Which of the following is a somatic effect of radiation exposure?

• A. Cancer
• B. Birth defects
• C. Genetic mutations
• D. Reproductive sterility

Answer: (A)

Somatic effects are changes that occur in the person who receives the radiation dose, not in their offspring. Cancer fits this category because it arises from radiation-induced damage to the body's somatic cells and manifests in the irradiated individual. It can develop many years after exposure and its likelihood increases with dose, but it does not transfer to future generations.

Birth defects and genetic mutations are inherited changes in the germ line, so they are genetic effects—they appear in offspring rather than as disease in the person who was exposed. Reproductive sterility involves damage to reproductive organs and is also a direct effect on the irradiated person, but cancer is the classic example used to illustrate somatic effects.