RADIATION SOURCES ..INTERESTING

1. RADIATION
 Radioactivity is a part of life is a part of our earth - it has existed
all along.
 Naturally occurring radioactive materials are present in its crust,
the floors and walls and in the food we eat and drink.There are
radioactive gases in the air we breathe.
 Our own bodies - muscles, bones, and tissue contain radioactive
elements.
 Man is exposed to natural radiation arising from the earth as well
as from outside the earth.
 We also receive exposure from man-made radiation, such as X-
rays, radiation used to diagnose diseases and for cancer therapy.
 Nuclear power plants are also sources of the same

2. RADIATION SOURCES
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They are broadly classified into :
1. Natural sources
2. Man Made sources

3. NATURAL SOURCES
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 COSMIC RADIATION
 TERRESTIAL RADIATION
 INTERNAL RADIATION

4. COSMIC RAYS
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 Cosmic rays are atom fragments that rain down on the Earth
from outside of the solar system.They blaze at the speed of
light .
 Hess discovered cosmic rays, charged subatomic particles
that streak through space
 They're thought to be atomic nuclei from the entire range of
naturally occurring elements, though the vast majority
appear to be protons (hydrogen nuclei).
 The source of cosmic rays, however, has remained
mysterious. Scientists aren't sure which cosmic phenomena
are accelerating the particles to their fantastic speeds.

5. COSMIC RADIATION
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 The sun and stars send a constant stream of cosmic radiation to
Earth, much like a steady drizzle of rain.
 Differences in elevation, atmospheric conditions, and the Earth's
magnetic field can change the amount (or dose) of cosmic
radiation that we receive.

6. BAZINGA!!!!
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Tonight 12:30 am to 3:30 am cosmo rays entering
earth from mars. So switch off your mobile at night.
Don’t keep your cell with you & put it away while
you are sleeping because they are too much
dangerous rays: NASA informs BBC NEWS. Please
spread this news.

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 Despite the claim in the message, there are several reasons to say that
this information is untrue.
 First, Mars could not emit harmful radiation because it is not a star.
 Cosmic rays are emitted by stars. i.e bodies that are undergoing
nuclear reactions that is fusion ( in sun) or fission (in nuclear reactors).
 Mars is neither. It is a planet that just reflects sunlight. It cannot emit
cosmic radiation.

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 The earth’s atmosphere is capable of taking care of these rays
 The magnetosphere absorbs and protects us from the sun’s
harmful radiation.Whatever remains is too feeble to affect any thing as
far as earth.
***So, to anyone who will receive this kind of message,
please think it over and help educate others. Spreading
dubious warnings such as this is unlikely to help
anyone.

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TERRESTRIAL RADIATION

10. The ground beneath our feet
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 The other major source of naturally occurring radiation is from
minerals and materials buried in the earth. Most common are
potassium-40, uranium-238, and thorium-232, which all have fairly
long half-lives.
 Additionally, there are small quantities of shorter-lived materials, such
as radium-226, decay product of U-238, and radon-222 a product
of Ra-226.
 Radon, being a gas, can become a problem in some houses and other
buildings, seeping in usually through cracks in solid foundations, and
accumulating in rooms with poor ventilation.

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 In addition, water contains small amounts of dissolved uranium and
thorium.
 All organic matter (both plant and animal) contains radioactive carbon
and potassium.
 Some of these materials are ingested with food and water, while others
(such as radon) are inhaled.

12. WHAT IS RADON?
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 Radon is a naturally occurring radioactive gas. It has no smell, colour
or taste. Radon is produced from the natural radioactive decay of
uranium, which is found in all rocks and soil. Radon can also be found
in water.
 Radon escapes easily from the ground into the air, where it decays and
produces further radioactive particles.
 As we breathe, the particles are deposited on the cells lining the
airways, where they can damage DNA and potentially cause lung
cancer.

13. RADON IN DRINKING WATER
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 In many countries, drinking water is obtained from groundwater
sources such as springs, wells and boreholes.These sources of water
normally have higher concentrations of radon than surface water from
reservoirs, rivers or lakes.
 Normally, a higher radon dose is received from inhaling radon
compared with ingestion.
 The "WHO guidelines for drinking water quality" (2011) recommend that
screening levels for radon in drinking-water be set on the basis of the
national reference level for radon in air.

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INTERNAL RADIATION

15. INSIDE YOU !!!
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 All people have internal radiation, mainly from radioactive
potassium-40 and carbon-14 inside their bodies from birth and,
therefore, are sources of exposure to others.
 The variation in dose from one person to another is not as great as
that associated with cosmic and terrestrial sources.

16. Potassium and Carbon in the DNA and cells of living things
contain a certain percentage of radioactive isotopes
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18. FACTS
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 Unsuspected , Bananas, being naturally very high in potassium,
consequently have a higher than usual amount of potassium-40, a
radioactive isotope.
 Also carrots and white potatoes, carry slightly lower levels of
potassium-40.
 Lima beans have almost 50% more potassium-40 than bananas, and
also very small amounts of radon-224.
 The food with the highest concentration of radioactive elements, in
this case radium, is the Brazil nut.

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 Brazil nuts become radioactive, due to their root system taking
up radium from the soil.
 In all these foods, however, the levels are extremely low and not
considered harmful, and almost none of the radioactive material
consumed while eating any of them is retained in the body.
 The fat content of the Brazil nuts would pose a health risk long
before the radiation in them, for example.
 Drinking milk of a cow who has ingested radioactivity through
soil indirectly expose us to radioactivity
 Eg Strontium-90 found in cow’s milk after Chernobyl

20. Man-Made Sources
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Although all living things are exposed to natural background
radiation, exposure to man-made radiation sources differs for the
following groups:
 Members of the Public
 Occupationally Exposed Individuals (Workers)

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 Nuclear power is the most important as well as harmful man made
source of radiation .
 In fact, due to the presence of radioactive Uranium andThorium
in the fly ash from coal burning power plants give off more
radiation into the environment, typically, than a nuclear power
plant.

22. NUCLEAR ACCIDENTS
IN INDIA

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 Below is a list of leaks, fires and structural damages that
have occurred in India’s civilian nuclear power sector.
As the Department of Atomic Energy is not obliged to reveal
details of ongoings at these plants to the public, there may
be many other accidents that we do not know about.
April 2011 Fire alarms blare in the control room of the Kaiga
Generating Station in Karnataka. Comments by officials alternately
say there was no fire, that there was only smoke and no fire, and that
the fire was not in a sensitive area . Details from theAERB are
awaited.
November 2009 Fifty-five employees consume radioactive material
after tritiated water finds its way into the drinking water cooler in
Kaiga Generating Station.The NPCIL attributes the incident to “an
insider’s mischief”

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April 2003 Six tonnes leak of heavy water at reactor II of the Narora
Atomic Power Station (NAPS) in Uttar Pradesh .
January 2003 Failure of a valve in the KalpakkamAtomic
Reprocessing Plant inTamil Nadu results in the release of high-level
waste, exposing six workers to high doses of radiation .The leaking
area of the plant had no radiation monitors or mechanisms to detect
valve failure, which may have prevented the employees’ exposure.
May 2002Tritiated water leaks from a downgraded heavy water
storage tank at RajasthanAtomic Power Station (RAPS) 1&2 into a
common dyke area. An estimated 22.2 Curies of radioactivity is
released into the environment .

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November 2001 A leak of 1.4 tonnes of heavy water at the NAPS I
reactor, resulting in one worker receiving an internal radiation dose of
18.49 mSv
March 1999 Somewhere between four and fourteen tonnes of heavy
water leaks from the pipes at MadrasAtomic Power Station (MAPS) at
Kalpakkam,Tamil Nadu, during a test process.
May 1994The inner surface of the containment dome of Unit I of
Kaiga Generating Station collapses (delaminates) while the plant is
under construction.Approximately 130 tonnes of concrete fall from a
height of nearly thirty metres , injuring fourteen workers.The dome
had already been completed forming the part of the reactor designed
to prevent escape of radioactive material into the environment in the
case of an accident.

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February 1994 Helium gas and heavy water leak in Unit 1 of
RAPS. The plant is shut down until March 1997
March 1993Two blades of the turbine in NAPS Unit I break off,
slicing through other blades and indirectly causing a raging fire,
which catches onto leaked oil and spreads through the turbine
building.
January 1992 Four tons of heavy water spilt at RAPS

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December 1991 A leak from pipelines in the vicinity of CIRUS and
Dhruva research reactors at the BhabhaAtomic Research Centre
(BARC) inTrombay, Maharashtra, results in severe Cs-137 soil
contamination of thousands of times the acceptable limit.
July 1991A contracted labourer mistakenly paints the walls of RAPS
with heavy water before applying a coat of whitewash. He also washed
his paintbrush, face and hands in the deuterated and tritiated water,
and has not been traced since
March 1991 Heavy water leak at MAPS takes four days to clean up
(20).

28. FAMOUS ACCIDENT
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 Cobalt-60 pencils, were improperly disposed of by a research
institution in violating national regulations for radiation protection
and safety of radioactive sources
 These were sold to scrap dealers who dismantled the equipment.This
accident resulted in Radiation injuries and one death.
 All five patients suffered from the haematological form of the acute
radiation syndrome .
 While four patients exposed to LOWER DOSES survived with
intensive or supportive treatment, the patient with 3.1 Gy
EXPOSURE died due to acute respiratory distress syndrome and
multi-organ failure

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 The granite tops in our houses or offices contain appreciable amount
of uranium.
 It is relatively weak and has very low impact on us
 The varieties of vintage Fiesta ware (or any red glazed pottery from
the 40s-60s) used uranium for bright colours in the glaze.
 Modern products use artificial dyes to achieve the same colours.

30. USEFULNESS
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 Authorities in charge of preventing the poaching of elephants for their
ivory have discovered that it’s possible to tell if the ivory is recently
poached, or “antique” based on the presence of these elements.
 Since they are absorbed by the bones of living animals. So ivory that is
purported to be hundreds of years old, which contains elevated levels
of strontium-90, for example, will be able to be seized as illegal.
 Carbon dating is also famous use.
 X RAY scanners , medicinal use of radioactivity

31. CONTAMINATION
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 When the radioactive material is present where it should not be
present
 Eg. Nuclear fallout from a bomb (the whole purpose of which
would be to disperse radioactive contaminant)
 A lab worker splashing some of a radioactive solution on his/her
pants and taking them home.
 Now it can be fixed or removed in some cases but if it gets into
metal recycle plant then it is almost impossible to remove it
 Disposal of radioactive waste consists of reprocessing it for
commercial use
 Sometimes the best solution is burying it in concrete, rock

32. Pripyat in Ukraine abandoned after the Chernobyl accident due to the
high amount of radioactive contamination
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33. EXPOSED TO RADIATION MAKE US
RADIOACTIVE?
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 Exposure to radiation does not immediately make a person
radioactive.
 NEUTRON is capable of directly causing other material to become
radioactive , found inside nuclear reactors .
 CT Scans and other routine medical procedures expose someone to
radiation without leaving that person radioactive afterwards
 However, the ingestion of radioactive material does make a person
radioactive, temporarily .

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 Between the short half-lives of the elements involved and the
body’s natural means of disposing of many radioactive
elements, a person’s individual radioactivity is usually short-
lived.
 However, certain types of contamination, depending on the
isotopes involved and the availability of treatment, can
become permanently deposited in a person’s organs or
bones.