION SUBCLASSES
  • Chapter VI. STATISTICAL METHODS
  • Chapter VII. ANALYSIS OF THE SEX RATIO DATA
  • Chapter VIII. ANALYSIS OF THE MALFORMATION DATA
  • Chapter IX. ANALYSIS OF THE STILLBIRTH DATA
  • Chapter X. THE ANALYSIS OF THE BIRTHWEIGHT DATA
  • Chapter XI. ANALYSIS OF THE DATA CONCERNING DEATH DURING THE NINE-MONTH PERIOD FOLLOWING DELIVERY
  • Chapter XII. THE ANALYSIS OF THE ANTHROPOMETRIC DATA
  • Chapter XIII. THE AUTOPSY FINDINGS
  • Chapter XIV. RECAPITULATION
  • Chapter XV. PERMISSIBLE INFERENCES
  • APPENDIX PROCEDURE FOR CODING GENETICS SHORT-FORM QUESTIONNAIRES
  • REFERENCES
• ATOMIC BOMB EXPOSURE AND THE PREGNANCIES OF BIOLOGICALLY RELATED PARENTS: A PROSPECTIVE STUDY OF THE GENETIC EFFECTS OF IONIZING RADIATION IN MAN
• Some Further Observations on the Sex Ratio Among Infants Born to Survivors of the Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
  • STUDIES OF THE SEX RATIO IN HIROSHIMA AND NAGASAKI
  • DISCUSSION
  • SUMMARY
  • REFERENCES
• A Cohort-Type Study of Survival in the Children of Parents Exposed to Atomic Bombings
  • Factors Determining the Design of the Study
  • DESCRIPTION OF STUDY PROCEDURES
  • SOURCES OF VARIATION IN MORTALITY OTHER THAN RADIATION
  • THE RELATIONSHIP OF MORTALITY TO EXPOSURE
  • DISCUSSION
  • EPILOGUE
  • SUMMARY
  • REFERENCES
• MORTALITY IN THE CHILDREN OF ATOMIC BOMB SURVIVORS AND CONTROLS
  • ABSTRACT
  • THE STUDY POPULATION
  • STATISTICAL CONSIDERATIONS
  • THE DATA
  • DISCUSSION
  • LITERATURE CITED
• Cytogenetic Study of the Offspring of Atomic Bomb Survivors, Hiroshima and Nagasaki
  • 1 Introduction
  • 2 Materials and Methods
  • 3 Results
  • 4 Discussion
  • References
• Search for Mutations Altering Protein Charge and/or Function in Children of Atomic Bomb Survivors: Final Report
  • Summary
  • Introduction
  • The Protocol
  • Results
  • Discussion
  • Acknowledgments
  • References
• Congenital Malformations, Stillbirths, and Early Mortality among the Children of Atomic Bomb Survivors: A Reanalysis
  • INTRODUCTION
  • MATERIALS AND METHODS
  • RESULTS
  • UNCERTAINTIES
  • DISCUSSION
  • ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  • REFERENCES
• Malignant Tumors during the First 2 Decades of Life in the Offspring of Atomic Bomb Survivors
  • Summary
  • Introduction
  • Design of Study
  • Results of Analysis
  • Discussion
  • Acknowledgments
  • References
• Mortality among the Offspring (F1) of Atomic Bomb Survivors, 1946–85
  • Summary
  • Introduction
  • Design of the Study
  • Results
  • Discussion
  • References
• The Children of Parents Exposed to Atomic Bombs: Estimates of the Genetic Doubling Dose of Radiation for Humans
  • Summary
  • Introduction
  • Background
  • The Estimation of the Amount of Radiation Reaching the Gonads
  • The Data
  • Implications of the Data
  • Calculation of the Doubling Dose
  • Discussion
  • Acknowledgments
  • Appendix The Mutational Component in the Indicators
  • References
• THE COMPARATIVE RADIATION GENETICS OF HUMANS AND MICE
  • INTRODUCTION
  • A PRÉCIS OF THE HUMAN DATA ON THE GENETIC EFFECTS OF ACUTE RADIATION
  • THE GENERATION OF AN ESTIMATE OF THE DOUBLING DOSE FROM THE HUMAN DATA
  • SOME UNUSUAL FEATURES OF THE ESTIMATE OF THE HUMAN DOUBLING DOSE
  • PRÉCIS OF THE MOUSE DATA ON THE GENETIC EFFECTS OF ACUTE RADIATION
  • THE GENERATION OF A DOUBLING DOSE FROM THE MOUSE DATA
  • SOME UNUSUAL FEATURES OF THE ESTIMATE OF THE MOUSE DOUBLING DOSE (FROM THE STANDPOINT OF EXTRAPOLATION TO HUMANS)
  • CONCLUSIONS
  • ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  • Literature Cited
• The Future of These Studies
  • CURRENT RESEARCH PROJECTIONS
  • THE LIMITATIONS OF THE NEW TECHNOLOGIES
  • PARALLEL ANIMAL STUDIES
  • STAYING THE COURSE
  • REFERENCES
• Biographical Sketches

The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Frank Press is president of the National Academy of Sciences.

The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy's purposes of furthering knowledge and of advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is adminstered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Frank Press and Dr. Robert M.White are chairman and vice chairman, respectively, of the National Research Council.