Radiophobia

Radiophobia is a fear of ionizing radiation. Given that significant doses of radiation are harmful, even deadly (i.e. radiation-induced cancer, and acute radiation syndrome), every threat of the radiation exposure may cause significant fear. The term is also used to describe the opposition to the use of nuclear technology (i.e. nuclear power) arising from concerns disproportionately greater than actual risks would merit.'A healthy respect for the hazards of radiation is desirable. When atomic testing began in the early 1950s, these hazards were grossly exaggerated, producing a new psychological disorder which has been called 'radiophobia' or 'nuclear neurosis'.We know from Chernobyl that the psychological consequences are enormous. Life expectancy of the evacuees dropped from 65 to 58 years -- not because of cancer, but because of depression, alcoholism and suicide. Relocation is not easy, the stress is very big. We must not only track those problems, but also treat them. Otherwise people will feel they are just guinea pigs in our research.Is this only—a fear of radiation? It treats the normal impulse to self-protection, natural to everything living, your moral suffering, your anguish and your concern about the fate of your children, relatives and friends, and your own physical suffering and sickness as a result of delirium, of pathological perversionAs the increase in radiation in Denmark was so low that almost no increased risk of birth defects was expected, the public debate and anxiety among the pregnant women and their husbands 'caused' more fetal deaths in Denmark than the accident. This underlines the importance of public debate, the role of the mass media and of the way in which National Health authorities participate in this debate.— Alvin M. Weinberg Radiophobia is a fear of ionizing radiation. Given that significant doses of radiation are harmful, even deadly (i.e. radiation-induced cancer, and acute radiation syndrome), every threat of the radiation exposure may cause significant fear. The term is also used to describe the opposition to the use of nuclear technology (i.e. nuclear power) arising from concerns disproportionately greater than actual risks would merit. The term was used in a paper entitled 'Radio-phobia and radio-mania' presented by Dr Albert Soiland of Los Angeles in 1903. In the 1920s, the term was used to describe people who were afraid of radio broadcasting and receiving technology. In 1931, radiophobia was referred to in The Salt Lake Tribune as a 'fear of loudspeakers', an affliction that Joan Crawford was reported as suffering. The term 'radiophobia' was also printed in Australian newspapers in the 1930s and 1940s, assuming a similar meaning. The 1949 poem by Margarent Mercia Baker entitled 'Radiophobia' laments the intrusion of advertising into radio broadcasts. The term remained in use with its original association with radios and radio broadcasting during the 1940s and 1950s. During the 1950s and 1960s, the Science Service associated the term with fear of gamma radiation and the medical use of x-rays. A Science Service article published in several American newspapers proposed that 'radiophobia' could be attributed to the publication of information regarding the 'genetic hazards' of exposure to ionising radiation by the National Academy of Sciences in 1956.