In 1943, Hermann Müller received a Nobel Prize for his work on the genetic effects of radiation and was a dominant figure in developing early radiation exposure recommendations made by the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP).[16] He showed through his work with Drosophila, a fruit fly, that ionising radiation affects not only the biological organism which is exposed but also the seed within the body from which the future generations are formed.
        In 1964 Hermann Müller published a paper, `Radiation and Heredity', spelling out clearly the implications of his research for genetic effects (damage to offspring) of ionising radiation on the human species.[17] The paper, though accepted in medical/biological circles, appears not to have affected policy makers in the political or military circles who normally undertake their own critiques of published research. Müller predicted the gradual reduction of the survival ability of the human species as several generations were damaged through exposure to ionising radiation. This problem of genetic damage continues to be mentioned in official radiation-health documents under the heading `mild mutations'[18] but these mutations are not `counted' as health effects when standards are set or predictions of health effects of exposure to radiation are made. There is a difficulty in distinguishing mutations caused artificially by radiation from nuclear activities from those which occur naturally from earth or cosmic radiation. A mild mutation may express itself in humans as an allergy, asthma, juvenile diabetes, hypertension, arthritis, high blood cholesterol level, slight muscular or bone defects, or other genetic `mistakes'. These defects in genetic make-up leave the individual slightly less able to cope with ordinary stresses and hazards in the environment. Increasing the number of such genetic `mistakes' in a family line, each passed on to the next generation, while at the same time increasing the stresses and hazards in the environment, leads to termination of the family line through eventual infertility and/or death prior to reproductive age. On a large scale, such a process leads to selective genocide of families or species suicide.[19]
        It soon became obvious that the usual method determining a tolerance level for human exposure to toxic substances was inappropriate for ionising radiation. The health effects were similar to normally occurring health problems and were quite varied, ranging from mild to severe in a number of different human organ systems, and their appearance could be delayed for years or even generations.