High-energy gamma rays in Hiroshima and Nagasaki: implications for risk and WR.

Based on the DS86 dosimetry system, nearly all of the dose to survivors of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki was due to unusually high-energy gamma rays, predominantly in the 2- to 5-MeV range. These high energies resulted in part from neutron capture gamma rays as the bomb neutrons penetrated large distances of air. Because of the inverse relationship between energy and biological effectiveness, these high-energy gamma rays are expected to be substantially less effective in producing biological damage than the radiations commonly used in radiobiology and risk assessment. This observation has implications for radiation protection and risk assessment.