How can you protect yourself and others from radiation?

Answer 1

There are multiple types of radiation, and there are different means of protecting yourself from them.

Solar radiation is, by far, the most common as it comes from the sun. Even though we depend on the sun and it has always been there, solar radiation can cause serious problems or even death with overexposure. Staying indoors and away from sunlight going through windows (including sunlight reflecting off of glaciers, snow, glass or water) is the surest way to avoid damage from solar radiation. Second to that would be clothing to cover as much of one's skin as possible and sunglasses to prevent solar radiation damage to one's eyes. Any skin that is exposed should have sunblock with both UVA and UVB protection, and an SPF factor of at least 30 before becoming exposed to sunlight.

Radioactive material, such as radium or xenon, is another source of radiation exposure. Any element with an atomic number higher than Bismuth is radioactive (technically Bismuth itself is radioactive, but the half-life of Bismuth is a billion times the estimated age of the universe, so it emits such a tiny amount of radiation that it would not register on most geiger counters) as well as heavier isotopes of lighter elements. Most smoke detectors use a tiny amount of radioactive material, but the radiation emitted by the material is slight and usually does not penetrate outside the shell of the smoke detector. Cell phones may have radioactive materials in them, but unfortunately it is not yet known how much of a problem they cause. Although the amount of radioactive material is small, it is a concern because of how close cell phones are kept to our bodies; even when not in use, most people keep their cell phone on their belt or in a pocket and when in use, its right against your head. Using Blue-Tooth or other wireless technology with your cell phone instead of directly putting a cell phone to your ear to handle a call can, at least, prevent whatever radiation might emit from being in such direct contact with your most vital organ: your brain.

Almost all nuclear fission reactors emit radiation that is higher than normal background radiation during normal operation. Ongoing research has found statistically higher incidences of cancer and other known side effects of radiation even when radiation emission from reactors do not exceed currently established safety limits. Unfortunately, the constant emission of radiation saturate broadly around the reactor over time. The only sure-fire effective way to avoid radiation damage from a nuclear reactor is to never live, travel or be near one.

Nuclear fission reactors are complex machines, and human error (such as occurred at Chernobyl and Three Mile Island) or natural disaster (such as the Fukushima reactor in Japan) can trigger the unintentional and potentially catastrophic release of radioactive material into the air and water in a meltdown or near-meltdown incident, contaminating the air and ground for dozens of miles. Radioactive dust can be breathed in, or water or food (plants, dairy, poultry, meat, etc.) produced in or transported through areas contaminated with airborne byproducts of runaway nuclear reactions may be contaminated with radiation. When disaster strikes a nearby nuclear reactor, it is a good idea to use a dust mask to avoid breathing in radioactive dust. If possible, get at least 20-30 miles from the reactor and not downwind of the reactor. Do not eat food or drink liquids harvested after the radiation release (generally, the stuff that was already in your fridge before the incident is okay; your house blocks some radiation and prevents most radioactive dust from getting inside except through ventilation or air conditioner, and refrigerators tend to be air-tight such that it is unlikely radioactive dust would get directly inside). Water that was already bottled before a nuclear reactor incident should be safe unless it was very close to really intense radiation.

Nuclear weapons are almost the worst radiation exposure that one can get, as there is an intense blast of pure radiation at the moment of detonation ... it does not need to be carried by wind as dust, the first dose of radiation will emit out. Some can be blocked by normal, healthy skin; some need a thin sheet of metal before it will be blocked, but some radiation emitted by a nuclear weapon detonation would need several inches of lead to be stopped. Avoid looking into the blast, and place yourself to put as much as you can directly between you and the blast. Draw curtains over a window and stay behind a wall or large object like a car, if possible.

A nuclear blast will generate a lot of smoke (the immense heat from the detonation can cause spontaneous fires miles from the point of detonation, depending on the detonation yield) and dust which will be contaminated with radiation. A cloud-like plume will rise from ground zero (the spot the weapon detonated) and will be carried by prevailing wind (the wind driving normal weather clouds); dust and moisture will cause radiation to essentially fall from this cloud, so you want to avoid being beneath this cloud with any means available. Any device containing electronic circuitry may be disabled by an invisible electromagnetic shockwave emanating from the nuclear blast, so a car exposed to this invisible shockwave may not start, and even if a cell tower survived the direct blast, a mobile phone or computer may not work at all; if you want to get away from the danger zone, you may have to do so solely on foot or with means not involving any electronic components (such as a bicycle or horse). The longer you are in the area of a nuclear blast, the greater your chances of serious radiation exposure, so get out when and how you can safely do so.

To date, only two nuclear weapons have been detonated in hostile acts: upon Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan some 66 years ago. There were a number of terrifying moments of the cold war between the United States and the then-Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR, aka the Soviet Union), and for a long time (especially early on) a lot of Americans believed or were lead to believe that a nuclear war between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. was inevitable. The U.S. and the U.S.S.R. engaged in a very worrisome nuclear arms race, racing with each other to build more and bigger bombs. Fortunately, in the 1980s, the cold war ended ... by that time, the crazy doctrine appropriately acronymed M.A.D. -- Mutually Assured Destruction -- had reduced the threat most Americans have felt about the likelihood of the U.S. becoming the target of a nuclear strike ... and after the fall, it seemed improbable, a silly, forgotten paranoia of a by-gone era.

Unfortunately, the world has changed and not for the better. Nuclear weapons have proliferated to smaller, less stable governments that seem to have less interest in self-preservation. The United States has incurred several terrorist acts in Oklahoma City, New York and our national capital. With the number of billions of people living in the world upticking higher and higher, and nuclear weapons being spread to less civilized places more and more despite stockpile reductions in the U.S. and Russia, the cold, hard fact is the United States is vulnerable to a nuclear weapon and it is a real and valid concern. Whether a crackpot state dictator, stateless terrorist or even domestic terrorist, the best missile defense we have can't protect against some guy lugging around a bomb in a box. Equipment and manpower to detect radiation from terrorist bombs is well beyond the budget of our government to constantly scan 100% of all incoming cargo (to say nothing of a homegrown bomb from a domestic terrorist). Add to the mix, the world economy being what it is and getting worse for some, those with a nuke on hand might be tempted more and more to make a buck pawning it to a nasty person ... so it might seem silly and paranoid because its never really happened on U.S. soil, but it is still sensible to plan for the contingency of a nuclear weapon detonation.

Answer 2

That depends on the type of radiation.

Radiation can be broken down into standard radiation and nuclear radiation.

Nuclear radiation can be broken into alpha, beta, and gamma radiation.

Alpha is easily blocked, as it can only travel about a foot through the air and if you hold the material in your hand, it will only go into a few layers of your skin. However, it is still radiation and so can damage the cells in your skin, which can get into your blood and causes many complecations, so don't hold it in bare hands.

Beta is a little tougher, but can still be blocked by a few sheets of tin foil or other metal. It can get through the skin and make it into capilaries in the body and cause issues that way.

Gamma is much more penetrating and greatly varies in how much energy it can have. Some gamma can travel through feet of concrete.

For standard ratiation, well that is just light. This includes visible light, infra-red light, UV light, and also radiowaves, microwaves, and x-rays (as these are light as well). Gamma radiation also falls into this category (it is in both), it is like the Hulk of UV light (the kind that gives sunburns and skin cancer, but this stuff does that like there is no tomorrow). Above gamma (meaning more powerful and dangerous) is cosmic waves.

Answer 3

There are three types of radiation.alpha particles beta particles and gammarays.Alpha particles can be stopped with a sheet of papaer beta particles with a ' sheet ' of alluminium but gamma rays need a large peace of leed.when radiation is emitted it is dangerous to go there for many many years.it causes cncer and radiation poisoning and many other anomalies.basically that's why.i hope i helped.

Answer 4

Nuclear_Radiation_Protection If you can get a radiation detector and test the level for yourself. If you just want to be sure, here are the best ways (listed in the order of importance) that you can protect yourself from nuclear radiation poisoning's harmful effects:

Zeolite: Get some natural zeolites (zeolit)

Ginseng: A good Blended Ginseng modulates the body's ability to remove radioactive debris

Kelp: (bio-available Iodine - one of the natural foods that fight radiation exposure)

Ashwagandha: Helps the thyroid remove radiation

Fulvic Acid: (breaks down radiation and heavy metals accumulated in the body)

Chlorella: Highest chlorophyll content supplement - squelches radioactive debris

Nascent Iodine: a consumable iodine in its atomic form that attracts and removes radioactive toxins from the thyroid and body

Sea Salt: Natural protection to help your body detox radiation

Reishi Mushroom: Very Powerful Immunity Builder.

Answer 5

First off staying away from nuclear disasters or nuclear fallout. Secondly if you are exposed to radiation; potassium iodine is a good supplement to take to help protect your thyroid from radiation poisoning.

Answer 6

ionizing radiation can cause single or double breaks or dimers between base pairs in DNA all of which can cause transcription errors when the cell replicates leading to cell death or mutation

Answer 7

nuclear radiated tomatoes are tasty