Wilhem Conrad Roentgen discovered X-rays and in 1901 he received the first Nobel Prize for physics Marie Curie and Pierre Curie, along with Henri Becquerel were awarded the Nobel Prize in physics for their contributions to understanding radioactivity, including the properties of uranium Enrico Fermi and others started the first sustained nuclear chain reaction in a laboratory beneath the University of Chicago football stadium – Nuclear bombs dropped on Japan. Historical Awareness

Case Study - Sunburn Solar radiation wavelength Visible light – 400 to 760 nm Ultraviolet radiation (UV) - >400 nm (sunburn) Infrared radiation - <760 nm (heat) UV radiation Stimulates melanin (dark pigment) that absorbs UV protecting cells Health Effects 2 to 3 million non-malignant skin cancers 130,000 malignant melanomas Sunburn – acute cell injury causing inflammatory response (erythema) Accelerates aging process

Radium Girls "Not to worry," their bosses told them. "If you swallow any radium, it'll make your cheeks rosy.“ The women at Radium Dial sometimes painted their teeth and faces and then turned off the lights for a laugh. From: 'Radium Girls' By Martha Irvine, Associated Press, Buffalo News, 1998

Case Study - Radium 1898 – Discovered by Marie Curie – Radium Therapy - used to treat arthritis, stomach ailments and cancer Accepted by American Medical Association WWI – Use of radium on watch dials 1920s – U.S. Radium corporation employed young women to paint watch dials Late 1920s – Radium girls sue, win and receive compensation

Opium War of Great Britain has a monopoly on the sale of opium which it forces on China. Eventually getting control of Hong Kong. Consider our societies current “wars on drugs”. Historical Events

Life & Radiation All life is dependent on small doses of electromagnetic radiation. For example, photosynthesis and vision use the suns radiation.

Radiation Nonionizing Ultraviolet, visible, infrared, microwaves, radio & TV, power transmission Ionizing Radiation capable for producing ions when interacting with matter – x-rays, alpha, beta, gamma, cosmic rays

Electromagnetic Spectrum

Nonionizing Radiation  Sources Ultraviolet light Visible light Infrared radiation Microwaves Radio & TV Power transmission

Nonionizing Examples Ultraviolet – Black light – induce fluorescence in some materials Vision – very small portion that animals use to process visual information Heat – infrared – a little beyond the red spectrum Radio waves – beyond infrared Micro waves Electrical power transmission – 60 cycles per second with a wave length of 1 to 2 million meters.

Ultraviolet - Sources Sun light Most harmful UV is absorbed by the atmosphere – depends on altitude Fluorescent lamps Electric arc welding Can damage the eye (cornea) Germicidal lamps Eye damage from sun light Skin cancer

Ultraviolet - Effects High ultraviolet – kills bacterial and other infectious agents High dose causes - sun burn – increased risk of skin cancer Pigmentation that results in suntan Suntan lotions contain chemicals that absorb UV radiation Reaction in the skin to produce Vitamin D that prevents rickets Strongly absorbed by air – thus the danger of hole in the atmosphere

Visible Energy Energy between 400 and 750 nm High energy – bright light produces of number of adaptive responses Standards are set for the intensity of light in the work place (measured in candles or lumens)

Infrared Radiation Energy between 750 nm to 0.3 cm The energy of heat – Heat is the transfer of energy Can damage – cornea, iris, retina and lens of the eye (glass workers – “glass blower’s cataract”)

Microwaves & Radio Waves Energy between 0.1 cm to 1 kilometer Varity of industrial and home uses for heating and information transfer (radio, TV, mobile phones) Produced by molecular vibration in solid bodies or crystals Health effects – heating, cataracts Long-term effects being studied

Electrical Power Standard in homes and businesses Highest level of exposure from electric- power generation and distribution system (high voltage power lines) Medical system – Magnetic imaging Acute health effects – shock Long-term health effects appear to be few but may some data do suggest adverse effects

Ionizing Radiation Ionization Defined Radiation capable for producing ions when interacting with matter – in other words enough energy to remove an electron from an atom. Sources – x-rays, radioactive material produce alpha, beta, and gamma radiation, cosmic rays from the sun and space.

Ionizing Radiation PaperWoodConcrete Alpha Beta Gamma Energy Low Medium High

Radioactive Material Either natural or created in nuclear reactor or accelerator Radioactive material is unstable and emits energy in order to return to a more stable state (particles or gamma-rays) Half-life – time for radioactive material to decay by one-half

Alpha Particles Two neutrons and two protons Big particle Charge of +2 Emitted from nucleus of radioactive atoms Transfer energy in very short distances (10 cm in air) because its big Shielded by paper or layer of skin Primary hazard from internal exposure ingestion Alpha emitters can accumulate in tissue (bone, kidney, liver, lung, spleen) causing local damage

Beta Particles Small electrically charged particles similar to electrons Charge of -1 Ejected from nuclei of radioactive atoms Emitted with various kinetic energies Shielded by wood, body penetration 0.2 to 1.3 cm depending on energy Can cause skin burns or be an internal hazard of ingested

Gamma-rays Electromagnetic photons or radiation (identical to x-rays except for source) Emitted from nucleus of radioactive atoms – spontaneous emission Emitted with kinetic energy related to radioactive source Highly penetrating – extensive shielding required Serious external radiation hazard

Gamma-rays Gamma can be a problem in nuclear wars, and in using gamma for treatment. In hospitals you need very thick walls in gamma-rooms to stop them from penetrating to outside Shield is usually made from Lead There is a massive wall in tel aviv, in case of a nuclear war, everyone will go inside the walls, completely isolated from outside. There can be a psychological problem because of having so many people in such a small area for very long.

X-rays Overlap with gamma-rays Electromagnetic photons or radiation Produced from orbiting electrons or free electrons – usually machine produced outside nucleus Produced when electrons strike a target material inside x-ray tube Emitted with various energies & wavelengths Highly penetrating – extensive shielding required (usually lead, stronger than concrete, so u need a less thick wall) External radiation hazard Discovered in 1895 by Roentgen

X-rays Soft x-ray: When a patient takes an X-ray, some particles will reflect from the patient, those reflected radiations have low energy, but they’re still a little harmful, so theses soft X-rays (reflected) can be a hazard to other people around the patient (doctors and nurses) Sometimes with an old/very young patient, a person will help the patient to position himself correctly for the X-ray, this person is in danger of soft X-rays, even if they stay away from the primary radiation

Ionizing Radiation Health Effects We evolved with a certain level of naturally occurring ionizing radiation from cosmic radiation, radioactive materials in the earth. We have mechanisms to repair damage. Sometimes the damage may skip the repair mechanism, so you have a mutation

Radiation Units Older units: Curie (Ci): was used to measure activity of a source, to know if a source is more active than others It is the number of disintegrated atoms per unit time It does not measure health effects

Radiation Units Older units: Roentgen: Measures ionization power. when a radioactive material hits a medium, changing it to the ionized form, then measure how many ions are produced Joul/KG Doesn’t show health effects.

Radiation Units Older units: Rad: (Radiation absorbed dose) When a radiation hits a body/tissue, it’ll give it energy, how much of radiation energy is absorbed into the medium is rad. Still, not health effects

Radiation Units Older units: REM: Radiation equivalent man (wiki says its Roentgen equivilent man) Measures the amount of damage that occurred in a tissue after it absorbs energy

Radiation Units Older units: There’s a relationship between rad and rem, they decided that X-ray should be standard, which means for X-ray radiation, REM = rad Means that REM is amount of damage that occurred in a tissue that absorbed one rad of X-ray

Radiation Units Older units: Every radiation has a Coefficient, called quality factor. Quality Factor X rad = REM Example: If beta was given with the same energy as an X-ray, it will deal more damage than the X-ray. Alpha even more damage. (10 times more Damage; quality factor = 10)

Radiation Units Older units: So to know REM from rad, you need to know the type of radiation and the quality factor of that radiation.

New Radiation Units Exposure – X (joul/kg) (Related to energy) Absorbed Dose – Gray (Gy) (amount of energy absorbed) instead of rad Equivalent Dose – Sievert (Sv) (makes different sources of radiation equivalent) instead of REM

Standards Occupational Exposure Guidelines 100 mSv over 5 years (average 20 mSv/year) with a maximum of 50 mSv in any one year General public – back ground about 3 mSv/year – Guideline 1 mSv/year If someone’s exposed to radiation above the standard exposure, they get a break to reduce the exposure

Standards Notice how occupational is 20, general public is 3. Remember, workers are 20~60 years old, with usually a better health than the general public. The general public contains elderly, young children, sick people..etc so their exposure has to be lower That is why occupational health is different from public health

Dose Response Tissue Examples of tissue Sensitivity Very High Highest mitotic activity White blood cells (bone marrow) Intestinal epithelium Reproductive cells High Optic lens epithelium Esophageal epithelium Mucous membranes Medium Brain – Glial cells Lung, kidney, liver, thyroid, pancreatic epithelium Low lowest mitotic activity Mature red blood cells Muscle cells Mature bone and cartilage

Dose Response Issues Dose (Sv) Effects / organTime to death Death (%) 1-2Bone marrowMonths Bone marrowWeeks Diarrhea, fever 2 weeks >50Neurological1- 4 hrs 100

Dose Response Issues Notice how its 100% death if it involves the brain. Anywhere else, there’s a possibility that they survive if they’re provided excellent support. Which is expensive once an accident inside a hospital in france resulted in a few workers getting a rapid very high exposure of radiation, in the hospital, they isolated them completely. They had to give them huge amounts of blood, up to 500 units of blood. That is unaffordable.

Dose Response Issues The first 14 days are the most crucial ones, if you survive for the first 14 days there’s a good chance you’ll recover completely.. The doctor read the 2 tables in slides 37, 38, focusing on neurological effects. The closer you are to the radiation source, the more your dose will be. Meaning those closest so the source of radiation are in the most danger.

Rate of decay of radioisotope How long it takes to lose half their strength Can range from very short to billions of years Carbon – 5730 years, which makes it valuable for dating (fossils) Half-life

 Time Reduce the spent near the source of radiation.  Distance Increase the distance from the source of radiation. Its actually distance squared, so if you move away 2 meters, you’ll get ¼ of the radiation.  Shielding Place shielding material between you and the source of radiation. Remember if there’s a nuclear war, its not just about the initial effect, the after-effect is also important, and just as dangerous. Remember that Bone morrow radiation exposure causes weak immunity Reducing Exposure

Occupational exposure guidlines are 100 mSv in 5 years (average, 20 mSv per year) with a limit of 50 mSv in any single year. General public the standard is 1 mSv per year. (Natural background radiation is approximately 3 mSv/year.) Recommended exposure limits are set by the US National Council on Radiation Protection (NCRP) and world wide by International Council on Radiation Protection (ICRP). Regulatory Status