[Integral estimation of genetic effects of ionizing radiation]

A system of criteria (direct, indirect, extrapolational, integral, populational, evolutional) has been proposed to estimate the consequences of irradiation of flora, fauna and human population. This system makes it possible to obtain the most comprehensive estimate of genetic effects from exposure of live organisms to ionizing radiations. An attempt has been made to use extrapolational approaches for assessing the genetic risk on the basis of the results of cytogenetic examination of the human population in a number of regions exposed to the action of ionizing radiations as a result of the Chernobyl accident, in connection with the activity of the chemical plant Mayak in the Chelyabinsk region, nuclear explosions at the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site, the accident at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in the U.S.A.