Effects of ionizing radiation: Atomic bomb survivors and their children (1945-1995)

William J (`Jack') Schull went to Japan in 1949 to join the Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission (ABCC) in its investigation of the effects of radiation from the atomic bomb explosions over Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945 on the health of the survivors of these attacks and their children. He has been involved with these studies ever since. One of the first and most important of the studies was that carried out with James V Neel to determine the level of radiation-induced hereditary effects in the offspring of the survivors. The report of this study, produced in 1956, showed that no detectable excess adverse health effects had occurred in the children, and to this day it remains one of the principal sources of information in determining the genetic risk to humans of radiation exposure. Jack Schull has been based in Houston for over two decades and it was here that the first Schull International Symposium was held in October 1995 which, 50 years on from the atomic bombings, appropriately focused on the effects on the survivors and their children. This book brings together 20 papers that were presented at this Symposium.