ABSTRACT
With or without the development of nuclear power for the generation of electricity, the production and use of diverse sources of ionizing radiations in science and technology, and particularly in medicine, has demanded a full evaluation of the effects of radiation on man in order to develop a safe code of practice for the deployment of these sources in numerous fields. Thus it has already been accepted that radionuclides, and other sources of ionizing radiations, will be used under controlled conditions for a variety of purposes; the codes of practice which have been compiled have not, therefore, been derived solely for the purpose of evaluating and controlling the impact of a nuclear power programme, although there is no doubt that the use of nuclear energy has been a major force in the rapid development of standards. Before discussing the potential hazards resulting from nuclear power, however, it is first of all necessary to understand something of the basis upon which these potential hazards of radiation can be assessed and to appreciate that, although complex, evaluation of these hazards can generally be reduced to a reasonable basis of numerical solution.
