Introduction to Radiation Protection

Vocabulary flashcards covering the key terms, historical examples, and radiation biological effect classifications from Module 1: Introduction to Radiation Protection.

Radiation

The emission and propagation of energy through matter or space by means of electromagnetic disturbances that display both wavelike and particle-like behavior.

Photons

Particles of energy in the context of electromagnetic radiation disturbances.

Natural (Background) Radiation

Ionizing radiation originating from environmental sources, including terrestrial, cosmic, and internal radiation.

Terrestrial Radiation

Radiation from radioactive materials found in the crust of the earth.

Cosmic Radiation

Radiation originating from the sun (solar) and beyond the solar system (galactic).

Internal Radiation

Radiation coming from radioactive atoms (radionuclides) that compose a small percentage of the human body's tissue.

Radon - 37%

Internal - 5%

CT - 25%

Radiography and fluoroscopy - 5%

Interventional and Cardiology - 6%

Nuclear Medicine - 13%

Cosmic Rays - 6%

Terrestrial - 3%

Annual collective effective dose:

Radon - ?

Internal - ?

CT - ?

Radiography and fluoroscopy - ?

Interventional and Cardiology - ?

Nuclear Medicine - ?

Cosmic Rays - ?

Terrestrial - ?

Solar Radiation

Shorter Wavelength

Higher frequency

Emits more energy

Terrestrial Radiation

Longer Wavelength

Lower Frequency

Emits less energy

Radionuclides

Internal radiation from radioactive atoms that make up a small percentage of the body's tissue are also known as?

Man-made (Artificial)

• ionizing radiation created by human for various uses

Four hours

Hours of flight needed to expose a person to the same radiation dose from cosmic rays as a CXR

• Air Travel

• Nuclear fuel for generation of power

• Consumer products containing radioactive material

• Atmospheric fallout from nuclear weapons

• Nuclear power plant accidents

• Nuclear power plant accidents as a consequence of

  natural disasters

• Medical Radiation

Sources of Ionizing Radiation

Shoe-Fitting Fluoroscope

A device used in shoe stores from 1920 until approximately 1970 that allowed customers to view how well shoes fit using radiation.

Doramad

A radioactive 'biologically effective toothpaste' advertised in Germany in the 1940s, claimed to massage gums and refresh the mouth using ionizing radiation.

Radithor

Radioactive water containing radium and mesothorium, marketed to ease conditions such as rheumatism, headaches, neuralgia, and constipation.

Eben Byers

An American golfer who died in 1932 after drinking twelve bottles of Radithor per day to relieve pain from an arm injury.

Priscilla Test

Test done by the US at the Nevada test site on June 24, 1957, which resulted to a 37 -kiloton testing device exploded from a balloon with the atomic cloud top reaching 43,000 feet

Enetawak, November 1, 1952

When and where did the Ivy Mike test was done?

Three-Mile Island nuclear powerplant, Pennsylvania

Where a partial core meltdown in 1975 released only 17 curies of radiation into the air

Ukraine

Location of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant

April 26, 1968

When did the unit 4 of the Chernobyl power plant exploded?

Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant, March 11, 2012

a 9.0-magnitude earthquake that began

approximately 60 miles off the northeast coast of Japan triggered a tsunami that slammed into the

island's coast and bombarded it with 30-foot-high waves that actually traveled as far as 6 miles inland

and devastated everything in their path within minutes.

When and what power plant experienced this?

Diagnositc Radiology

CT scan

Dental Radiology

Cardiovascular/Interventional Radiation

Nuclear Medicine

Radiation Oncology

Other sources of radiation exposure

Branches of Medical Radiation

• Develop over a long period after exposure

• Result not only from high doses of radiation but from low doses administered over a longer time

Late Effects of Radiation

Somatic Effects

Radiation effects that develop in the individual who was directly exposed.

Genetic Effects

Radiation effects that occur in future generations as a result of damage to the germ cells.

Leukemia

What could be the possible cause of death of both Marie Curie and her daughter Irene?

Osteoporosis

Decalcifications of bone

Osteogenic Sarcoma

Bone cancer

Radium Jaw

A severe condition featuring unchecked abscesses across the lower face, suffered by women who ingested radium while hand-painting luminous watch dials.

Mihran Krikor Kassabian

• an Armenian-American radiologist.

• He was one of the early investigators into the medical uses of X-rays.

• He made advancements in the field of radiology, including the introduction of a positioning device that accurately displayed the round nature of the ribs on an X-ray image.

• He died of skin cancer related to his repeated exposure to high doses of radiation.

Microcephaly

A condition characterized by reduced head circumference, observed in children exposed to radiation in utero during the atomic bombings.

Stochastic Effects

Probabilistic radiation responses with no dose threshold, where increasing dose increases the probability of damage (such as cancer induction), but severity is independent of dose.

Deterministic Effects

Predictable tissue reactions (formerly non-stochastic) that have a threshold dose below which no effect occurs, and whose severity increases with increased radiation dose.

Linear Nonthreshold Model

A dose-response relationship model indicating that any dose of radiation, no matter how small, has the potential to produce a response.

Linear Threshold Model

A dose-response relationship model stating that a minimum threshold dose ($T$) must be reached before any biological response occurs.

Threshold Dose ($T$)

The minimum absorbed dose of radiation required to evoke a biological response in a deterministic response model.