Exposure to Ionizing and Non Ionizing Electromagnetic Radiation

 

Ionizing radiation is the energy generated from natural and man-made radioactive materials. It is present in the environment because of naturally occurring radioactive minerals remaining from the very early formation of the planet earth. This leads to exposure to gamma rays and radioactive radon gas from certain rocks and from radioactive material in food and drink. Exposure also occurs from natural ionizing radiation that passes through the atmosphere from outer space, the so called ‘cosmic radiation’.

There are three main sources of artificial or man-made ionizing radiation.

  •        It is used in medicine for treating cancer and for the diagnosis of many diseases.
  •       Radioactive materials are used in industry, primarily for measurement purposes and for producing electricity. Bothe medical and industrial uses of radiation produce radioactive waste.
  •      It is present as fallout from previous nuclear weapon explosions and other accidents/incidents worldwide.

The damaging effects of ionizing radiation come from the bundle/packages of high energy that are released from radioactive material. Different types of ionizing radiation have different patterns/ornamentation of energy release and penetrating power.

It is important to know that the radiations in the environment that come from sunlight, power lines, electrical equipment and mobile phone systems do not have enough energy to produce ionization. Therefore, they are called non-ionizing radiations.

Exposure to Ionizing and Non Ionizing Electromagnetic Radiation

Since electromagnetic radiation is dependent upon wavelength, the wavelength of the radiation determines its location in the spectrum.

What is radiation?

Radiation is the emission of energy from matter. Basically there are 2 types of radiation, non-ionizing and ionizing radiation.

Non-ionizing radiation, e.g. visible light, ultra-violet light, infra-red light, radio waves or microwaves, may deposit thermal energy in the body or have no effect at all.

Ionizing radiation, e.g. alpha, beta, Gama, neutron and X-ray radiation, has sufficient energy to cause chemical changes to biological molecules, which can lead to ill-health effects. Substantial amount of exposure to ionizing radiation may damage cells or tissues. Sources of ionizing radiation are radioactive materials and X-ray machines.

 

 


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