Health Effects of Radiation Exposure: Exposure to radiation can cause two kinds of health effects. Deterministic effects are observable health effects that occur soon after receipt of large doses. These may include hair loss, skin burns, nausea, or death. Stochastic effects are long-term effects, such as cancer. The radiation dose determines the severity of a deterministic effect and the probability of a stochastic effect. The object of any radiation control program is to prevent any deterministic effects and minimize the risk for stochastic effects. When a person inhales or ingests a radionuclide, the body will absorb different amounts of that radionuclide in different organs, so each organ will receive a different organ dose. Federal Guidance Report 11 (FGR-11) from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) lists dose conversion factors for all radionuclides. This report can be downloaded from http://www.epa.gov/radiation/pubs.html, under "Limiting Values of Radionuclide Intake and Air Concentration and Dose Conversion Factors for Inhalation, Submersion, and Ingestion, Report No. 11 (PDF)". The dose conversion factor for each organ is the number of rem delivered to that organ by each curie or becquerel of intake of a specific radioisotope