Medicine: X-Ray Danger

Patients are getting worried about X rays. Following the National Academy of Sciences' Report to the Public on the biological effects of radiation (TIME, June 25), more and more people have begun to nag doctors and dentists about possible harmful effects. Many have flatly refused to submit to X-ray examination or treatment. Just how safe—or dangerous—are X rays?

Too much radiation at one body site can cause skin conditions resembling severe burns or local cancers. Widely distributed over the body so that it penetrates much of the blood-forming marrow, excessive radiation can cause...