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impluntation of’ the embryo, severe muldevelopment was observed in all
children; a high proportion of whom lived for many years.
A much smaller
portion of.malformed children were born when the mother was irradiated
during the last three months of pregnancy.
With regard to the possibility that fetuses and infants are receiving
higher doses of irradiation presumably from ingested radionuclides, the
report of the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic
Radiation for 1969 contains the following statement:
"The results of _
extensive and comprehensive surveys carried out in a number of countries
have contributed considerably to our knowledge of the levels of long-lived
radionuclides in man and food chains in those countries as well as to our
understanding of the many and complex processes involved in the transfer of
radioactivity to the human body.
Although the estimates of the doses
ascertained do not differ significantly from the previous ones the Committee
now has increaséd confidence that they are representative of the doses to
which humans have been committed, at least for those populations in the countries
and areas from which the results of measurements are available."
It is possible to approximate radiation exposures to the fetus from
atmospheric fallout.
Also, fetuses are known to be affected by radiation
at doses lower than those which would cause damage to an adult.
Basic re-
search must be continued on both animals and, where possible, man to learn
the effects of ionizing radiation on reproductive capacity.
The results of
animal experiments clearly indicate the complexity involved in determining
whether a given system does or does not play a primary role in the response