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ARS Home Northeast Area Docs Safety, Health and Environmental Training







Radiation Safetyheadline bar 1 - Radiation Safety
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                  6 - Page 6  HOME   Radiation Sign  The objective of this training is to provide the learner with a general knowledge of radiation theory as it applies to radioactive material used by USDA. Radiation use may be divided into three categories: sealed sources of radioactive material, unsealed sources or radioactive material, and machine produced:  Sealed Sources - Radioactive materials that are permanently encapsulated so that they cannot readily cause contamination. A subcategory of sealed sources is foils or plated sources. The source is held in place by a material, like lacquer, or thin covering, like Myler. It may also be eletrodeposited as a fillm on a non-radioactive plate, thereby, "fixing" it in place. This type of source is designed to allow betas or alphas to escape.Unsealed Sources - These may be powder, liquid, gelatin or gas. Because these sources can easily escape to the environment, possibly leading to contamination and human intake, proper handling techques become very importantMachine-Produced Radiation - Radiation can be produced by electronic equipment. X-ray devices specifically used for imaging or analysis are the most common, though none is used in this facility    General Radiation Information Radiation is energy travelling through space, its most familar form is sunshine. Living things have evolved in an environment which has significant level of ionising radiation. Thus background radiation is what which is naturally and inevitably present in our environment.Radiation artworkThe following video is a supplement to the training session.ARS Radiation Safety in QuicktimeRunningTime: 22 minutes Radiation Source Pie Chart Cosmic Radiation High energy particles and photons from the sun and other sources outside the earth's atmosphere Atmosphere provides sheilding from cosmic radiationAn increase in altitude results in an increase in exposure26 mrem/year at sea level. 50 mrem/year in Denver, Colorado0.5 mrem/hour at 39,000 feet Terrestrial Radiation Radiation from radioactive materials occuring naturally in the earth's crust Lowest on the Atlantic coast at 16 mrem/yearHighest on the eastern slopes of the Rockies at 63 mrem/yearAbout 30 mrem/year in the remainder of the U.S. Internal Radiation Radiation from radioactive materials incorporated in the human body Primarily Carbon14 and Potassium40Total dose of 39 mrem/year, mainly due to Potassium40 Inhaled Radiation Primarily Radon and its progeny Radon is released from the soil as Radium226 decaysRadium is part of Uranium238 decay chainLevel vary widely from area to areaAverage dose is 200 mrem/yearMay be enhanced by poor ventilation or the use of Uranium containing building materials  Properties of Radiation Radiation Atom  Radioactivity is the natural property of certain nuclides to spontaneously emit energy, in the form of ionizing radiation, in an attempt to become more stable.Ionizing radiation has the ability to remove electrons from atoms, creating ions. The result of ionization is the product of negatively charged free electrons and positively charged ionized atoms.There are 4 types of ionizing radiation:Alpha ParticlesAlpha particles are highly charged (+2), heavy (4 amu), and very energetic (range 4-6 MeV)Alpha particles are not very penetrating and are not an external hazard. However if inhaled or ingested, they are a significant internal hazard.Alpha decay is common among nuclides with a high atomic number.Beta ParticlesBeta particles have a charge of -1, and a small mass (1/1836 amu).Low energy betas are not external radiation hazards and may require no shielding Hydrogen3Carbon14Sulfur35Higher energy betas are external hazards and are effectively shielded by 1/4 thick clear plastic laboratory shields Phosphorus32Phosphorus33Calcium45NeutronsClassified by energyThermal neutrons - same kinetic energy as gas molecules in the same environmentA concern at the nuclear reactor and with soil moisture probesEmission of neutrons accompanies the splitting of Uranium and Plutonium nucleiGamma RaysUnlike alphas and betas, gammas cannot be entirely shieldedGoal of shielding is to reduce the dose rate due to those gamma rays, to a level which is as low as reasonably achievableSurvey meters must be available in laboratories utilizing radionuclides having a specific gamma ray emission of more than 0.1 R/hr at one meter greater. These are listed in Survey & Monitoring portion.Examples of gamma-emitting nuclides Iodine125Iodine131Zinc64Cesium137Cobalt60Return to Top of PageShielding Radiation Level Alpha particles have a low penetrability and can be shielded by a piece of paper Beta particles have a higher penetrability and are usually shielded with Plexiglas or aluminum Gamma rays have the highest penetrability of the three, and are shielded with thick concrete or lead   Radiation Units Two types of units are used for radiation: Units of Activity = amount of radiation emitted by sourceUnits of Exposure (dose) = amount of radiation absorbed or deposited in a specific material by source Units of Activity Unit of activity of radiation is the Curie, abbreviated Ci. Most laboratories use only millicurie (mCi or .001 Ci) or microcurie (uCi or .000001 Ci) Curie is an amount of radioactive material emitting 2.22 X 1012 disintegrations (particle or photons) per minute (DPM). Activities can be measured with an appropriate radiation detection equipmentsuch as a Geiger Counter. These instruments detect a percentage of the disintigrations and diplay in counts per minute (CPM) Units of Exposure The rad and rem are the two main radiation units used when assessing radiation exposure.  The rem (radiation equivalent man) is the unit of human exposure and is a dose equivalent. It takes into account the biological effectiveness of differnt types of radiation. To account for these differences, a unit called a quality factor (QF) is used in conjuction with the radiation absorbed dose in order to dtermine the dose equivalent in rem: rem dose = rad x QF x other modifying factors  Return to Top of Page
  Radioactive Decay As radiation energy is emitted, the material becomes less radioactive over time, decaying exponentially. The equation to calculate radioactive decay is: A=A0e-kt Where: A = Current amount of radioactivity A0 = Original amount of radioactivity e = base natural log (approximately 2.718) k = the decay constant =0.693/t1/2 (where t1/2 = half life) t = the amount of time elasped from A0 to A It is important to be careful of the units used for the time. Days, hours, and years must not be mised into the calculation.  Or you can use this Radiation Decay Calculator  Half-Life and Decay Each radioactive nuclide has its own uniqe characteristic pattern of decay, based on: Types (alpha, beta, etc.) and energies of the emission involvedRate of decay, or half-life A radionuclide's half-life is the amount of time it takes for on-half of the radioactive atoms present to disintegrate or decay Radioisotopes Half-Life TableIsotopesT1/2H312.26 yearsC145720 yearsP3214.3 daysP3323 daysS3588 daysCl363.1x105 yearsK4212.4 hoursCa45165 daysFe5945.1 daysZn65243.6 daysRb8618.7 daysSr9028.1 yearsCd109450 daysI12560 daysCs13730.23 years   Return to Top of Page
  Effect of Radiation Exposure Radiation causes ionizations in the molecules of living cells. These ionizations result in the removal of electrons from the atoms, forming ions or charged atoms. The ions formed can go on to react with other atoms in the cell causing damage. At low doses, such as what we receive every day from background radiation, the cells repair the damage rapidly. Most cells that die are of little consequence, the body can just replace them. Cells changed permanently may go on to produce abnormal cells when they divide. In the right circumstances, these cells may become cancerous. This is the origin of our increased risk in cancer, as a result of radiation exposure. Risk comparision show that radiation is a small risk when compared to risks we take every day. Radiation exposure is not a mysterious source of cancer, but a well-understood phenomenon, better understood than most other cancer-causing agent to which we are exposed.      [1]
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