Radiation Safety

What is Radiation?
Radiation is the energy that comes from a source and travels through
space outward in all directions in the form of energetic waves of
(electromagnetic radiation e.g. light, microwaves, radio waves, X and
gamma rays) and particles (e.g. alpha particles, electrons, neutrons etc.
Types of Radiation
• Non-ionizing Radiation- Having energy insufficient to produce
ionization in medium e.g UV, visible light, infrared, thermal, black
body, radio and microwaves (mainly cause heat, except UV).
• Ionizing Radiation- Having energy sufficient to produce ionization
in medium, e.g.
1- Electromagnetic radiation of energy >10 eV* i.e.X-rays
and gamma(γ) rays.
2- Particulate radiation e.g. electrons, β, positron, protons,
neutrons, alpha and other heavy charged particles
Types of Radiation
• Directly Ionizing Radiation (Charged Particles):
-Densely ionizing (high LET) e.g. Protons, Alpha, other heavy
charged particles
-Sparsely ionizing(low LET) e.g. Electrons, β, Positrons
• Indirectly Ionizing Radiation
Neutrons- Ionization through recoil protons and
reaction products charged particle (high LET)and γ-
rays(low LET)
X-rays & gamma rays / Electromagnetic radiation – Ionization
through secondary electron (low LET)
Effects of Radiation
• Somatic:-The effect is primarily on the exposed individual. Delayed
Somatic Effects (appear years later e.g. cancer and eye cataracts).
Acute Somatic Effects (within a few days / week)

• Genetic:- The effects that appear in offspring (Mutation of the

reproductive cells, sperm or egg cells, passed on to the offspring).
• Teratogenic Effects (in Utro) :- Birth defects, congenital
malformation and even cancer may be observed in children exposed
during the fetal and embryonic stages (higher risk during 2 -7 weeks
gestation).
Types of Effects
• Deterministic Effects (Tissue Reactions)
Above a threshold at high doses (>1Gy) - killing / malfunction of
cells. Also, severity of harm increase with dose above the threshold.
• Stochastic Effects (Cancer and Heritable Effects) Probabilistic
with no threshold (LNT) but the probability increases with dose,
e,g cancer development in exposed individuals owing to mutation of
somatic cells or heritable disease in their offspring owing to
mutation of reproductive (germ) cells.
Effects on Humans – Internal Contamination
Entry of radioactive material into
the body
• Inhalation
• Ingestion
• Direct entry through skin
Source of radiation inside the
exposed person. Source has to be
flushed out of the body.
Working with sealed sources
unlikely to cause internal
exposure.

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Effects on Humans – External Exposure
• Source outside the exposed person
• Exposure ceases as the source is removed
• Shielding interposed between source and exposed
person can reduce the dose
• Working with sealed sources likely to cause external
exposure.

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ABSORPTION OF RADIATION BY MATTER

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Internal Vs External Exposure
• Alpha has a range of a few cm in air.
• Beta has a range of a few cm in Al / perspex
• Gamma can penetrate great distances

Hazard Alpha Beta Gamma

External Nil Not high High

Internal High High High

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Controlling the Hazard

• Time
• Distance
• Shielding
• Individual monitoring
• Area monitoring

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 Time

Less time = Less radiation exposure

Approach exposure area only when necessary
Shorten time of presence when near source
Shortening the time is not the same as rushing
through work
Rushing through a task imperfectly may actually lead
to higher doses!

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Distance
• Inverse Square Law
• Doubling distance from source, decreases
dose by factor of four
• Tripling it decreases dose nine-fold

• More distance = Less dose-rate

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Distance
• Inverse square law:
I1 d12 = I2 d2 2
• Double the distance from the source; dose-rate falls
to ¼ the original value.
• Halve the distance from the source; dose-rate
increase to 4 times the original value.

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Shielding
• Materials “absorb” radiation

• More shielding = Less dose-rate

• Concrete, Lead, uranium, etc.

• HVL; TVL
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PRINCIPLE OF SHIELDING
• When radiation passes through any material, it causes
ionization and excitation and thus loses energy.

• If radiation loses all its energy, it is said to be

absorbed.

• A good shielding material absorbs and scatters

radiation effectively.

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Waste Management principles & techniques
Principles

 dilute and disperse,

for radioactive waste with short T1/2
 delay and decay,
for radioactive waste with short T1/2
 concentrate and contain
for radioactive waste with long T1/2, high
active