Radiation & Radiochemical Contaminants Flashcards
Sources of Radioactive contaminants
Anthropogenic Sources: Nuclear power plants, waste disposal, reprocessing, and accidental releases (e.g., Chernobyl, Fukushima).
Natural Sources: Cosmic radiation and naturally occurring radionuclides.
How is Radiation transferred into the Ecosystem?
Sorption
leaching
resuspension
bioaccumulation in the air, water, soil and biota
Radiation effects on HUMAN heath
Increased cancer risk if by nuclear-plants
Targeted effects include DNA Damage, genomic instability & bystander effects
What is Radiation bystander effects?
Radiation-induced bystander effect is an important biological response that leads to damages very similar to direct irradiation in distant non-irradiated cells and tissues
Radiation effects on BIOTA health (chronic)
Chronic radiation effects on reproduction, growth and mutation
Why can’t we assess long-term effects of radiation on BIOTA at low-doses especially?
Limited data on long-term impacts at low dose rates.
2 Mass Radiation incidents
Chernobyl & Fukushima
Both highlight long-term environmental and health impacts
Radiation protection for HUMANS
Emphasis on stochastic effects like cancer, using dose limits based on reference models.
Radiation Protection for NON-HUMANS
Focus on deterministic effects (e.g., reproductive success), with limited data and protective guidelines.
What are Stochastic effects?
effects that occurred by chance
which may occur without a threshold level of dose,
probability is proportional to the dose and whose severity is independent of the dose
Challenges in Radiation (as a topic)
Gaps in understanding the low-dose effects on ecosystems and biota
Recommendations to improve Radiotoxicology
Develop robust frameworks to link absorbed radiation doses to biological impacts, emphasizing ecosystem health
Why is Nuclear power being increasingly used?
As an alternative to reduce carbon emission and to ‘combat’ climate change
