answersLogoWhite

0


Want this question answered?

Be notified when an answer is posted

Add your answer:

Earn +20 pts
Q: What are the risks involved in being exposed to ionizing radiation?
Write your answer...
Submit
Still have questions?
magnify glass
imp
Continue Learning about Physics

Can exposure to radiation from working in nuclear power cause parkinsons disease?

Radiation has been known to cause neurological disorders. Parkinsons disease is therefore a risk of being developed in certain people who are exposed to the radiation. This applies to those who are exposed to the radiation more than others.


What is a safe amount of radiation?

Depends on the TYPE of radiation, how long you are exposed and the person being exposed. In the case of ionizing (nuclear) radiation, pregnant women and children have a lower safe level than other persons. For non-pregnant adults, 5,000 millirems per year is the maximum legal occupational exposure. However, the goal is always ALARA- a dose As Low As (is) Reasonably Achievable- meaning you do not expose a person for no reason. Other radiation- such as radio wave energy- has different levels. There is NO "safe" level that does not entail some risk of injury- just levels that are not found to be especially injurious.


What are the best ways to protect against the effects of exposure to radiation?

Ionizing radiation is "stopped" by passing the radiation through matter which becomes ionized. By definition, ionizing radiation will ionize material that it passes through. Ionization involves transferring energy, so the entity doing the ionizing loses energy. That is the simple answer. A closer look reveals greater complexity. One needs to be clear about language to be accurate in the question and answer. Normally when referring to ionizing radiation, one is referring to high energy particles that are causing the radiation. Normally, when we say such radiation is "stopped" we mean it is diminished to that the harmful effects are insignificant. One does not "stop" such radiation but rather one causes it to lose energy. There will always be a few stray particles with high energy even after the vast majority have lost so much energy that ionization has stopped occurring. If one wants to "stop" ionizing radiation, then creating a large enough (thick enough) barrier will effectively reduce the radiation to insignificance. Of course, depending on the nature of the radiation, some materials may be more effective than others in removing the energy from the radiation. Though ionization, i.e. exicting or removing electrons of atoms, is an important energy loss process, there are also processes that involve the interaction of the ionizing radiation with the nuclei of the material through which it passes. Bremsstrahlung is one such process and so is simple transfer of kinetic energy from the incident particle to the particle in the material. These kinds of processes are larger or smaller depending on the mass and energy of the "ionizing radiation" and so an effective discussion of how well a material can "stop" ionizing radiation depends on the ionizing radiation itself.


What type of radiation do nuclear weapons emit?

Nuclear weapons emit nuclear radiation, with gamma radiation being the most common and dangerous.


What are the 2 names of radiation?

There are two main types of radiation: External Radiation External radiation is the most common type of radiation, typically given after lumpectomy and sometimes, mastectomy. Internal Radiation Internal radiation is a less common method of giving radiation. It is being studied for use after lumpectomy.

Related questions

What are the dangers to patients and personnel from ionizing radiation?

Ionizing radiation can disrupt biological processes within cells. It can cause cellular mutation or cellular damage, and can even kill a cell. This potential requires we consider shielding personnel from the radiation. As to a patient, that individual is being exposed to the radiation as part of an imaging or treatment plan, and a specialist will be on hand to insure that only the required or prescribed exposure is administered, and radiation protection, perhaps in the form of shielding blankets, is placed if needed over areas adjacent to the site the radiation is to be directed.


What is the environmental and health effect of radiation?

being exposed to radiation could cause cancer.


Is radiation pneumonitis able to be passed to others?

Radiation pneumonitis is in relation to being exposed to radiation, therefore the only way another person could get this inflammation of the lungs is by having their person exposed to radiation as well.


Can exposure to radiation from working in nuclear power cause parkinsons disease?

Radiation has been known to cause neurological disorders. Parkinsons disease is therefore a risk of being developed in certain people who are exposed to the radiation. This applies to those who are exposed to the radiation more than others.


What is a safe amount of radiation?

Depends on the TYPE of radiation, how long you are exposed and the person being exposed. In the case of ionizing (nuclear) radiation, pregnant women and children have a lower safe level than other persons. For non-pregnant adults, 5,000 millirems per year is the maximum legal occupational exposure. However, the goal is always ALARA- a dose As Low As (is) Reasonably Achievable- meaning you do not expose a person for no reason. Other radiation- such as radio wave energy- has different levels. There is NO "safe" level that does not entail some risk of injury- just levels that are not found to be especially injurious.


What is Geiger meter?

A Geiger counter, also called a Geiger-Müller counter, is a type of particle detector that measures ionizing radiation. They are notable for being used to detect if objects emit nuclear radiation.


Define the term radiation exposure?

In the field of physics related to health, the term radiation exposure refers to people being exposed to radiation either through laboratory testing or in treatment of diseases.


What are the best ways to protect against the effects of exposure to radiation?

Ionizing radiation is "stopped" by passing the radiation through matter which becomes ionized. By definition, ionizing radiation will ionize material that it passes through. Ionization involves transferring energy, so the entity doing the ionizing loses energy. That is the simple answer. A closer look reveals greater complexity. One needs to be clear about language to be accurate in the question and answer. Normally when referring to ionizing radiation, one is referring to high energy particles that are causing the radiation. Normally, when we say such radiation is "stopped" we mean it is diminished to that the harmful effects are insignificant. One does not "stop" such radiation but rather one causes it to lose energy. There will always be a few stray particles with high energy even after the vast majority have lost so much energy that ionization has stopped occurring. If one wants to "stop" ionizing radiation, then creating a large enough (thick enough) barrier will effectively reduce the radiation to insignificance. Of course, depending on the nature of the radiation, some materials may be more effective than others in removing the energy from the radiation. Though ionization, i.e. exicting or removing electrons of atoms, is an important energy loss process, there are also processes that involve the interaction of the ionizing radiation with the nuclei of the material through which it passes. Bremsstrahlung is one such process and so is simple transfer of kinetic energy from the incident particle to the particle in the material. These kinds of processes are larger or smaller depending on the mass and energy of the "ionizing radiation" and so an effective discussion of how well a material can "stop" ionizing radiation depends on the ionizing radiation itself.


Why are mobile phones bad for little children?

Apart from the health issues of being exposed to radiation - It makes them susceptible to bullying and/or mugging.


Is radiation an xray?

No, they can't. X-rays, at least the high energy ones, are a form of ionizing radiation. Ionizing radiation can break chemical bonds, but it cannot activate a substance. That is, X-rays cannot make a substance radioactive. Only particulate radiation can "induce" radioactivity, and that will happen according to the type of particulate radiation and the material being bombarded. Cosmic rays are a form of electromagnetic radiation even more energetic than X-rays, and even they cannot make a substance radioactive. Because X-rays cannot make a substance radioactive, they cannot make a site, a room, or an area of any kind radioactive.


What happens when a metal is exposed to radiation?

Yes, if the "radioactive waves" are particulate radiation. Electromagnetic radiation (X-rays or gamma rays) are ionizing radiation, but they will not make something radioactive. Particulate radiation can do that; it can activate a substance. The nature of the resulting radioactive material will depend on what kind of particulate radiation a substance is exposed to, and what kind of substance is being exposed to the radiation. To cite an example, if we lower a "slug" of cobalt-59 into an operating nuclear reactor to bathe it in the neutron flux, the cobalt-59 will absorb a neutron and become cobalt-60. Cobalt-60 is a gamma ray emitter, and a strong one. We can withdraw our slug and put it in a "vault" or "casket" to shield us from the radiation, and then use this as a radiation source to perform X-ray analysis of welds in something like piping. We open a "door" on the package by remote control, of course. By having a portable source, we can avoid having to drag an X-ray machine somewhere and try to find a place to plug it in. We can also install a big source in an industrial setting to irradiate and sterilize something like band-aids. This first aid product is manufactured and packaged and then exposed to a big shot of radiation to "clean" it. And it works.


How does radiation cure people?

Radiation cure disease by being toxic to the tissues exposed to it. This means it would destroy both diseased and healthy tissues alike. Fortunately, modern technology allows us to focus the radiation more precisely and narrowly.