Chapter 35 Genomic Instability and the Spectrum of Response to Low Radiation Doses

One of the biggest controversies in the field of health sciences today is whether low doses of radiation are harmful or good. This is particularly topical now given the widespread use of radiation in nuclear medicine and in diagnostic radiology. It is also of concern in regard to the increasing use of nuclear power as a way to cut carbon emissions. Passionate arguments are made on both sides, and there is a considerable mistrust of scientists involved in this area by the general public. Some of the reasons for the controversy and the mistrust are discussed in this chapter. Proposing that as humans we need to accept uncertainty, some approaches to develop protection frameworks, which might be more fruitful, are suggested. These include recognizing spectra of responses to a low dose rather than relying on probabilities of good or harm being caused by that dose. The shift to a response-driven rather than dose-driven framework opens up opportunities to develop personalized protection and new biological tools for assessing risk.