1. Radioactivity in everyday life
Julia Steckling

2. Contents Units Different types of radiation Natural radioactivity
Artificial radioactivity
Consequences for humans
hazard-poison-radioactive.jpg
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3. Units (Activity) Becquerel Gray Sievert (= Gray ∙ quality factor)
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4. Different types of radiation
α-particles
β-particles
β- decay: 𝑛 →𝑝+ 𝑒 − + 𝜈 𝑒
β+ decay: 𝑝 →𝑛+ 𝑒 + + 𝜈 𝑒 2+
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5. Different types of radiation
Gamma-rays
electromagnetic radiation of extremely high frequency, consists of high- energy photons
X-rays ≡ low energy gamma-rays
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6. Different types of radiation
No. 6 in a series of essays on Radioactivity, Royal Society of Chemistry, Radiochemical Methods Group
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7. Natural radiation sources
Primordial radionuclides
Terrestrial radiation
Rocks and soil contain uranium, thorium and potassium
Cosmic radiation
 Secondary cosmic radiation / cosmogenic radionuclides
Nuclid
Half-lives
Type of radiation
Potassium-40
1.3 billion years
Beta, Gamma
Uranium-238
4.5 billion years
Alpha, Gamma
Uranium-235
700 million years
Thorium-232
14 billion years
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8. Natural radiation sources
Air
Radon gas in buildings:
Average value 50 Bq/m³
5-10%  100 Bq/m³
0.04%  >1000 Bq/m³
14,000 lung cancer death
per year in USA
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9. Nuclides Uranium decay series Thorium decay series
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10. Natural radiation sources
Average radiation exposition
outside buildings in Germany
(in mSv/a)
Food
Tea, coffee, brazil nuts
Potassium-40 (0.012%)
Tritium (Hydrogen-3)
Carbon-14
Tobacco
uploads/2012/12/Brazil-Nuts.jpg
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11. https://www. hknuclear
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12. Limit for damage through radiation: 250 mSv
knowledge_clip_image004.jpg
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13. Artificial Radiation Fallout: nuclear weapons
testing almost doubled the
concentration of C-14
in the Northern Hemisphere
media/File:Radiocarbon_bomb_spike.svg
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14. Artificial Radiation - Accidents
Chernobyl (April 26, 1986):
Cs-137  half live of 30 years;
0.01 mSv per year
(1986: 1 mSv in Bavaria)
Fukushima (March 11, 2011): no higher
doses detectable in Germany (2013)
uploads/2011/01/chernobyl.jpg
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15. Artificial Radiation Consumer products: Smoke detectors
 americium-241
Luminous watches and clocks
KCl salt substitute
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16. Events in Germany 2000 - 2010 INES-ranking Counts per year
Year under review
Events in Germany
INES-ranking
Level
Term
deviation 1
anomaly 2
incident 3
serious incident
Prof. Dr. Jürgen Kiefer, Strahlen und Gesundheit, Nutzen und Risiken,
1. Auflage, Wiley-VCH, 2012
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17. Consequences
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18. Consequences Restrictions by EU / ”Strahlenschutzverordnung”:
Maximum dose:
1 mSv/ year for general public
Radiation workers: 20 mSv/year or 50 mSv/year but not more than 100 mSv/5 years
Exceptions:
Live-saving: 100 mSv / once a year
Case of disaster: 250 mSv / once in a lifetime
Working life:
400 mSv for radiation workers
mSv for astronauts
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19. Sources
Bundesministerium für Umwelt, Naturschutz, Bau und Reaktorsicherheit (BMUB) - Umweltradioaktivität und Strahlenbelastung, Jahresbericht 2013
Prof. Dr. Jürgen Kiefer, Strahlen und Gesundheit, Nutzen und Risiken, 1. Auflage, Wiley-VCH, 2012
No. 6 in a series of essays on Radioactivity, Royal Society of Chemistry, Radiochemical Methods Group
Journal of Chemical Education, F. I. Hutchison, S. G. Hutchison, Radioactivity in Everyday Life, 1997
Julia Steckling

20. Radioactivity in everyday life
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21.
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