What can large doses of ionizing radiation cause?

• A. Enhanced healing.
• B. Sickness, cancer, birth defects or death.
• C. No effect.
• D. Temporary numbness.

Answer: (B)

High doses of ionizing radiation cause widespread damage to living tissues by breaking DNA strands and creating harmful free radicals. When the exposure is substantial, fast-dividing cells—like those in the bone marrow, digestive tract, and skin—are especially affected, which can lead to acute radiation syndrome with symptoms such as nausea, fatigue, infections, bleeding, and, at very high doses, death. Over the longer term, DNA damage can increase the risk of cancer, and if reproductive cells are affected or exposure occurs during pregnancy, birth defects can occur in offspring. These outcomes explain why sickness, cancer, birth defects, or death are the possible consequences of large radiation doses. The other options contradict how ionizing radiation interacts with biology, either suggesting no effect, healing, or only temporary numbness.