What are two primary examples of stochastic radiation effects?

• A. Erythema and cataracts.
• B. Hair loss and decreased fertility.
• C. Cancer and genetic mutations.
• D. Cataracts and hair loss.

Answer: (C)

Stochastic radiation effects are health effects that occur by chance and with probability that increases as the radiation dose increases, without a clear threshold. The two classic examples are cancer and genetic mutations. With higher doses, the likelihood of DNA damage leading to cancer rises, and the chance of heritable genetic changes also increases, but the severity isn’t fixed to the dose in the same way as deterministic effects.

Deterministic, or nonstochastic, effects appear only after crossing a certain threshold and become more severe as the dose grows. Erythema, cataracts, and hair loss are typical examples of these threshold-based effects, which is why they don’t describe stochastic risk.

So the pairing that reflects stochastic effects is cancer and genetic mutations.