ABSTRACT
Dr. E. E. Pochin takes the view that the real decision to be made in fixing levels of radiation is the permissible risk under particular circumstances, taking into account the source and need for radiation exposure, the number and ages of the people involved, and whether the exposure occurs in the course of their occupation. Any attempt to balance the utility and risk of radiation must also discuss the social consequences of the release and application in peace-time of atomic energy. The Atomic Energy Authority reports that a package irradiation plant containing 320,000 curies is used to capacity by industrial firms to demonstrate the commercial feasibility of gamma radiation as a method of sterilizing medical equipment and pharmaceuticals. Radiation and health’ is one facet of the newly-available form of energy in human life, but the relation between radiation and electric-power production could change rapidly if more direct methods of attaining nuclear energy were discovered.
