A Formula for Chronic Radiation Dosage versus Shortening of Life Span: Application to a Large Mammal

Abstract

An equation based on an analysis of the kinematics of injury was developed relating life shortening to dosages of chronic whole-body irradiation which is applicable to large mammals and short survival times. Transformation of latent injury into actual injury at a certain measurable rate was postulated to account for the so-called "wasted radiation." Radiation damage was assumed to consist of a reparable and an irreparable portion. Numerical values for the parameters were computed from experimental data on chronic and acute irradiation of mammals. The formula was applied to data on chronic whole-body irradiation of the burro. The exponetial dose-survival curve could be accounted for by a linear dose-damage relationship. An acute lethal dose of 660 r was calculated for the gamma-irradiation of burros.