Nuclear Workers Have More Heart Disease, Probably Caused by Low Dose Radiation

by Heidi Stevenson

21 November 2009

The BBC reports that workers in nuclear plants have increased levels of heart disease related to long term low dosage radiation, according to epidemiological studies.

A research team from Imperial College reported findings suggesting a possible reason. They suspect that monocytes are killed by radiation. These monocytes eliminate excess MCP-1 protein, which is believed to cause inflammation, which leads to cardiovascular disease.

The implications for medical and dental xrays may be significant. If further studies document that the Imperial Collage model is accurate, then the relationship between medical uses of xray equipment and cancer is considerably more significant than previously acknowledged.

Gaia Health wonders why the burden of proof is on science to prove that a medical technology does harm, rather than the opposite assumption—that medical technology must first be proven beyond any doubt to be harmful before it's banned or curtailed.