Pros And Cons Of Nuclear Radiation

Radiation therapy can be used anywhere in the body to treat any kind of cancer. Depending on what type of radiation therapy, it can have some side effects. The most common ones include fatigue, hair loss near the treated area, and skin darkening in the area exposed to a beam of radiation. ("Radiation Therapy for Cancer,” 1) There are also safety concerns that patients have when they are treated with radiation therapy. Many people that receive radiation therapy treatment, worry about exposing family and love ones to radiation, as well as the side effects. Radiation effects on the normal tissues are divided into acute and chronic effects (Schreiber). Acute effects occur during the course of therapy and during the post therapy period (approximately 2-3 weeks after the completion of a course of irradiation) (Schreiber).

Radioactivity is when energy is emitted from the nucleus due to the nucleus being unstable. The 3 types of radiation are Alpha ,Beta and gamma. Alpha particles have 2 protons and two neutrons. Examples of radioactive nuclei that emit alpha radiation. Are : uranium, thorium, actinium, and radium They are very ionising so they give energy off onto whatever they are in contact with. Therefore, it loses energy more quickly. They are not very penetrating so can be stopped by a piece of paper or skin. Beta particles have 1

Nuclear medicine procedures utilize very small doses of short-lived isotopes (ones that only stay radioactive for a few hours or days), the amount of radiation received is generally less than or equal to that of an x-ray. Whole body and healthy tissue doses can be minimized while the radioisotope is targeted toward the affected tissue or organ. The isotope is then eliminated by the body through the urine or fecal matter.

It is now known that radium, shown in figure 4, is a potent carcinogen (a substance the cause’s cancer (Wilbraham, Staley, Marta, & Waterman, 2005)). It emits a form of ionizing radiation which “includes electromagnetic radiation (e.g., gamma rays and X-rays) as well as particles (e.g., alpha particles, beta particles, high-speed neutrons, high-speed electrons, high-speed protons, etc.)” (National Library of Medicine, n.d.). Acute studies have been done on the effects of radium exposure on the human body by organizations like the Geneva World Health Organization, the International Agency for Research on Cancer, and Monographs on the Evaluation of the Carcinogenic Risk of Chemicals to Man. As a result of their findings, The National Library of Medicine states that sufficient evidence has been provided showing that prolonged exposure to Raduim-224, Radium-226,

Beginning with the accident at Three Mile Island in 1979, a widespread belief has proliferated that all levels of ionizing radiation are dangerous. Since 1980, radiation hormesis studies have shown there is actually a threshold of danger with high level exposures, but below that threshold low dose radiation is essentially safe and quite possibly beneficial to life. Yet, this relatively new, seemingly contradictory understanding of radiation's health effects has gone essentially unknown to the general public. In order to grasp the reasons why, we must again return to the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

According to Ecker and Bramesco, the majority of the understanding of the effects of radiation comes from the research from the atomic bombings of the town of Hiroshima and Nagasaki (107). There is a greater effect when a dose of radiation is given all at once rather than over an extended period of time (105), However, as soon as radiation hits an individual there are some immediate effects and more long term effects. Some long issues that has come up due to the radiation of the atomic bomb were the more frequent cases of leukemia, cancer, and cataracts than people who weren’t affected from radiation (Ecker and Bramseco 107). Also, mutations can be a long term effect. Naturally, mutations occur at a low rate. Radiation can increase the number of mutation cases because it is a mutagen (Nasr and Hoyle). Some short term effects would be radiation sickness called acute somatic effects. Acute means severe and somatic means ‘related to the body’. The first signs of radiation sickness are nausea, throwing-up, and fever and

Alpha, beta and gamma come from nuclear of an atom and they called radioactive, because it gives off radiation. These radiations absorb by different thickness of materials such as: Alpha radiation only travel few centimetre in the air, beta radiation travels tens centimetre in the air however gamma travel many meter in the air. If the substance is thicker, the more radiation it will absorbed.

Although the types of toxicities are comparable to prior research, there has been minimal data reported regarding the specific nature and severity of these toxicities experienced during XRT. In the current study, maximal incidence of Grade 2 severity across the toxicities monitored in this study ranged from 12-68%. This data supports that XRT induced toxicities in this clinical group were mostly mild and the majority of the patients did not require SLP intervention to manage symptoms, including dysphagia, while undergoing treatment. The low level of severe toxicities experienced by patients in our current study was similar to that found in the few studies to date which examined early toxicities following PGC management. Oliver et al. (2004) found that only 23% of their study population of 25 patients who underwent XRT experienced Grade 2 mucositis, which is directly comparable to the incidence of oral mucositis (24%) and pharyngeal mucositis (28%) in the current cohort. In comparison, Chung et al. (2011) and Patel et al. (2014) reported only 3-5% of their study population experienced Grade 2 mucositis. Chung et al. also reported low incidence of Grade 2 xerostomia (5%), while Patel et al. reported only Grade 1 xerostomia and dysgeusia in 5%. These maximal incidence rates for early toxicities are much lower than the current study data. However different rating scales (Radiation Therapy Oncology Group

There are many different types of nuclear energy. Radon is a radioactive element (Rn) that is incredibly dangerous. This toxic element has an atomic number of 86 and an atomic weight of 222. Radon is odorless and a colorless gas, but can also be a transparent liquid or a solid. Radon can be used in cancer treatment and spas for medical treatment. However, Radon is known as the second leading cause to lung cancer and exposure to Radon in your home can be deadly. It is incredibly important to test for Radon in your home because it is not always evident when it is there.

Unlike its partner in crime toxic waste, nuclear waste gets most to the publicity and is more likely to be talked about on the news. Nuclear or radioactive waste is anything that has been exposed the radioactive rays. The big three are Alpha, Beta, and Gamma. Alpha rays cannot penetrate the skin but are very dangerous to one's lungs. Beta rays can be blocked by aluminum foil, and even thick clothing. Gamma rays although the worst, are the type of ray that most people are exposed too. Because of its ability to to pass through many materials, it is used in x-rays. Notice at the dentist, when you take x-rays your are alone in a room. Hopefully if you have good dentist, they will cover you with a thick heavy lead vest to block the rays, and they will also leave the room so they aren't exposed either. X-rays and MRI’s however emit low level gamma radiation. Places where gamma rays are threatening and can contaminate material can be found in nuclear power plants, hospitals, laboratories, and

The Hazards of a radiological attack are actually quite numerous and varied. The first thing that most confuse is that a nuclear bomb and a radiological weapon are not the same thing. Nuclear weapons focus of the explosion where radiologic weapons seek to spread radioactivity when detonated (Karam, 2005, 503). With that being said, the main hazard with a radiologic weapon is not the explosion, though that could be devastating, and is more based on the amount of radiation and the area affected by it.

The main source of radiation exposure to human life is Radon( 222Rn ) and its progeny which represent nearly 50% of the total human exposure to radiation from natural sources.222Rn is a radioactive gas producing from decay of Radium( 226Ra ) which is found in a wide variety of rocks, soil, natural gas and ground water. Most water sources in the earth’s crust have different levels of Radon concentration depend on the local geological characteristic of the source. Radon gas enters into the human body by inhalation and ingestion of drinking water and eating food, subsequently cause damage to sensitive cells of organs in the body ,such as respiratory and digestion systems.

The use of radioactive elements in medicine is still growing to this day. Many oncologists use it to treat their patients who have cancer. Many cancer patients use this option. They use the radiation to kill off cancer cells. X-ray technicians or radiologists will also use it to administer x-rays to people who may have a broken bone, or need an MRI. The patient is injected with a radioactive material that helps the doctor be able to see inside the body better, whether it be with pictures or ultrasound. Radioactive material is defined as “material that contains radioactivity and thus emits ionizing radiation. It may be material that contains natural radioactivity from the environment or a material that may have been made radioactive.” (The Healthy Physics Society). This happens when someone needs a colonoscopy. They have to drink or are injected with this liquid that helps their organs and all other masses in the body be seen better by the radioactive materials.

radiation (the kind used in X-rays) is known to cause cancer at high doses, the risks of

Radiation is the process of which energy is emitted either by particles or waves. (Radiation, n.d.) . Radioactive isotopes are chemical elements that have different masses and spare energy by emitting radiation in for of alpha, beta, and gamma rays. Gamma rays are photons with high energy and a very short wavelength of 0.0005 to 0.1nm. (What is Radioactivity? What is Radiation?, n.d.) Every chemical element has one or more radioactive isotopes, for example carbon, it has 3 isotopes with different mass numbers, 12, 13, and 14. Radioactive isotopes have many different useful applications. In medicine, for example, Cobalt -60 is used as a radiation source to stop the growth of cancer in the body. Another use for radioactive isotopes is in industry,