Hazards/uses of radioactive emissions and background radiation (4.3) (R) Flashcards
Is background radiation harmful?
No - you are used to it and there is nothing you can do about it
It is around us all the time
2 places
Where does background radiation come from?
- Natural sources such as rocks and cosmic rays from space
- Man-made sources such as the fallout from nuclear weapons testing and nuclear accidents.
2 things
The level of background radiation and radiation dose may be affected by what?
Occupation and/or location (e.g. an airline pilot is exposed to more cosmic rays)
How can you find background radiation on a graph?
Where the activity/count rate reaches a constant value, draw a line and the area underneath there is background radiation.
This is why the radiation detection will never be 0
Radioactive isotopes have a very (…) range of half-life values.
wide
What is the risk associated with shorter and longer half-lives?
Atoms with short half life are more dangerous in the short term because they decay more quickly (have a greater activity)
However atoms with a long half-life last for longer and thus more dangerous for longer
2 needed
What are some uses of nuclear radiation in medicine?
- exploration of internal organs
- control or destruction of unwanted tissue
2 needed
What are some uses of nuclear radiation in medicine?
- exploration of internal organs (using tracers or x-rays)
- control or destruction of unwanted tissue (using gamma rays)
What is the use of tracers?
Radioactive tracers can be injected into a person’s bloodstream and it can be used to identify blockages/tumours
Why should tracers have a short, but not too short, half-life?
Tracers should have a half-life that is short enough to be gone after a reasonable amount of time to limit the risk of damage to the patient, but also long enough that a useful image can be provided
How can you receive information about the exploration of internal organs using tracers?
They emit gamma radiation, which can be detected outside the body
How can unwanted tissue be controlled or destroyed using nuclear radiation?
- Gamma radiation in a narrow beam is used to destroy cancerous tumours (radiotherapy)
- Radioactive implants are used to destroy cancer cells in some tumours (beta or gamma emitting isotopes)
How can unwanted tissue be controlled or destroyed using nuclear radiation?
- Gamma radiation in a narrow beam is used to destroy cancerous tumours (radiotherapy)
- Radioactive implants are used to destroy cancer cells in some tumours (beta or gamma emitting isotopes)
What must be considered before injecting radioactive material into people?
the benefit must be worth risk
radiation can cause the mutation of DNA in cells, forming cancers or damage tissue
