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In spite of its widespread use and the well known potential hazards associated with exposure to ionizing radiation, countries are poorly ill-equipped to protect their citizens in case of a fallout as seen in northeastern region of Japan. In case of nuclear fallout, there is no practical way to save people from the hazardous effects of ionizing radiation. Health authorities may provide potassium iodide for people to prevent thyroid cancer. Another preventive attempt would be using amifostine, a well known agent with radioprotective features. Melatonin (N-acetyl-5-methoxytryptamine) is a pineal product which is also known to have robust radioprotective features. Both human and experimental animal studies have clearly shown that it is a unique antioxidant and a DNA and chromosome protector against a variety of harmful agents including ionizing radiation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]