US Congress votes to revive radiation exposure research
DOI: 10.1063/PT.5.028554
Science : Last week the US House of Representatives voted to restart a Department of Energy research program begun in 1999 to study the effects of low-dose radiation exposure. Although funding for the program had dwindled over the years, the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in Japan in 2011 was cited as having spurred renewed concerns. Most people today are regularly exposed to low levels of radiation—from medical procedures, airport scanners, and the like—but the exact threshold between enough and too much has not been definitively determined. The bill seeks to ascertain the current status of research into low-dose radiation levels, focus on the remaining challenges and scientific goals, and set a long-term research agenda.