ABSTRACT
Unlike the well-known incidents involving biological and chemical terrorism, there has not been a domestic act of terrorism that involved the use of radiationemitting devices or explosives. The potential for terrorism using radiation is very real. Such an incident would create fear among civilian populations and their governments, as well as have the potential to cause significant loss of life. It is only a matter of time before a radioactive device will be used as an act of terrorism. Therefore, a review of the subject is appropriate and timely. There have been several large-scale disasters causing radiation exposure since the atomic bomb detonations in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan six decades ago (1). These exposures were primarily from nuclear power plants and fallout from nuclear bomb testing (2). There are several excellent review articles on the subject of radiation exposure, the health consequences, and medical management that provide considerable information in great depth (1-12). This chapter will focus on the effects of radiation on the vulnerabilities of the endocrine system and metabolism, and discuss important coexisting effects on other organ systems as appropriate.
