What is the definition of Radiation Protection?
—Radiation protection may be defined simply as effective measures employed by radiation workers to safeguard patients, personal, and the general public from unnecessary exposure to ionizing radiation.
—Example of ionizing radiation:
X ray, γ ray
Objectives
By the end of this lecture you have learnt:
ØSource of radiation
Natural (background) source
Manmade(Artificial) source
ØBiological damage potential of radiation
Meaning of biological effect
Radiation interaction with atom
Type of biological effect
Source of radiation
Human beings are continuously exposed to source of ionizing radiation.
Source of ionizing radiation may be:
I.Natural (background) source
II.Manmade(Artificial) source
I.Natural background source
The natural source of ionizing radiation have always been a part of the human environment since the formation of the universe.
Background radiation comes from three main sources:
1.Cosmic radiation
2.Radiation from terrestrial sources
3.Internal, radioactivity in the body
Cosmic radiation
—Comes from the sun and beyond the solar system.
—Cosmic Radiation collides with proton nucleus creating secondary particles thus destroying the nucleus
Questions
2.Compare between dose rate at sea-level and at high altitudes?
2. Terrestrial radiation
—Radiation from radioactive materials occurring naturally in the earth's crust.
—The rocks and soil of the Earth’s strata contain small quantities of the radioactive element, such as uranium-239, radium-226, and thorium-232, which emit densely ionizing radiations.
Approximately 55% of the gross common exposure of human beings to the natural background radiation comes from radon
Question:
High indoor concentration of radon have the potential to cause serious health hazards for human, how?
3. Internal, radioactivity in the body
The tissues of the human body contain many naturally existing radionuclide that have been ingested from various foods or inhaled as particles in the air.
For example: potassium-40, carbon-14, hydrogen-3
