Radiation around us in everywhere, we can receive radiation from the natural or artificially by manmade. Radiation produced when the atom change its internal structure by emitting electromagnetic radiation or particle (beta and alpha) trying to be stable or radiation can produced when some particle interact with the atom. We receive radiation from cosmic rays, building materials and from terrestrial sources as in rocks and soils which contain small quantities of the radioactive elements uranium with daughter products. The rate of dose from natural radiation is 1 mSv/year. The other source of radiation is by man-made like radiation produced in diagnostic and therapeutic department or radiation that produced from radioactive wastes and the rate of doses occurring by manmade are about 0.4 mSv/year. When radiation passes through the matter it produces ionizing radiation which causes biological effects.
The affects that produced from radiation are grouped into two types, stochastic effects which occurs by chance and its probability increases as the absorbed dose increase also there is no threshold for the stochastic effects so it occurs randomly such as cancer and genetic effects , these effects often take years to show up, the other type is non-stochastic effects which cause most biological effects and its severity varies with dose also there is threshold for non-stochastic effects if the specific dose of the organ exceeded it must increases the occurring of the non-stochastic effect for examples erythema , infertility, death and skin burns.
According to these effects the scientists learned that the radiation was not only beneficial, but it could be dangerous to the human body, thus they try to minimize the harmful radiati...
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...is no threshold for it so radiation must be low to prevent any chance for the cancer and other diseases. The ALARA principle must be applied at any procedure.
It is important to evaluate the benefit of the radiation and it must be more than the harms also if there is no benefit so there is no reason to expose the person to radiation. In all application it must justified if there is no benefit.
The responsibility in any procedure is referred to the Technologist who will do the examination and provide a good procedure with short time and to care about the patient without overexposure. The radiologist accept the responsibility with the technologist about reduce the exposure as possible .Also the physician who order the examination is responsible for exposure the patient to necessary examination and it must be avoid expose the patient for unwanted radiation.
Since the beginning of the propitious world, the core aspect that keeps it thriving is the propensity for people to discover innovations; however, progress of the past is, systematically, detrimental to the future. Not long after the revolutionary invention of the X-ray in the late 19th Century, an unprecedented number of medical examiners noticed (unknown to the time) radiation burns all over their body; decades later, an extraordinary surge in cancer cases had arisen. Perhaps, during the course of these years, scientists and researchers desired to further progress the x-ray (into the immense subsidiaries that are here today), and disregarded any flaws in the apparatus. This systematic inclination continues into the present time as Gary Marshall and Shane Keene notes in their 2007 article, “New technologies allow for patients to be overexposed routinely, and also allow for repeats to be taken quickly, making it easier for a technologist to multiply the patients dose without considering the implications” (5). The gaffes of radiology are present not only in the diagnostic setting, but also in the surgical and therapeutic areas. Working with radiation, it is imperative that the staff is aware of mistakes that are potentially fatal not only for patients, but themselves. It is especially important for medical radiologists to be cognizant of pediatric patients. The standard practice of pediatric radiology in the United States is to follow the step-by step formula from which adult patients are treated and diagnosed. There are copious consequences for following this technique since a child naturally has less body mass and a weaker immune and lymphatic system to manage radiation and its adverse effects. Medical radiology, being a...
Radiation therapy is a growing field that has not been around very long. This field works with patients that have many different types of cancer ranging from leukemia, lung cancer, prostate cancer, cervical cancer, and brain cancer among others. Cancer can be effectively treated using surgical, chemical and radiation treatment or a combination of the three. Many advantages and disadvantages have emerged when considering the use of radiation therapy and these pros and cons should be discussed thoroughly between the Oncologist and patient before a decision has been made on a course of action. Special licensing is required to enter this specialized field of radiation therapy and can be obtained through special programs.
Radiation is something that the naked eye cannot see, yet has the potential to save lives one treatment at a time or even one image at a time. Since the discovery of x-rays in 1895, it has branched out into numerous modalities each independently specializing in their own ways. X rays are used to aid in the diagnosis and treatments of patients on a case by case scenario. Sometimes doctors can make a diagnosis on the same day or conclude that a patient will require radiation therapy within weeks to follow. Whatever it may be, the importance of x rays and radiation itself is a crucial part of the medical field when it comes to saving lives. Initially it all started with the discovery of x rays but then three years later radiation therapy was introduced to aid with
Radiation has always been in everyday life even before Roentgen discovered x-ray. The mountains give off natural radiation, other forms of radiation are coal burning power plants, x-rays from a TV, and an airplane ride. The average dose from background radiation is about 360 mrem every year. There are two types of radiation, nonionizing and ionizing radiation. Examples of nonionizing radiation are microwaves and radio waves broadcasting. Ionizing radiation refers to gamma and x-rays. Ionizing radiation means that the rays are able to remove an electron from the atom then ions can be formed. The ions can cause damage when reacting with other atoms. Cells are able to be repaired if low dose are received. However, if cells get a high dose, the cells will be damaged or possibly die. If the cell is damaged permanently then it is referred to as a mutated cell.
If one is affected by cancer, there are treatments to help take away this illness affecting their body. This essay is about a specific type of treatment for cancer, radiation therapy. There are different types of forms of particles for radiation, for example, protons and waves like x-rays and visible light. These types of radiations are grouped on how much energy they contain because they can cause different effects. A low type of energy radiation can be radio waves and heat, also known as non-ionizing radiation.
The use and management of radioactive materials is not a topic that is generally discussed in abundance to everyday citizens. Many people do not know what radioactive waste is or even the effect that it can have on the human body. Radioactive waste is a type of waste that has some type of radioactive material inside of it. The managing of this radioactive waste is extremely important because it can cause damage to living tissue. Without a place to properly dispose of or contain, the radioactive waste can contaminate our water, food, air, or even our land. If this happened it would be detrimental to all human’s health, causing many different problems throughout the world not only with the health of the population, but problems with the environment as well. Therefore it is vital that we have somewhere to put these radioactive wastes.
Nuclear energy has been a controversial source of alternative energy since it has been made practical in the 1950s. The goal of nuclear energy was to find a sustainable resource that would be able to replace the use of fossil fuels. Due to the exploitation and finite supply of resources such as oil and coal, an alternative to fossil fuels was needed quickly in order to provide sustainability for the future of the world. A question arises, however, when nuclear energy is considered as a source of energy: Is nuclear energy a reasonable alternative to fossil fuels?
Nuclear power is the generation of electricity from an atomic reaction. (World Statistics: Nuclear Energy Around the World n.d.) Though it produces zero carbon emissions there has been a decline in support for nuclear power and increased its support for alternative energies in the pursuit for a fossil free energy sector. Factors that have resulted in the reduction of support for nuclear energy include nuclear accidents and waste and the positives of renewable energy which include clean energy, sustainable and reduced health and environmental risks.
Nuclear energy is produced from the splitting of millions of uranium atoms in a very interesting process called fission. This type of process is used in big power plants where there are numerous tools and machinery that help produce the energy. From generators to pumps to turbines and transformers there are up to 12 main components that all come and work together to create high amounts of electricity. The fission process is used to produce a lot of heat and steam from the reactor where uranium rods are placed. That very hot steam then travels to big turbines and spins them through the generator to generate and produce high amounts of electricity. The electricity then travels to transformers and from there it travels through land wires that run hundreds of miles into cities and towns (World Nuclear Association [WNA], 2014).
Radiation exposure can affect children as well an children have the risk of being the most harmfully effected by radiation because their body absorbs substances differently also their bodies can or are more likely to get certain kinds of cancers from too much exposure, “they are also closer to the ground, where radioactive fallouts settle.”
...why does the technologist step behind a shield to prevent exposure to themself?" The radiation dose for each exam is relatively small, but over time, the dose can add up. There are many state and federal regulations limiting the total radiation dose that may be received by people working with radiation. To comply with those regulations, the technologist must follow strict precautions to keep their cumulative exposure to a minimum.
The process of irradiating food can produce chemicals that cause harmful tumors. Another disadvantage of irradiating food is that it diminishes the nutritional value and causes kidney and chromosomal damage. Moreover, Food Irradiation will leave some radiation-resistant bacteria which will multiply and eventually Food Irradiation will become ineffective. Irradiation doses demolish the bacteria that cause viruses, botulism and prions. Irradiated food not only causes health problems, but its factories produce toxic waste which causes chronic diseases to the labors. This issue is adding to the already radioactive wastes which are destroying our atmosphere and causing global warming.
Studies of children born to mothers who received whole-body radiation between 50 and 100 radiation following the Japanese atomic bombings showed that children had and increased risk for small brain size and mental retardation. This was especially true for those women who were eight to fifteen weeks pregnant are the time of exposure. Those children that were exposed to radiation compared to those that were not exposed, is that they had lower intelligence test scores and performed at a lower level. Estimates state that up to 200,000 had died by 1950, due to cancer and other long-term effects
The energy in ionizing radiation can cause chemical changes in the the cells that can lead to damaging them. Most of the cells can either permanently or temporarily become abnormal or they can just die. Radiation can cause cancer by damaging the DNA in the body. The damage of the cells can also depend on how long the organs are exposed (environmental protection agency, 2017, unknown). If someone has many exposures at one time that radiation in the body keeps adding on. As well as if its only a little bit of exposure in on day and years later you get exposed again it keeps adding on the radiation will never leave the body. Having radiation in your body doesn’t affect you right away but as you get older it starts to show and you feel it. Chronic exposure is when someone is exposed many time for long periods. When this happens the type of effects it will carry is having harmful generic change, cancer, tumors, and even cataracts. Partial health effects can also depend on if it was internal or external exposure. Internal exposure is when either by drinking, breathing, eating and even an injection cause radiation to get inside your body. External exposure is when taking an x-ray out of your body and letting it go through letting all the energy go as it goes in (environmental protection agency, 2017, unknown). In the dental world radiation gets into the patients when we take x-rays on there teeth. In order to avoid to much radiation on them we put a lead apron on them and make sure to cover their thyroid which is the most common way of getting cancer when taking an x-ray. When we take the x-ray we stand behind a wall at least 6 feet away to avoid ourself from getting
To save words we not go into the basic details of these radiations but these radiations make the radioisotopes our friend or foe. These radiations revolve round the issue of their use and disposal. Interestingly, both use and disposal are issues of concern. Disposal is an issue because the waste is non-biodegradable and the harmful radiations from them could cause cancer and alter genes in the DNA etc. The use of radioactivity is by itself an issue. Is it safe to use? Where shall the nuclear power plant be located? Where will the waste go?