Nuclear Radiation

Nuclear radiation is a phenomenon that is both, beneficial as

well as harmful to the human race. Radiation is termed as nuclear radiation when it is emitted from an atomic nucleus in the form of elementary particles, produced by decay of radioactive substances or by nuclear fission. There are majorly three kinds of radiations.

Alpha Particles: These are identical to helium nuclei containing two protons and two neutrons and are emitted from heavy elements such as uranium and radium.

Beta particles: These are fast-moving electrons emitted by a lot of radioactive elements. They are more penetrating than alpha particles, but easily stopped.

Gamma Particles: These are high-energy rays similar to X-rays. They are emitted in many radioactive decays and may be very penetrating, therefore a high amount of shielding is required. Gamma rays are the main hazard to people dealing with sealed radioactive materials used, for example, in industrial gauges and radiotherapy machines.

In order to measure how much radiation exposure we face to in our daily lives and to assess potential results it will have on our health, it is necessary to establish a unit of measurement. The basic unit of radiation absorbed in tissue is the gray (Gy), where one gray represents the deposition of one joule of energy per kilogram of tissue.

The becquerel (Bq) is a unit or measure of actual radioactivity in material, with reference to the number of nuclear breakdowns per second (1 Bq = 1 disintegration/sec). Quantities of radioactive material are commonly estimated by measuring the amount of fundamental radioactivity in becquerels. This may be spread through a very large mass.

Radiation arise from human activities as well as from natural sources. Most radiation exposure is from natural sources for example radioactivity in rocks and soil of the Earth's crust namely radon, which is a radioactive gas produced by many volcanic rocks, uranium ore and cosmic radiation. Radiations from human activities typically accounts for up to 20% of the normal public’s exposure every year as global average. X-rays and other medical procedures account for most exposure from this quarter. Less than 1% of exposure is due to the outcome from past testing of nuclear weapons or the nuclear reactors, as well as coal and geothermal, power plants.

Nuclear Radiations also have a bad effect on human health. Certain body parts are more explicitly affected by experiencing different types of radiations. There are a few factors that need to be considered when assessing the harm to human health. These include:

· The size of the dose.

· The ability of the particular radiation to harm human tissue

· The organs that will be affected by the radiation

The dose is the most important factor in this consideration, which accounts for the energy deposited in the body. The more energy absorbed, the greater the biological damage. The absorbed dose, the amount of energy absorbed per gram of body tissue, is usually measured in units called rads.

The hair loss in clumps is experienced with radiation exposure at 200 rems or higher. Since brain cells do not reproduce they are damaged only at exposures to 5000 rems or higher. Like the heart, radiation kills nerve cells and small blood vessels, and can cause seizures and immediate death. Intense exposure to radioactive material would do immediate damage to small blood vessels and probably cause heart failure and death directly. Radiation damage to the intestinal tract lining will cause nausea, bloody vomiting and diarrhea. Because reproductive tract cells divide rapidly, these areas of the body can be damaged at rem levels as low as 200. Long-term, some radiation sickness victims will become sterile.