ABSTRACT
Recent analysis of human data suggests that radiation doses of a few mSv and up delivered in a single dose to patients receiving diagnostic radiation procedures or in cumulative doses to radiation workers may induce increased risk of cancer. Crews of commercial or military aircraft are also exposed to low doses of cosmic radiation during their £ight time. The main purpose of the current recommendations for radiation protection in humans is to reduce dose levels as much as possible. These recommendations include reducing distance from the radiation source and time of radiation exposure whenever possible, shielding with high atomic number elements, such as lead, and adopting the principles of ALARA (as low as reasonably achievable). These steps can be deœned as physical strategies for radiation protection. There is no doubt that adopting the current physical protection strategy can reduce the level of radiation doses to patients and radiation workers. However, these recommendations do not address the issue of biological protection against radiation injury before or after irradiation. At present, there is no radiation protection strategy to reduce the risk of late adverse health effects of low doses of radiation, such as neoplastic and nonneoplastic diseases, and somatic and heritable mutations. The development of a biological radiation protection strategy would complement the effectiveness of current physical radiation protection strategies. This chapter discusses the potential value of a micronutrient preparation containing multiple dietary and endogenous antioxidants in prevention and mitigation of late adverse health effects of low doses of radiation when administered orally before and/or after irradiation.
