Perspectives in radiation and health: reflections on the International Conference in Beer Sheva

Insofar as international conferences reflect the state of development of the subject under discussion, they provide an opportunity to question, at a rather fundamental level, the direction of and progress in the subject. With regard to the effects of radiation on health, many of the problems faced today, including uncertainties in the relationship between risk and dose and the origins of the psychosocial phenomena associated with many aspects of environmental radiation exposure, arise from a lack of adequate frameworks within which to understand the radiopathological impact of radiation exposure and the psychological and social implications of such exposures. It is concluded that in seeking an understanding of the relationship of health effects to exposure, through the underlying radiobiological processes, the perturbation of the dynamic interactions within the components of the organism should receive more emphasis. The public perception of risk from environmental radiation exposures appears to encompass factors in addition to the accrued health detriment. It is argued that the radiological protection of the public might be seen more beneficially in the context of other environmental risks.