Radioactive Pollution - Nonionizing Radiation, Ionizing Radiation, Sources Of Radioactive Pollution, Lifestyle And Radiation Dose, Nuclear Weapons Testing - Types of radiation
materials level humans environment
Certain atoms are radioactive, meaning they emit radioactivity during spontaneous transformation from an unstable isotope to a more stable one. Radioactive pollution results from contamination of the environment with such substances, which may represent a significant health risk to humans and other organisms. Radioactive pollution differs from conventional pollution in that it cannot be detoxified. Instead, radioactive materials must be isolated from the environment until their radiation level has decreased to a safe level, a process which requires thousands of years for some materials.
Radiation is classified as being ionizing or nonionizing. Both types can be harmful to humans and other organisms.
Additional Topics
Ionizing radiation is the short wavelength radiation or particulate radiation emitted by certain unstable isotopes during radioactive decay. There are about 70 radioactive isotopes, all of which emit some form of ionizing radiation as they decay from one isotope to another. A radioactive isotope typically decays through a series of other isotopes until it reaches a stable one. As indicated by its …
People who live in certain regions are exposed to higher doses of radiation. For example, residents of the Rocky Mountains of Colorado receive about 30 millirems more cosmic radiation than people living at sea level. This is because the atmosphere is thinner at higher elevations, and therefore less effective at shielding the surface from cosmic radiation. Exposure to cosmic radiation is also high …
Many environmentalists are critical of nuclear power generation. They claim that there is an unacceptable risk of a catastrophic accident, and that nuclear power plants generate large amounts of unmanageable nuclear waste. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has strict requirements regarding the amount of radioactivity that can be released from a nuclear power reactor. In particular, a nuclear …
The amount of injury caused by a radioactive isotope depends on its physical half-life, and on how quickly it is absorbed and then excreted by an organism. Most studies of the harmful effects of radiation have been performed on single-celled organisms. Obviously, the situation is more complex in humans and other multicellular organisms, because a single cell damaged by radiation may indirectly aff…
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User Comments
almost 3 years ago
I would like to know the precautions to be taken for this radiation pollution. Here you mentioned the causes, effects& breif description about this radiation pollution but their is no safety measures to be taken & how to control .
I hope that you may add these things wich i have mentioned in this comments.
about 1 year ago
jahanzaib malik
Please include a link to this page if you have found this material useful for research or writing a related article. Content on this website is from high-quality, licensed material originally published in print form. You can always be sure you're reading unbiased, factual, and accurate information.
Read more: Radioactive Pollution - Nonionizing Radiation, Ionizing Radiation, Sources Of Radioactive Pollution, Lifestyle And Radiation Dose, Nuclear Weapons Testing - Types of radiation http://science.jrank.org/pages/5692/Radioactive-Pollution.html#ixzz1AR7DlDGY
over 2 years ago
I am a class nine student. I am doing an environmental education project.I would like to know what are the causes of radioactive pollution.I hope that you will add this topic to your article.
Thanking you,
Subhannita Sarcar.