Epidemiology And Quantitation Of Environmental Risk In Humans From Radiation And Other Agents (nato Asi Subseries A:)

The identification and quantitation of environmental risk in humans is one of the main problems to be solved in order to improve the protection of individuals and of human populations against phys­ ical and chemical pollutants. Epidemiology plays a central role in the evaluation of health risk directly in human populations. In this volume are collected 33 lectures presented at the AS! course on "Epidemiology and quanti tat ion of environmental risk in humans from radiation and other agents: potential and limitations", sponsored by NATO and Italian Association of Radiobiology and or­ ganized by ENEA. The course has been devoted to a number of aspects of environ­ mental risk analysis and evaluation based on epidemiological in­ vestigation. Basic epidemiological concepts and methods have been reviewed. Fundamentals of dosimetry and microdosimetry were presented in re­ lation to the contribution of epidemiology in defining the dose­ effect relationships for radiation carcinogenesis and its relation with age, sex and ethnicity. The mechanisms of carcinogenesis as a multi-stage process were illustrated. One of the main topics was 'cancer epidemiology' and its cor­ relation with: - occupational and non-occupational exposure to ra­ diation - diagnostic and therapeutic irradiation - cancer proneness - hereditary and familiar diseases - abnormal response to carcino­ gens - environmental pollution in air and water - exposure to radon in mines and in building material - atomic bomb explosion - chemo­ therapy - dioxin and related compounds. Front Matter....Pages i-ix Radiation Carcinogenesis....Pages 1-16 Strategy of Assessment of Health Risks in Environmental and Occupational Health....Pages 17-31 Choice of Comparison Groups in Environmental Studies and Dealing with Background Morbidity in Various Subpopulations....Pages 33-45 The Probability of Causation: An Approach to the Problem of Toxic Torts, Especially with Respect to Exposures to Ionizing Radiation....Pages 47-62 The Carcinogenic Effects of Diagnostic and Therapeutic Irradiation....Pages 63-91 Dose-Response in Radiation Carcinogenesis: Animal Studies....Pages 93-103 Dose-Response in Radiation Carcinogenesis:Human Studies....Pages 105-122 Fundamentals of Dosimetry and Microdosimetry and the Relative Biological Effectiveness of Ionizing Radiations....Pages 123-140 Critical Review of Case-Control and Cohort Study Methodologies....Pages 141-155 In Vitro Malignant Transformation — A Multi-Stepped Process....Pages 157-174 Problems in Dose Response and Risk Assessment : The Example of Asbestos....Pages 175-185 Role of DNA Damage and Repair in the Mutagenesis of Human Cells by Carcinogens....Pages 187-203 Variations in DNA Repair Among People....Pages 205-212 Cancer-Prone Families: A Resource for Etiologic Studies....Pages 213-223 The Role of Human RAS Proto-Oncogenes in Cancer....Pages 225-233 Hereditary and Familial Disorders Linking Cancer Proneness with Abnormal Carcinogen Response and Faulty DNA Metabolism....Pages 235-267 Application of Statistical Methods to Experimental Radiation Studies and to Radiation Epidemiology....Pages 269-289 Biological Monitoring Studies in Occupational and Environmental Health....Pages 291-306 The Recognition of New Kinds of Occupational Toxicity....Pages 307-337 Occupational Exposure to Ionizing Radiation....Pages 339-361 Non-Occupational Exposure to Ionizing Radiation....Pages 363-374 Risk Assessment of Low Doses of Radiation and Chemicals....Pages 375-381 Genetic Effects of Radiation....Pages 383-398 On the Effects of Exposure to Radon Daughters in Metal Mines and in Homes....Pages 399-411 Atomic Bomb Survivors: Epidemiology and Dose Estimation....Pages 413-431 Epidemiology of Microwave Radiation Effects in Humans....Pages 433-458 Establishing the Link Between Human Proto-Oncogenes and Growth Factors....Pages 459-470 Melanoma and other Skin Cancers: A Contrast in Solar Radiation Carcinogenesis....Pages 471-477 Epidemiological Approach to Breast Cancer Etiology....Pages 479-497 Epidemiologic Studies of Chemotherapy-Related Acute Leukemia....Pages 499-514 The Central Nervous System and in Utero Exposure to Ionizing Radiation: The Hiroshima and Nagasaki Experiences....Pages 515-536 Unanswered Issues in Low-Level Chemical Pollution: The Case of Dioxins and Related Compounds....Pages 537-550 Radiation Exposure and Levels of Occupational Safety....Pages 551-572 Back Matter....Pages 573-584