The Use Of Radiation And Its Effects On Living Organisms

Can be traced back to experiments made soon after the discovery of x-rays (1895), when it was shown that exposure to radiation produced cutaneous burns. The use of radiation continues today as a treatment for cancer in radiation therapy. Henri Becquerel discovered after multiple experiments that it was the material itself that gave off the rays. Later on Marie Curie named it radioactivity. She found out the elements which are thorium, polonium, and radium. Radiation was really helpful during World War 1. During that time, people found out that radiation materials that are high can be extremely dangerous. People can die because of radiation, because of radiation exposure. That was proven with, “Radium Girls”. In 1993, it provided a wealth of information on the long-term effect of radiation exposure. The case also provoked drastic changes in both the fields of workplace safety & liability, and the field of Health Physics, dealing with the health effects and safety issues involved in working with radioactive materials. The Manhattan Project that had a bomb involved, led to the long-term radiation exposure.

Discuss medical applications of nuclear radiation and their effects on society. Explain briefly how the applications work. Include some of the scientists involved in their discovery and development.

Do you ever wonder how radiation was discovered? Or when it was discovered? It all started in 1895, when Wilhelm Roentgen discovered x-rays. Six years later, he was honored with the first Nobel Prize in Physics; by then, doctors were already using primitive x-rays to diagnose illnesses(Men’s Health watch 1). The collaboration between physicians and physicists has continued ever since, resulting in amazing advances far beyond Roentgen’s wildest dreams. Physicists tell us that ionizing radiation delivers energy in the form of photons that pack enough oomph to strip electrons away from the nuclei of atoms(1). We are continuously exposed to tiny amounts of ionizing radiation from cosmic rays and naturally occurring radioactive elements here on earth. We accept this so-called background radiation without blinking an eye, but we

The amount of radiation people are being exposed to is continuously increasing. Medical imaging plays a big role in this increase, mostly being CT scans. This increase is radiation has been a concern to the public because of the risks patients face. It can result in long-term harm, such as increasing their chances of developing cancer. The concern has been more focused on pediatric patients because of their bodies’ greater sensitivity and they would have a longer amount of time they would have to embody any changes. Four societies started the Image Gently campaign to raise awareness of the need to decreases radiation doses when performing medical scans. Image Gently’s goal is to reduce unnecessary exposure to pediatric patients and was considered

The scientific community unanimously agrees that exposure to high levels of radiation is a health hazard. Many people feel unconcerned because they feel it’s not a relevant problem in their lives. However, there are over 71,000 tons of nuclear waste simple in temporary storage at the U.S.’s 104 nuclear reactors (Oliver). Nearly one out of three Americans live within a 50-mile radius of a reactor filled with waste (Oliver). Still many are skeptical remaining ignorant of the potential dangers of radiation exposure. The severity of the damage to a person’s heath due to radiation is based on how much radiation and how long they were exposed to the amounts of radiation. The amount of radiation a person receives is measured in “rem” and depending on that the health effects could range from no observable health effects, to cancer, to even death (Effects of Radiation). Even a fraction of the amount of radiation to kill a person could cause nausea, fatigue, vomiting, loss of appetite, loss of hair and abnormalities in blood cells (Effects of Radiation). Nuclear waste from a typical fuel rod will still have 2,000 times more rem than the required dosage to kill a person even after 10 years (USNRC).

There are three types of radiation that can bring about occupational exposure. Alpha radiation can be stopped by something as thin as a piece of paper or one’s hand (BBC, 2014). Those at risk for this exposure are those who install and maintain smoke detectors, which use Americium-241. In this mechanism, an electron current interrupts smoke particles, causing the alarm to trigger when it senses smoke (Bennett, 2017). Radium 226, which is an element that is injected into tumors to battle cancer, can affect radiology technicians and physicians that must come in close contact (Bennett, 2017). Plutonium 238, which no longer used, was used as batteries for pacemakers, leaving surgery personnel vulnerable to its effects (Bennett, 2017).

My science fiction article is taking the success of “Apollo 11”, the first time of human landing on the moon, as the background. That year, 1969, is also during the Cold War between the governments of the Soviet Union and the United States. And this victory, neither convinced Soviet Aeroflot of their lagging behind in the space race, nor explained well the “flaws” of collected pictures the NASA presented during the mission. Hence, Leonid Brezhnev, the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, hurriedly and secretly sent their first-made manned spacecraft, “Search 1”, with three astronauts to the moon for investigation in September of the same year. Even though Soviet’s astronauts are shielded from various forms of ionizing radiation, they unfortunately did not pass through the Van Allen Radiation Belts due to an overtime stay in that area caused by a large solar flare ever. The strong space radiation fried up all the astronauts and they did not manage to return. For a solid and sound interpretation of scientific aspects in the sci-fi article, this research paper, related to the topic of radiation exposure for astronauts, is generated to introduce the nature, source, forms, and harms of space radiation, and reveal the real plight astronauts would encounter during space travel. It is as well aiming to present

In an effort to address the issue of radio frequency radiation exposure in this community, we will provide a background on the sources of radio frequency radiation as well as the known and suspected health effects. We will also proposed two epidemiological studies and discuss risk management and

Shortly after Roentgen discovered x-rays in 1895, studies were done observing “the transfer of energy from the beam of radiation to the biologic system and the … effects of this interaction”, becoming the basic principles of radiation oncology (Frank et al, 2012, p. 469). As people were experimenting with the new founded x-ray, scientists began to notice the immediate and delayed effects of radiation (Frank et al, 2012, p. 469). Two of the main effects that were noticed were “epilation (loss of hair) and erythema (reddening of the skin)” (Frank et al, 2012, p. 469). These reactions were the cause of the skin absorbing the photons during the exams performed. During this time, the cause of diseases was unknown, so, the number of increased reported skin reactions were seen as evidence that x-rays could provide treatment to many diseases (Suit & Loeffler, 2011, p. 13). Radiation was then used to treat superficial abnormalities, such as “excessive hair, acne, and boils [to] malignant diseases such as lupus vulgaris and skin cancer” (Frank et al, 2012, p. 469). In Connecticut in January 1902, Skinner began treating a woman diagnosed with a malignant fibrosarcoma leading to the “first reported curative treatment using ionizing radiation” (Frank et al, 2012, p. 469). Over the course of two years and three months, the woman was exposed to x-rays a number of 136 times, and after seven years the woman was considered “cured” (Frank et al, 2012,, p. 469). The discovery of radium in 1898

At the present time, the human population is chronically exposed to natural and man-made sources of ionizing and non ionizing radiations, the latter being, for instance, electric and magnetic fields (EMF). Important sources of man-made

While the discovery of x-rays by Wilhelm Roentgen in 1895 was a major breakthrough in medical diagnosis and treatment, it was not without its own problems. The cancer-related deaths of earlier scientists like Pierre and Marie Curie, and Thomas Alva Edison who were directly exposed to radiation from their discoveries on radium and calcium tungstate respectively, were the proof of how dangerous the new breakthrough could be when handled without the necessary precautions. The work of Martha S. Linet, Kwang Pyo Kim, Donald L. Miller, Ruth A. Klienerman, Steven L. Simon, and Amy Berrington de Gonzalez traces the history of cancer risk in medical workers through the years from the early discovery of radiation. According to the findings done by Linet et al, recent research has found that cancer risk per dose of medical workers when measure is the same as that from the survivors of the Hiroshima atomic bombs. Apart from the research done mostly on the survivors of Japan’s Hiroshima atomic bomb, very little research has been done specifically to fully comprehend the scope of the devastation that comes along with a life time career as a medical radiation worker. Given this limitation, the research studies done by Linet et al focuses primarily on the impact on radiologist and radiologic technologists. Nevertheless, the limited research findings report a substantial decline in the number of cancers related deaths amongst medical radiation workers over the years. Linet et al’s research

This paper goes over radiation safety precautions and all the health risk dealing with radiation. I will discuss the discovery of radiation, non-iodizing and iodizing radiation, natural exposure to radiation, Alpha, Beta, and Gamma radiation and how they affect us. Also the paper will be going over radiation from human activities: underground miners, radiologists, medical

Exposure to ionizing radiation induces oxidative damage that leads to alteration of tissue physiological function as observed in the present study. This was evidenced by significant elevation in kidney MDA content. These results match the increase in lipid peroxidation post irradiation obtained by Srinivasan et al. (2007) and Pratheeshkumar and kuttan (2011). Free radicals generated by irradiation react with unsaturated lipids generating hydroperoxides, which in turn can induce changes in lipid bilayer thereby altering the membrane permeability and inducing lipid peroxidation (Suzuki et al. 1997). Also, significant elevation of kidney GSH contents were observed in irradiated rats. This increase in GSH level may be due to transcriptional

Many people fear radiation but do not fully understand what it is and how it affects us. So we’re going to investigate the amount of

There are three types of radiation – Alpha, Beta and Gamma. Alpha is 2 protons and 2 neutrons is the most ionising but the least penetrating. It is the most dangerous but is stopped by a few cm of air or a piece of paper. Beta is a high speed electron from the nucleus. It is moderately ionising and stopped by a few cm of aluminium. Gamma is a high frequency electromagnetic wave and is the least ionising but the most penetrating. It is the least dangerous but is only stopped by a few cm of lead or several cm of concrete. Radiation is used in smoke detectors, metal detectors, to test the thickness of paper or plastic, to sterilise medical equipment, to preserve food, as a medical tracer for imaging, as a treatment for cancer