Different forms of radiation have different effects. Visible light, infrared heat rays, and certain radiation are generally beneficial. Some other forms of radiation, for example, X-rays, are more energetic and, therefore, biologically injurious because of their destructive action on cells and tissues. In this article, you will know the effects and methods to control of radiation.
Dominating Effects of Radiation
The highly energetic forms of radiation tend to split substances, including living matter, into ions, that is, ionizing radiation. Ultra-violet radiation is highly detrimental to the tissues of some organisms. It is well recognized that sub-burn is caused largely by the ultraviolet content of the sun’s radiation. Excessive exposure can cause serious injury to the skin’s superficial and deep layers.
The ill effects of radiation or radioactive pollution are numerous. Radiation can cause cancers, abnormal births, skin diseases, mutations etc. Chronic exposure to radiation leads to leukemia in an individual and even affects an urban child in the womb.
The main characteristics of all radio-nuclides are decay and subsequent emission of radiation. These are the effects of radiation. Each radio-nuclide has a characteristic decay constant known as the half-life. This period may range from a few seconds to years. Thus a radio-nuclide with a short half-life vanishes quickly, and a radio-nuclide with a long half-life remains for years, emitting radiation. These emissions are of three types:
- Alpha rays consisting of positively charged particles.
- Beta rays have negatively charged particles.
- Gamma rays are identical to X-rays, without any charge.
The energy of these radiations varies from a low value to several million electron volts. Thus the effects of every radioactive contaminant on living organisms depend primarily on the type of radiation and its penetrating power. Alpha rays have less penetrating power, beta rays have more penetrating power than X-rays, and gamma rays have the highest penetrating power.
The ill effects due to radioactive pollution are numerous. Radiations can cause cancers, abnormal births, and mutations. These effects are common in plants and animals, and such abnormalities eliminate with evolutionary processes of natural selection, i.e., survival of the fittest. Since natural selection does not operate in man, radioactive pollution can cause immense human misery.
There is no threshold or safe dose for radiation effects. Even the smallest increase in radiation above the natural background radiation carries risks. Chronic exposure to radiation leads to leukemia in an individual and even affects an unborn child in the womb. Genetic damage to future generations is possible. Hence, radioactive pollution is primarily a health issue for a man compare to other environmental pollutants.
Different Techniques to Prevention and Control of Radiation
Despite certain harmful effects of radioactivity, nuclear power and other uses of radioactive elements have become an integral part of modern development. Many of the environmentally-conscious countries in the world depend on nuclear power significantly for electricity generation. It is clean because its environmental impact is minimal compare to other generating sources. To make it environmentally safer, there is a need for monitoring and prevention measures.
Prevention and control measures adopt to control radioactive pollutants. All measures should so aim that the level of radioactive pollution should not exceed the maximum permissible limit. We need to control of radiation and the emission of radioactive pollutants. Industrial wastes have radioactive elements only discharge after proper treatment. The highly active wastes should not be discharged. Now, a few techniques have develop to use these wastes.
There is a need to control radiation nuclear hazards for workers and officials working in reactors or other places having radioactivity. In the case of nuclear reactors, closed-cycle systems with very high-purity gaseous coolants muse to prevent extraneous activation products.
There is a need for regular monitoring and clean-up of the surface, careful washing is necessary, apart from this, proper kit to protect the workers from radiation effects and property health care of workers is also necessary. Moreover, power station personnel train in radiation protection and hazard control measures.
The UN and other world agencies favor’s a total ban on nuclear weapons, but very little progress has been made in this field. Let us hope that the time will come when our world will be free from the dangers of atom bombs and other nuclear weapons. A rigorous monitoring system is necessary by which the nature and level of radioactive pollutants can be determined.