Does Food Irradiation Risk My Life?

There are two reactions that happen in the human body when ionizing radiation within the diagnostic range (30-150 kilovolt peak) is

Food irradiation (the application of ionizing radiation to food) is a technology that improves the safety and extends the shelf life of foods by reducing or eliminating microorganisms and insects (“U.S. Food and Drug Administration” 1). If food is not irradiated correctly, there may potentially be health hazards.

Of the liver enzymes that showed elevations in their serum concentrations following irradiation in the current study, only the early increase in the AST level was significant (Fig. 9). ALT is also a marker of hepatic damage, and it is found exclusively in the cytoplasm of cells. In contrast, AST is present in the cytoplasm, which comprises 20% of its total activity, and in the mitochondria, which comprises 80% of its total activity (Rej 1989). While the recruited granulocytes and the gamma irradiation could damage some periportal hepatocytes, irradiation treatment may have a more damaging effect on the numerous large mitochondria that reside within the hepatocytes, which would lead to a greater

The study found fathers who had high ionizing radiation dose recordings prior to conception, their children had an increased RR of 6.42 95% CI (1.57 to 26.3) when compared to the control population additionally the study also found children living near the plant had a increased RR of 2.44 95% CI (1.04 to 5.71) while control children had a protective affect with a RR of 0.17 95% CI ( 0.05 to 0.53) (Gardner 1990 endnote

Gamma radiation is weakly emitted from depleted uranium+ but the fact that internalized uranium has direct contact with cells within the human body is cause for concern. Gamma radiation is a mutagen, meaning that is causes incorrect replication of DNA within a cell. The incorrect replication in DNA occurs because the radiation causes free radical to develop within a cell that cause an incorrect order of nucleotides, and when the cell replicates so does the error. This continued replication of Incorrect cells can become malignant and cause cancer+. The human body is resilient and does eject the uranium from the body through

Multiple risks are associated from exposure to radiation. Different parts of the body specifically absorb more radiation in comparison to others parts. Several factors are convoluted when determining the potential health effects from radiation exposure. These include:

When one thinks of radiation exposure and how it can impact the body, the belief tends to lean on the example of Hiroshima and Nagasaki after the United States dropped the nuclear bombs upon them. The fallout from this attack killed thousands initially, but also has continued to kill many due to cancer from the radiation. However, this is what is to be considered a large dose over a short amount of time and while seemingly detrimental; it is smaller doses over a long period of time that can prove to be more costly.

Radiation affects people by depositing energy in body tissue, which can cause cell damage or cell death. In several cases there may be no obvious effect. In other cases, the cell might survive but grow to be abnormal, either temporarily or permanently. Furthermore, an abnormal cell could become malignant. Both large and small doses of

Nuclear bombs are starting to become an issue in this day in age with uprising technology. Nuclear chemicals have always been a safety problem but with the growing number of plants it’s starting to become a higher risk. One of the alarming effects that nuclear plants are creating is radiation, radiation can create so many

Both types of treatment cause common side effects, yet the severity of the symptom varies depending on where radiation therapy was used in order to eradicate the cancer. Neutrons, used in particle radiation, are much harsher than protons and electrons because they have 20 to 100 times as much energy (Neutron therapy: A rare and special kind of radiation. (n.d.). However, fast moving neutrons such as those produced by a nuclear fission have so much energy due to the splitting of atoms in a nuclear reactor that it then becomes destructive to human tissue, causing serious health effects (Nuclear radiation and health effects. 2015). ATRSO, the American Society for Therapeutic and Radiation Oncology, stated in their review of proton therapy, “while proton beam therapy is not a new technology, its use in the treatment of prostate cancer is evolving” and other types of cancer as well (Use of proton beam therapy for prostate cancer. 2013, February 1). Feeling emotionally, physically and mentally fatigued is not only a common side effect of cancer, yet experienced by patients undergoing treatment as well. Skin problems and irritation may also occur as a result of radiation therapy, where the skin around the treatment area may become red,

Irradiation is an intimidating word to consumers who incorrectly associate it with radioactivity, mutations and other dangerous notions (Osterholm). The true technique for food irradiation involves using either x-rays or gamma rays to transmit

The tissues and cells of the body are defined in both structure and composition. Ionizing radiation contains sufficient energy to break chemical bonds and as an example normal ionization has at least six times the energy required to break the bond of two carbon atoms (How does radiation affect humans?, n.d., Para 2). As chemical bonds are broken by this radiation, the structure and composition of the cell may be compromised. Effects may include broken or altered DNA chains which then contain compromised instructions for the cells. I consider this comparable to a corrupt file on the operating system of a computer where a majority of the needed files are correct, but the alteration is large enough that the computer cannot function properly.

Unlike high dose of gamma radiation, a small dose of radiation had a significant and negative effects on the victims in China. This study strongly proved that gamma radiation negatively affected the health because the accidental Ir-192 gamma radiation caused a variety of cancer even with small doses of radiation: .05 - .65 Gy (Li). Iridium 192 is a radioactive isotope that has a half-life of 73.82 days which means that these radiations may occur rapidly. Also, the victims who were exposed to this radiation had limited knowledge that certain machinery expelled the gamma radiation (Li). 54 people were conducted on a 10-year test to check their health. The method was very simple because the researchers gathered and then studied blood samples, bone marrow, and their T cell subsets (Li). The results revealed basic clinical symptoms such as an increase in dizziness, fatigue, memory loss, insomnia for 90.7 % of the people in the first month, but as time passed by, the study

Single strand breaks is when one piece of the backbone of the helix is broken; base deletion. 2000 per cell after typical daily dose of 180-200 cGy. This can easily be repaired. Radiation will damage the cell then enzymes come in and heal the damage with another strand. Sometimes the

Disadvantages: If the radiation is not administered correctly, the bacteria will not be destroyed but might actually mutate into a strain of a disease that will be difficult to treat or detect by medical professionals. (McAllister 2011) If the machinery used to emit the radiation is faulty, then food could actually be contaminated by radioactive