As a pediatrician I wish to point out children’s extreme sensitivity to radiation. The younger a child, the quicker it will be damaged even by low grade radiation. This is the key to understanding the results of the Epidemiological Study on Childhood Cancer in the Vicinity of Nuclear Power Plants (KiKK Study). On this basis, we urgently demand that permitted emissions should be adjusted to the risk for an embryo.
The reasons for the extreme radiation sensitivity in children include:
Growth means a high rate of cell division in all organ systems. Cell division is the risky phase for radiation damage; an embryo grows at an almost explosive rate. Its cells are constantly dividing, which is why even tiny amounts of radiation are extremely hazardous.
The repair mechanisms that our organism uses to identify and eliminate mutated cells are not yet effective in children, especially in unborn children.
Children have a positive substance balance—in order to thrive they have to consume more than they excrete, in contrast to adults who merely have to maintain their fully grown bodies. The positive balance in children leads to a prolonged biological half life in incorporated radioactive isotopes.
Malignancies have a long latency period; in pathologies caused by radioactivity, decades may lie between exposure and detectable onset of illness. Children have their lives ahead of them; in contrast to older people, they may have the misfortune of experiencing the end of the latency period.
References
- 1.Kaatsch P, Spix C, Jung I, Blettner M. Childhood Leukemia in the Vicinity of Nuclear Power Plants in Germany. Dtsch Arztebl Int. 2008;105:725–732. doi: 10.3238/arztebl.2008.0725. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]