AWR-930W

Unit 1 Lesson 2

Radioactivity
To make sound health and safety decisions related to a radiological incident, you
must have a solid understanding of the basic concepts of nuclear energy and
radiation hazards. This understanding starts with how atoms “work” and
radioactivity.

Atoms
The nucleus or center core of an atom is made of tiny particles called protons (+
positive charge) and neutrons (no charge). The electrons (- negative charge) move
around the nucleus. Energy that is stored in the nucleus or center core of an
unstable atom can be released as radiation.

Fission and Unstable Atoms

To use nuclear energy, it needs to be released from the atom. One process for
doing this is fission, which involves splitting an atom into two smaller atoms. Fission
emits excess energy from the atom’s nucleus. Nuclear power plants typically use
fission of elements with unstable atoms, meaning they have an excess of protons
or neutrons.
Nuclear power plants typically use fissionable elements (e.g., U-235, Pu-239) with
unstable atoms.

Radioactivity and Nuclear Radiation

The process of emitting excess energy from the nucleus is called radioactivity. This
energy that is released from unstable (radioactive) atoms is called radiation. The
terms "radiation" and "radioactive" are often confused. Keep the following
relationship in mind, so you can distinguish the terms: RADIOACTIVE MATERIAL
EMITS RADIATION.

Types of Radiation
Radioactive materials may emit more than one kind of radiation.
There are four types of radiation: alpha, beta, gamma, and neutron. They differ in
how their energy is emitted, which impacts their range and shielding.
Range refers to the typical distance a type of radiation will travel before all of its
energy is absorbed. Whereas shielding refers to the material that can be placed
between the radiation source and the receptor to absorb some of the radiation.
Review the image below to see the range and shielding for each type of radiation.

Radiation Exposure vs. Contamination

Exposure to the various types of radiation can occur externally or internally to your
body. Both types of exposure can result in contamination, or the spread of
radioactive material where it does not belong.
However, a person exposed to radiation is not necessarily contaminated with
radioactive material. For a person to be contaminated, the radioactive material
must be on or inside the body.

Select each type of exposure to learn more.

External Exposure
Internal Exposure

Radioactivity and Radiation

Since radiation exposure affects people, we must be able to measure its presence
and project its damaging physiological effects. Radioactive material samples inform
us about the type of radioactive source material while radiation measurements
inform us about the effects.
Two terms used to relate the amount of radiation received by the body are
exposure and dose. When you are exposed to radiation, your body absorbs a
radiation dose.

Radioactivity Measurement
Different types of materials with unstable atoms have different levels of
radioactivity. The higher the radioactivity, the more energy (in the form of alpha,
beta, gamma, or neutron radiation) is being released with more opportunity to
expose us to radiation.
The measure of radioactivity is actually the rate at which the material undergoes
radioactive decay. The unit used to measure radioactivity is called the curie (Ci), or
the becquerel (Bq) if using the international system of units (SI).

Understanding Radiation Measurements

As the radioactive material decays and exposes us to the radiation, it becomes
important to measure that exposure, so we can project damaging effects. Those
effects will depend on many factors including the absorption of the radiation and
the type of radiation.
Select each type of measurement for a description of what that measurement tells
us to help project the damaging effects.

• Roentgen
• Rad
• Rem
• Exposure Rate

Units of Measurements
The International System of Units (SI) may be used in place of the U.S. Customary
System of units for the roentgen, rem, and the rad. The SI units of coulomb per
kilogram (C/kg), the sievert (Sv), and the gray (Gy) are the equivalent for the
roentgen, rem, and rad, respectively. Here are the conversion factors:

• 1 C/kg = 3,880 R
• 1 Sv = 100 rem
• 1 Gy = 100 rad
• 1 R/hr = 0.01 Sv/hr

While working in either set of units is acceptable, SI units must be used on

transportation labels. For additional information refer to Department of
Transportation Code of Federal Regulation (CFR) 49.