It may damage the cell, but the cell may be able to repair the damage before producing new cells. It may damage the cell in such a way that the damage is passed on when new cells are formed. Or it may kill the cell. From what is currently known, doses to people outside Hanford's boundaries from Hanford's releases were not high enough to produce immediate or direct effects. To understand how the body handles radioactivity from internal exposure, it is also important to know where the radioactivity goes in the body and how long it remains.
Some radioactive substances concentrate in specific organs.
Others are distributed throughout the body. Some substances that concentrate in one organ may also give a radiation dose to other organs and tissues. When a radioactive substance concentrates primarily in one organ of the body, that organ receives a larger radiation dose from the substance than do other organs or tissues. This is called an organ dose. Some of the radioactive substances that concentrate in specific organs are chemically similar to substances the body needs in order to function.