The X Raying of America.

Up to 30 percent of the 278 million medical and dental diagnostic x rays made yearly really aren't needed, and since any x ray increases a person's risk of getting cancer, these excess radiations are an unnecessary peril to public health. So says FDA's John C. Villforth, director of the Bureau of Radiological Health, who outlines the health problems and excess medical costs that result from ignorance, laxity, and misplaced medical judgments involving x rays and tells what the Agency is doing to reduce the threat.