Radioactive pollution can occur from various human activities involving radioactive materials like nuclear fuel production, nuclear power reactors, uranium mining, and nuclear weapons testing and disposal. It involves the emission of radioactive substances into the air, water, or land in the form of waste. There are three main types - continuous, accidental, and occasional pollution. Key sources are the production of nuclear weapons, decommissioning of nuclear weapons, mining of radioactive ores, and nuclear power plants. Exposure to radiation from pollution can cause a range of health effects from mild skin irritation to cancer and death, depending on the level and duration of exposure. Major nuclear disasters that caused widespread radioactive pollution include the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the C

1. Radioactive pollution

2. WHAT IS
RADIOACTIVE
POLLUTION?

3. Radioactive pollution can be defined as the emission of
high energy particles or radioactive substances into air
,water or land due to human activities in the form of
radioactive waste Production of nuclear fuel Nuclear
power reactors Use radio nuclides in industries for
various applications Nuclear tests carried out by defense
personnel Disposal of nuclear waste Uranium mining.

4. Types of
conditions
1.Continuous pollution: This type of condition exists in Uranium
mines, nuclear reactors and laboratories where the humans are
under continuous exposure to radioactive contaminants.
2. Accidental pollution: This type of condition exists during
accidental exposure to radiations by virtue of equipment failure,
radiation leak.
3. Occasional pollution: This condition exists during isolated
experiment or test of nuclear substance.

5. SOURCES
1. Production of nuclear weapons
2. Decommissioning of nuclear weapons
3. Mining of radioactive ore (uranium, phosphate
etc.)
4. Nuclear power plants

6. Production of nuclear weapons
● Radioactive materials used in this production
have high health risks and release a small
amount of pollution. Thanks to good current
health-standards this release is not significant
and is not a danger to us unless an accident
occurs.

7. Decommissioning of Nuclear
Weapons
● The decommissioning of nuclear weapons
causes slightly more radioactive pollution
than in the production, however, the waste
(alpha particles) is still of low risk and not
dangerous unless ingested.

8. Mining of radioactive ore
● Mining these involves crushing and
processing of the radioactive ores and this
generates radioactive waste which emits
alpha particles. This waste is of low risk
unless ingested.

9. Nuclear power plants
● Nuclear power plants under current
standards produce little radioactive pollution
due to safety precautions that must be
adhered to. Accidents at these power plants
can cause dangerously high radioactive
pollution, such as in the case of Chernobyl,
the most well-known and worst nuclear
disaster in history and the more recent

10. Medical waste
● A number of radioactive isotopes are used in
medicine, either for treatment or diagnostics.
These can be left to decay over a short period
after which they are able to be disposed of as
normal waste.

11. Facts
● Tests on ground water show that levels of uranium around the plants
are up to 15 times the World Health Organisation's maximum safe
limits.
● Department of Atomic Energy visited some area and concluded that
while the concentration of uranium in drinking water was "slightly
high".
● A previous report in the magazine Scientific American, citing various
sources, claimed that fly ash emitted by power plants
"carries into the surrounding environment 100 times more radiation
than a nuclear power plant producing the same amount of energy".

12. Radioactive isotopes
● The minerals containing Uranium- 235 (U235),
Uranium-238 (U238), Thorium-232 (Th232), Plutonium-
239 (Pu239) etc. are capable of emitting energetic
radiations causing pollution.

13. Effects
● The impact of radioactive pollution on human beings
can vary from mild to fatal; the magnitude of the
adverse effects largely depends on the level and
duration of exposure to radioactivity. Low levels of
localized exposure may only have a superficial effect
and cause mild skin irritation.

14. ● Long-term exposure or exposure to high
amounts of radiation can have far more
serious health effects. Radioactive rays can
cause irreparable damage to DNA molecules
and can lead to a life-threatening condition.

15. ● The rapidly growing/dividing cells, like those of
the skin, bone marrow, are more sensitive
towards radioactive emissions. On the other
hand, cells that do not undergo rapid cell division,
such as bone cells and nervous cells, aren't
damaged so easily.

16. ● Skin cancer, lung cancer and thyroid cancer are
some of the common types of cancers caused by
radiation effect.

19. Incident caused in history
● Radioactive
pollution that is
spread through
earth’s
atmosphere is
called fallout The
best example of
fallout is d nuclear
bomb attack on
Hiroshima and
Nagasaki, japan in
1945 by united

20. ● Another prominent
radioactive
disaster was in
1984 Chernobyl,
where an atomic
power station was
met with accident.
This event has
caused large
destruction.

21. ● In 2011 Fukushima
nuclear disaster, there
was a fear of ionizing
radiation could have
long-term
psychological effects
on a large portion of
the population in the
contaminated areas.

23. Prevention
● Nuclear devices should be exploded under ground.
● Contaminants may be employed to decrease the
radioactive emissions.
● Production of radio isotopes should be minimised.
● Extreme care should be exercised in the disposal of
industrial wastes contained with radionuclide's.
● Use of high chimney and ventilations at the working
place where radioactive contamination is high.
● In nuclear mines, wet drilling may be employed along
with underground drainage.
● Fission reactions should be minimised.

24. Treatment of radioactive
pollutant
● The study demonstrates an efficient method for
decontamination of groundwater based on bacteria in
sludge that naturally convert uranium into an insoluble
form that can be more easily removed.
● Nuclear reprocessing - Already, caesium-137, strontium-
90 and a few other isotopes are extracted for certain
industrial applications such as food irradiation and
radioisotope thermoelectric generators.

25. Steps taken against it
1.Atomic energy act, 1962
2.Regulatory body ,constituent on nov 15 ,1983
3.Radiation protection rules, 1971
4.Atomic energy (safe disposal of radioactive waste) rules,
1987
5.Environmental protection act,1986
6.Indian penal code: section 268
7.Criminal procedure code: section 133 to 144(1973)

26. Thank you!!