2 ON BYRRES . RADIATION STANDARDS, INCLUDING FALLOUT 9 the mountains, but he cannot eliminate it entirely. It is an interesting, but unanswered question whether man has evolved to his resent state because of or in spite of natural radiation exposure. n any event, man has lived withthis level of radiation exposure from the begining of time and it is hard for me to see how standards or regulations can be appliedtoit. (0) Manmade environmental sources: Among the manmade environmental sources are the various radioactive wastes released into the atmosphere, surface waters, and the ground by the nuclear industries and users of radioactive isotopes, the stray radiations from such installations, and fallout from nuclear detonations. All of these have been thoroughly discussed before this committee and the printed hearings which resulted probably constitute the most complete body of information available on these subjects. There are only a few points about these sources of radiation exposure which I should lke to emphasize. The first point is that, like the natural sources of radiation exposure, there is not much the individual can do about exposure from manmade environmental sources. He can move away from nuclear facilities and hospitals and he can move to the Southern Hemisphere toescape some fallout. | The second point is that the release of radioactive wastes and of stray radiation into the environment is in most instancesstrictly regulated by law, while fallout from nuclear detonations is, of course, unregulated in any legal sense. One wonders what the regulatory agencies would do if a nuclear plant were to produce levels of environmental radioactivity similar to those produced by nuclear detonations in thelast 4 years. The final point I wish to make is that the human exposure from manmade environmental sources is, by all estimates I knowof, only a few percent of the exposure from natural sources. There are a few exceptions to this general statement, as in the case of the unfortunate fallout in the Marshall Islands, but the overall record is surprisingly good. (¢) Occupational sources: There are today many occupations which involve radiation exposure. The nuclear industries come first to mind, but radiography (medical, dental, and industrial) probably exposes more workers to more radiation than do the nuclear industries. When an individual accepts employmentin oneof the radiation industries, he knowingly accepts, as one of the conditions of this employment, radiation exposure in addition to that he receives from other sources. Unlike the exposure to natural and manmade environmental radiation, occupational radiation exposure is accepted knowingly and voluntarily. Standards for occupational radiation exposure have been evolved and agreed upon by several national and international committees, including the International Commission on Radiological Protection and our own National Committee on Radiation Protection and Measurements. The present basic standard for occupational exposure is 5 rem per year. This recommended standard has been given the force of law in the regulations of the Atomic Energy Commission and in many State regulations. It is proper to note that only rarely does a radiation worker receive a dose of 5 rem in a year and thatthe average iseddtateicecigetsectnayAREAateRetcia SORBET!