AN INTRODUCTION TO
RADIATION AND
RADIATION SAFETY
LECTURER: Engr. Randy R. Rufino - Metallurgist
SLIDE 1
LECTURE CONTENT
WHAT IS RADIATION?
WHERE DOES RADIATION COME FROM?
WHAT IS IONIZING RADIATION?
WHAT ARE THE HARMFUL EFFECTS OF RADIATION?
HOW IS IONIZING RADIATION MEASURED?
HOW DO WE PROTECT OURSELVES FROM RADIATION?
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WHAT IS RADIATION?
SLIDE 3
RADIOACTIVE DECAY
UNSTABLE ISOTOPES ž STABLE ISOTOPES
A RADIOACTIVE ATOM spontaneously
disintegrate, releasing energy in the form
of high energy radiation.
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DECAY RATE AND HALF-LIFE
RATE OF DECAY
Measured in terms of HALF-LIFE;
amount of time needed to decay
half of the amount of sample of
isotope.
Rate of decay cannot be altered
by any chemical or physical
processes.
ISOTOPE HALF-LIFE
IRIDIUM-192 74 DAYS
COBALT-60 5.3 YEARS
YTTERBIUM-169 32 DAYS
CESIUM-137 30 YEARS
SELENIUM-75 120 DAYS
SLIDE 5
DECAY RATE AND HALF-LIFE
100% 1st HALF LIFE – 50%
2nd HALF LIFE – 25% 3rd HALF LIFE – 12.5%
UNSTABLE ATOM
STABLE ATOM
4th HALF LIFE – 6.25%
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RADIOACTIVITY
PARTICULATE RADIATION Radioactivity is the spontaneous
disintegration of atomic nuclei by
Alpha Particles the emission of subatomic particles
Beta PArticles and electromagnetic rays.
ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION
X-Rays
Gamma Rays
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RADIOACTIVITY
ALPHA PARTICLES travel at
tremendous speed but can be
easily stopped by a piece of paper.
They are POSITIVELY charged.
BETA PARTICLES travel at an even
greater speed that they can
penetrate or pass through a piece
of paper, but easily stopped by
Aluminum. They are NEGATIVELY
charged.
Gamma rays and X-rays travel at
the speed of light and can
penetrate metals. They are not
charged.
ALPHA, BETA, GAMMA RADIATION
SLIDE 8
WHERE DOES RADIATION COME FROM?
SLIDE 9
SOURCES OF RADIATION
Natural background radiation
Radioactivity in the earth
Cosmic radiation
Natural radioactivity in the body
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WHAT IS IONIZING RADIATION?
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EFFECTS OF INTERACTION WITH MATTER
Alpha Particles, Beta Particle, X-rays and
Gamma Rays interact with matter and in
the process cause EXCITATION and
IONIZATION.
Bubble chamber tracings of electrically charged
particles.
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12
EXCITATION
EXCITATION
An atom absorbs energy from
radiation (alpha, beta and gamma
rays)
Absorbed energy moves electrons
to higher energy shells.
Does not cause atoms to lose
electrons.
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13
IONIZATION
IONIZATION
Changes electrically neutral atoms
into electrically charged atoms.
Energy transferred is large enough
to strip electrons away from the
atoms.
Unlike excitation, an atom loses
electrons during ionization.
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CLASSIFICATION OF RADIATION
RADIATIONS MAY BE CLASSIFIED AS FOLLOWS:
IONIZING RADIATION
NON-IONIZING RADIATION
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CLASSIFICATION OF RADIATION
IONIZING RADIATION is the most dangerous
type of radiation. Ionizing radiation causes
atoms to lose electrons.
NON-IONIZING RADIATION merely involves
excitation of atoms and does not cause an
atom to lose electrons.
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WHAT ARE THE HARMFUL EFFECTS OF RADIATION?
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EFFECTS OF RADIATION
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EFFECTS OF RADIATION
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HOW IS IONIZING RADIATION MEASURED?
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INTRODUCTION
TWO GENERAL PHENOMENA MEASURED WHEN DISCUSSING RADIOACTIVITY:
ACTIVITY – measure of how much radiation is coming out of
something, whether it’s a particle or a wave.
EXPOSURE – measures the effect of radiation on substances that
absorb it.
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21
RADIATION ACTIVITY
Measured in SI unit of BECQUEREL.
1 Becquerel (Bq) = 1 disintegration per second
Becquerel counts how many particles or photons (in the case of wave
radiation) are emitted per second by a source.
The device used for measurement is often the familiar Geiger counter.
Older unit of measurement - CURIE
1 Curie (Ci) = 37 x 109 (37 billion) disintegrations per second
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ENERGY
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RADIATION EXPOSURE
Radiation exposure is expressed
in several ways to account for the
different levels of harm caused by
different forms of radiation and
the different sensitivity of body
tissues.
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RADIATION EXPOSURE
1 Roentgen (R) = 2.58 x 10-4 C/Kg
1 Grey (Gy) 100 rads
ABSORBED DOSE (absorption of 1 Joule / Kg of mass) (1 rad = 100 ergs / gm)
EQUIVALENT DOSE 1 Sievert (Sv) 100 rem
EFFECTIVE DOSE 1 Sievert (Sv) 100 rem
1 R ≈ 0.01 Gray = 1 rad ≡ 1 rem
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THE GEIGER COUNTER
THE GEIGER COUNTER
Ionization phenomenon – basis of
operation of the Geiger Counter.
GEIGER COUNTER – an instrument
capable of detecting forms of ionizing
radiation.
Devised by the German physicist Hans
Wilhelm Geiger (1882 – 1945) and
British physicist Ernest Rutherford.
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THE GEIGER COUNTER
THE GEIGER COUNTER
Consists of a gas-filled tube and
electrodes.
Gas inside tube is ionized when
ionizing radiation enters the
tube.
Ions allow current to pass
through between electrodes.
Pulse of current amplified,
measured and related to the
type of radiation.
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HOW DO WE PROTECT OURSELVES FROM RADIATION?
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RADIATION DETECTORS
Instruments used for radiation monitoring
fall into two broad categories:
RATE MEASURING INSTRUMENTS
PERSONAL DOSE MEASURING
INSTRUMENTS
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RADIATION DETECTORS
RATE MEASURING INSTRUMENTS –
measure the rate at which exposure
is received (more commonly called
the radiation intensity).
Survey meters, audible alarms and
area monitors fall into this category.
These instruments present a
radiation intensity reading relative
to time, such as R/hr or mR/hr.
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RADIATION DETECTORS
DOSE MEASURING INSTRUMENTS –
measure the total amount of
exposure received during a
measuring period.
Dosimeters are small devices which
can be worn in order to measure the
exposure received by the individual.
FILM BADGE
TLD + READER
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PERMISSIBLE RADIATION DOSES
AROUND A GAMMA CAMERA
AVERAGE MAXIMUM
POSITION OF SURVEY METER
mGy/hr mR/hr mGy/hr mR/hr
5 cm. from the surface of the camera 0.20 20.0 1.00 100
1 meter from the camera 0.02 2.0 .10 10
Surface contamination level of the camera shall not be more than 0.005 µCi
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CLASSIFICATION OF WORKING AREA
SUPERVISED AREA
(2.5 µSv/hr or 0.25mR/hr)
NO BARRIER REQUIRED
RADIATION SOURCE
CONTROLLED AREA
(7.5 µSv/hr or 0.75mR/hr)
BARRIER REQUIRED
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RADIATION DOSE LIMITS
Maximum permissible radiation dose levels adopted in most countries are based
on the recommendation of the INTERNATIONAL COMMISSION ON RADIOLOGICAL
PROTECTION (ICRP), a body of experts from radiation related fields in various
countries.
RECOMMENDED EXPOSURE LIMIT
BODY PART RADIATION WORKER GENERAL PUBLIC
mSv / YEAR mSv / YEAR
WHOLE BODY 50 1
< 20 AVE. OVER ANY 5 YEARS
LENS OF EYE 150 15
SKIN 500 50
HANDS AND FEET 500 -
DATA FROM NHMRC – Recommendations for limiting exposure to ionizing radiation (1995) – Radiation Health Series No. 39
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KEEPING RADIATION EXPOSURE LOW
Keep radiation exposure As Low As Reasonably Achievable (ALARA).
This is accomplished by the techniques of TDS.
TIME: The shorter the time in a radiation field, the less radiation exposure
you will receive. Plan ahead and work quickly and efficiently.
DISTANCE: The farther a person from the source of radiation, the lower the
radiation dose.
SHIELDING: Placing a radioactive source behind a massive object provides a
barrier that can reduce radiation exposure.
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