Nick Connor

A contaminant is generally referred to as an unwanted constituent, harmful substance or impurity in a location (material, physical body, natural environment, workplace) where it is not intended or desired to be. Contaminants have much more general meaning, since is can be defined in disciplines such as chemistry, environmental protection, radiation protection or agriculture.

Radioactive contamination is referred to as the presence of an unwanted radioactive substances on surfaces, or within solids (including the human body), liquids or gases, where their presence is unintended or undesirable. Radioactive contamination consist of radioactive atoms (material) that have escaped the system or structure that would normally contain them. Since radioactive contamination is radioactive material, ionizing radiation is emitted by the contamination. It is very important, which material (which radioisotope) is the radioactive contaminant. It is also very important to distinguish between radioactive contamination and radiation itself.

Radiactive Contaminants

Radioactive contamination consist of radioactive material, that generate ionizing radiation. It is the source of radiation, not radiation itself. Anytime that radioactive material is not in a sealed radioactive source container and might be spread onto other objects, radioactive contamination is a possibility. Radioactive contamination may be characterized by following points:

• Radioactive contamination consist of radioactive material (contaminants), that may be solid, liquid or gaseous. Large contaminants can be even visible, but you cannot see radiation produced.
• When released, contaminants can be spread by air, water or just by mechanical contact.
• We cannot shield contamination.
• We can mitigate contamination by protecting integrity of barriers (source container, fuel cladding, reactor vessel, containment building)
• Since contaminants interact chemically, they may be contained within objects such as the human body.
• We can rid of contamination by many mechanical, chemical (decontaminate surfaces), or biological processes (biological half-life).
• It is of the highest importance, which material is the radioactive contaminant (half-life, mode of decay, energy).

See also:

Contamination

Radioactive contamination is referred to as the presence of an unwanted radioactive substances on surfaces, or within solids (including the human body), liquids or gases, where their presence is unintended or undesirable. Radioactive contamination consist of radioactive atoms (material) that have escaped the system or structure that would normally contain them. Since radioactive contamination is radioactive material, ionizing radiation is emitted by the contamination. It is very important, which material (which radioisotope) is the radioactive contaminant. It is also very important to distinguish between radioactive contamination and radiation itself.

Radioactive contamination consist of radioactive material, that generate ionizing radiation. It is the source of radiation, not radiation itself. Anytime that radioactive material is not in a sealed radioactive source container and might be spread onto other objects, radioactive contamination is a possibility. Radioactive contamination may be characterized by following points:

• Radioactive contamination consist of radioactive material (contaminants), that may be solid, liquid or gaseous. Large contaminants can be even visible, but you cannot see radiation produced.
• When released, contaminants can be spread by air, water or just by mechanical contact.
• We cannot shield contamination.
• We can mitigate contamination by protecting integrity of barriers (source container, fuel cladding, reactor vessel, containment building)
• Since contaminants interact chemically, they may be contained within objects such as the human body.
• We can rid of contamination by many mechanical, chemical (decontaminate surfaces), or biological processes (biological half-life).
• It is of the highest importance, which material is the radioactive contaminant (half-life, mode of decay, energy).

Ionizing radiation is formed by high-energy particles (photons, electrons, etc.), that can penetrate matter and ionize (to form ion by losing electrons) target atoms to form ions. Radiation exposure is the consequence of the presence nearby the source of radiation. Radiation exposure as a quantity is defined as a measure of the ionization of material due to ionizing radiation. The danger of ionizing radiation lies in the fact that the radiation is invisible and not directly detectable by human senses. People can neither see nor feel radiation, yet it deposits energy to the molecules of the body. The energy is transferred in small quantities for each interaction between radiation and a molecule and there are usually many such interactions. Unlike radioactive contamination, radiation may be characterized by following points:

• Radiation consist consist of high-energy particles that can penetrate matter and ionize (to form ion by losing electrons) target atoms. Radiation is invisible, and not directly detectable by human senses. It must be noted, beta radiation is indirectly visible due to cherenkov radiation.
• Unlike contamination, radiation cannot be spread by any medium. It travels through materials until it loses its energy. We can shield radiation (e.g. by standing around the corner).
• Exposure to ionizing does not necessary mean, that the object becomes radioactive (except very rare neutron radiation).
• Radiation can penetrate barriers, but sufficiently thick barrier can minimize all effects.
• Unlike contaminants, radiation cannot interact chemically with matter and cannot be bound inside body.
• It is not important, which material is the source of certain radiation. Only type of radiation and energy matters.

There is one common feature, natural radiation and natural contaminants are all around us. In, around, and above the world we live in. It is a natural energy force that surrounds us. It is a part of our natural world that has been here since the birth of our planet. All living creatures, from the beginning of time, have been, and are still being, exposed to ionizing radiation. Natural background radiation is ionizing radiation, that originates from a variety of natural sources. All living creatures, from the beginning of time, have been, and are still being, exposed to ionizing radiation. This radiation is not associated with any human activity.  There are radioactive isotopes in our bodies, houses, air, water and in the soil. We all are also exposed to radiation from outer space.

See also:

Contamination

If the source of radiation is inside our body, we say, it is internal exposure. The intake of radioactive material can occur through various pathways such as ingestion of radioactive contamination in food or liquids, inhalation of radioactive gases, or through intact or wounded skin. Most radionuclides will give you much more radiation dose if they can somehow enter your body, than they would if they remained outside. For internal doses, we first should distinguish between intake and uptake. Intake means what a person takes in. Uptake means what a person keeps.

When a radioactive compound enters the body, the activity will decrease with time, due both to radioactive decay and to biological clearance. The decrease varies from one radioactive compound to another. For this purpose, the biological half-life is defined in radiation protection.

The biological half-life is the time taken for the amount of a particular element in the body to decrease to half of its initial value due to elimination by biological processes alone, when the rate of removal is roughly exponential. The biological half-life depends on the rate at which the body normally uses a particular compound of an element. Radioactive isotopes that were ingested or taken in through other pathways will gradually be removed from the body via bowels, kidneys, respiration and perspiration. This means that a radioactive substance can be expelled before it has had the chance to decay.

As a result, the biological half-life significantly influences the effective half-life and the overall dose from internal contamination. If a radioactive compound with radioactive half-life (t_1/2) is cleared from the body with a biological half-life t_b, the effective half-life (t_e) is given by the expression:

As can be seen, the biological mechanisms always decreases the overall dose from internal contamination.  Moreover, if t_1/2 is large in comparison to t_b, the effective half-life is approximately the same as t_b.

For example, tritium has the biological half-life about 10 days, while the radioactive half-life is about 12 years. On the other hand, radionuclides with very short radioactive half-lives have also very short effective half-lives. These radionuclides will deliver, for all practical purposes, the total radiation dose within the first few days or weeks after intake.

For tritium, the annual limit intake (ALI) is 1 x 10⁹ Bq. If you take in 1 x 10⁹ Bq of tritium, you will receive a whole-body dose of 20 mSv. The committed effective dose, E(t), is therefore 20 mSv. It does not depend whether a person intakes this amount of activity in a short time or in a long time. In every case, this person gets the same whole-body dose of 20 mSv.

Committed Effective Dose

In radiation protection, the committed dose is a dose quantity that measures the stochastic health risk due to an intake of radioactive material into the human body. Commited dose is given the symbol E(t), where t is the integration time in years following the intake. The SI unit of E(t) is the sievert (Sv) or but rem (roentgen equivalent man) is still commonly used (1 Sv = 100 rem). Unit of sievert was named after the Swedish scientist Rolf Sievert, who did a lot of the early work on dosimetry in radiation therapy.

Committed dose allows to determine the biological consequences of irradiation caused by radioactive material, that  is inside our body. A committed dose of 1 Sv from an internal source represents the same effective risk as the same amount of effective dose of 1 Sv applied uniformly to the whole body from an external source.

The ICRP defines two dose quantities for individual committed dose.

Committed Effective Dose

According to the ICRP, the committed effective dose, E(t) is defined as:

“The sum of the products of the committed organ or tissue equivalent doses and the appropriate tissue weighting factors (w_T), where t is the integration time in years following the intake. The commitment period is taken to be 50 years for adults, and to age 70 years for children.”

Committed Equivalent Dose

According to the ICRP, the committed equivalent dose, H_T(t) is defined as:

“The time integral of the equivalent dose rate in a particular tissue or organ that will be received by an individual following intake of radioactive material into the body by a Reference Person, where t is the integration time in years.”

Special Reference: ICRP, 2007. The 2007 Recommendations of the International Commission on Radiological Protection. ICRP Publication 103. Ann. ICRP 37 (2-4).

Annual Limit on Intake – ALI

In the assessment of committed effective doses for workers, intakes of radioactive material are controlled by the Annual Limit on Intake (ALI) defined by the ICRP, and expressed in units of activity (becquerels or curies).

The ALI was defined in by the ICRP in Publication 60 (ICRP, 1991b, paragraph S30) as:

“the activity intake (Bq) of a radionuclide which would lead to an effective dose corresponding to the annual limit E_limit;w, under the expectation that the worker is exposed to only this radionuclide.”

The ALI of radionuclide j is then:

where e(50) is the corresponding reference committed effective dose coefficient in (Sv/Bq). This dose coefficient, e(T), is determined by the radiotoxicity of a nuclide, and it accounts for radiation and tissue weighting factors, metabolic and biokinetic information.

See also: ICRP, 1994. Dose Coefficients for Intakes of Radionuclides by Workers. ICRP Publication 68. Ann. ICRP 24 (4).

The Commission recommended in Publication 60 that the ALI should be based on the dose limit of E_limit;w = 0.020 Sv in a year, with no time averaging. For members of the public E_limit;w = 0.001 Sv is the recommended value.

As an example, let assume an intake of radioactive tritium. For tritium, the annual limit intake (ALI) is 1 x 10⁹ Bq. If you take in 1 x 10⁹ Bq of tritium, you will receive a whole-body dose of 20 mSv. Note that, the biological half-life about 10 days, while the radioactive half-life is about 12 years. Instead of years, it takes a couple of months until the tritium has been pretty well eliminated. The committed effective dose, E(t), is therefore 20 mSv. It does not depend whether a person intakes this amount of activity in a short time or in a long time. In every case, this person gets the same whole-body dose of 20 mSv.

For ¹³¹I, ICRP has calculated that if you inhale 1 x 10⁶ Bq (ALI for ¹³¹I), you will receive a thyroid dose of HT = 400 mSv (and weighted whole-body dose of 20 mSv).

Derived Air Concentration – DAC

Concentrations of radioactive materials in air are limited by the Derived Air Concentration (DAC), which are derived from the ALI. The DAC is the activity concentration in air in units of Bq/m³ of the radionuclide considered, which would lead to an intake of an ALI (Bq) assuming a gender-averaged breathing rate of 1.1 m³/h and an annual working time of 2000 h (an annual air intake of 2200 m³).

The DAC was defined in by the ICRP in Publication 60 (ICRP, 1991b, paragraph S30) as:

“Derived air concentration equals to the annual limit on intake, ALI, (of a radionuclide) divided by the volume of air inhaled by a Reference Person in a working year (i.e., 2.2×10³ m³). The unit of DAC is Bq/m³.”

Special Reference: ICRP, 2007. The 2007 Recommendations of the International Commission on Radiological Protection. ICRP Publication 103. Ann. ICRP 37 (2-4).

Therefore, if we divide the ALI by 2200 m³, we will get the DAC in Bq/m³. For example, the ALI of iodine-131 is 1 x 10⁶ Bq. The corresponding DAC will be 1 000 000/2400 = 417 Bq/m³.

The DAC of radionuclide j is given by:

If a worker breathes air containing radioactive material at a concentration of 1 DAC for one hour, then the worker has been exposed to 1 DAC.hr.

See also: Airborne Contamination

Occupational Exposure – Effective Dose

In most situations of occupational exposure the effective dose, E, can be derived from operational quantities using the following formula:

The committed dose is a dose quantity that measures the stochastic health risk due to an intake of radioactive material into the human body. Since the operational dose limit of 20 mSv applies to the sum of the internal and external exposures, if a worker has some external dose, the ALI must be modified or offset to account for the external dose. For example, assume the worker has 10 mSv from external sources of radiation. Only 10 more mSv are allowed from internal radiation before the worker reaches the occupational whole body limit.

See also: Dose Limits

See also:

Protection from Exposures

According to the ICRP (Publication 103), the System of Radiological Protection is based on the following three principles:

1. Justification. “Any decision that alters the radiation exposure situation should do more good than harm.”
2. Optimisation of Protection. “Doses should all be kept as low as reasonably achievable, taking into account economic and societal factors.” (known as ALARA or ALARP)
3. Dose Limitation. “The total dose to any individual … should not exceed the appropriate limits.”

One of these principles is optimisation of protection, which requires, that:

“doses should all be kept as low as reasonably achievable”.

This statement is known as the ALARA principle. ALARA is an acronym for “as low as is reasonably achievable”. The ALARA principle means that we should make all reasonable efforts to maintain exposures to radiation as far below the dose limits in this part as is practical consistent with the purpose for which the licensed activity is undertaken, while at the same time not wasting a lot of money, time and effort to do so. The ALARA principle arises from the fact that infinite time, effort and money could be spent in the attempt of reducing a risk to zero.

ALARA and Radiation Shielding

If the source of radiation is too intensive and time or distance do not provide sufficient radiation protection, the shielding must be used. Radiation shielding usually consist of barriers of lead, concrete or water. There are many many materials, which can be used for radiation shielding, but there are also many situations in radiation protection. It highly depends on the type of radiation to be shielded, its energy, and many other parametres.

Generally, shielding of gamma rays is based on attenuation theory, which uses the concept of half-value layers. The half value layer expresses the thickness of absorbing material needed for reduction of the incident radiation intensity by a factor of two. As a result, according to attenuation theory, it is impossible to shield radiation completely, because attenuation is exponential. Almost every time some radiation, however small, travels through radiation shield.

Recall, today the protection system is based on the LNT-hypothesis, assuming that all radiation is bad and that the deleterious effect (essentially the cancer risk) increases linearly with dose with no threshold (start at zero dose). But we cannot shield radiation completely, becauses it would require radiation shields of infinite thickness. So what is the optimal thickness of radiation shield? Since zero dose is not attainable, we can only minimize effects of radiation As Low As is Reasonable Achievable (the ALARA – principle). The ALARA principle is also reflected in dose limits. In general, these limits are set to limit stochastic effects to an acceptable level, and to prevent deterministic effects completely.

ALARA and ALARP

The term ALARP arises from UK legislation, particularly the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, which requires “Provision and maintenance of plant and systems of work that are, so far as is reasonably practicable, safe and without risks to health”. The phrase So Far As is Reasonably Practicable (SFARP) in this and similar clauses is interpreted as leading to a requirement that risks must be reduced to a level that is As Low As is Reasonably Practicable (ALARP). ALARP, used especially in the UK, is much more broad term than ALARA, since it is applicable in various fields of the regulation and management of safety-critical and safety-involved systems.

The term “as low as reasonably achievable” (ALARA) used in the optimisation principle is synonymous with ALARP, and is the term used to describe the risk reduction process outside the UK. The term ALARA, or “as low as reasonably achievable” is used interchangeably in the United States of America, almost exclusively in the field of radiation protection. ALARA and ALARP are considered to be equivalent in meaning and purpose.

See also:

Protection from Exposures

Unlike contamination, radiation cannot be spread by any medium. It travels through materials until it loses its energy. Exposure to ionizing does not necessary mean, that the object becomes radioactive (except very rare neutron radiation). In order to become radioactive, you have to contain some radioactive material. In general, there are two ways, how to become radioactive:

• Exposure to neutron radiation. Neutrons interact only with atomic nuclei and may be captured by target nucleus. This reaction is known as the radiative capture and this reaction makes matter radioactive. The radioactive decay of these produced radionuclides is specific for each element (nuclide). Each nuclide emits the characteristic gamma rays. Significant neutron radiation is generally only found inside nuclear reactors. But it does not mean, you cannot meet neutrons in everyday life. Neutrons are also produced in the upper atmosphere. Cosmic rays interact with nuclei in the atmosphere, and produce also high-energy neutrons. According to UNSCEAR the fluency of neutrons is 0.0123 cm^-2s^–1 at sea level for a geomagnetic latitude of 45 N. Based on this, the effective annual dose from neutrons at sea level and at 50 degree latitude is estimated to be 0.08 mSv (8 mrem).
• Intake of radioactive material. The intake of radioactive material can occur through various pathways such as ingestion of radioactive contamination in food or liquids. This is the principle behind the medical use (nuclear medicine) of many radioactive materials, as it aids in imaging, diagnosis, and other areas. Nuclear medicine uses a very small amounts of radioactive materials called radiotracers, which are taken internally, for example, intravenously or orally. Between the short half-lives of the elements involved and the body’s natural means of disposing of many radioactive elements, a person’s individual radioactivity is usually short-lived.

What’s the answer? A person becomes ‘radioactive’ if dust particles containing various radioisotopes land on the person’s skin or garments. This is contamination. Once a person has been decontaminated by clothes removal and dermal scrubbing, all of the particulate radioactivity sources are eliminated, and the individual is no longer contaminated. But a person exposed to radiation will not become radioactive. Alpha, beta, gamma radiations cannot activate target nuclei, since they interact primarily with atomic electrons. Therefore, most types of radiation cannot activate any material. Radiation travels through materials until it loses its energy. After this, materials remain inactive. Though, as it is said. The human body is already radioactive.

Another very important point is that all people also have some radioactive isotopes inside their bodies from birth. These isotopes are especially potassium-40, carbon-14 and also the isotopes of uranium and thorium. The variation in radiation dose from one person to another is not as great as the variation in dose from cosmic and terrestrial sources. The average annual radiation dose to a person from internal radioactive materials other than radon is about 0.3 mSv/year of which:

• 2 mSv/year comes from potassium-40,
• 0.12 mSv/year comes from the uranium and thorium series,
• 12 μSv/year comes from carbon-40.

As can be seen, major contributor is potassium-40. The potassium concentration in the human body is strictly based on the homeostatic principle. Potassium is more or less distributed in the body (especially in soft tissues) following intake in foods. A 70-kg man contains about 126 g of potassium (0.18%), most of that is located in muscles. The daily consumption of potassium is approximately 2.5 gram. Hence the concentration of potassium-40 is nearly stable in all persons at a level of about 55 Bq/kg (3850 Bq in total), which corresponds to the annual effective dose of 0.2 mSv. In addition, sleeping next to someone also causes a radiation dose of about 0.05 µSv.

See also: Internal Source of Radiation

See also:

Protection from Exposures

Atoms are the smallest constituents of ordinary matter, which can be divided without the release of electrically charged particles. The atoms consist of two parts. An atomic nucleus and an electron cloud. Radioactive atoms are atoms, which contain unstable nucleus, and which may undergo radioactive decay. The term radioactive atom is misleading term, since usually only nuclei may undergo decay and changes in electron configuration are only a result of changes in nucleus configuration. It must be noted, this is not a rule. In case of electron capture, also electron cloud plays a key role, since a parent nucleus must capture one of its orbital electrons.

Radionuclides

There are nuclides that are unstable and radioactive. These nuclides are  known as radionuclides (radioactive nuclides) or radioisotopes (radioactive isotopes). These unstable isotopes decay through various radioactive decay pathways, most commonly alpha decay, beta decay, gamma decay or electron capture. Many other rare types of decay, such as spontaneous fission or neutron emission are known.

As was written, radioactive decay of radionuclides is a random process at the level of single atoms, in that, according to quantum theory, it is impossible to predict when a particular atom will decay. In other words, a nucleus of a radionuclide has no “memory”. A nucleus does not “age” with the passage of time. Thus, the probability of its breaking down does not increase with time, but stays constant no matter how long the nucleus has existed.

Therefore, the rate of nuclear decay can be also measured in terms of half-lives. Each radionuclide has its own particular half-life that never changes, regardless of the quantity or form of the material (i.e., solid, liquid, gas, element or compound) or its past history. If a radioisotope has a half-life of 14 days, half of its atoms will have decayed within 14 days. In 14 more days, half of that remaining half will decay, and so on.

 

See also:

Atom

Contamination is generally referred to as the presence of an unwanted constituent, harmful substance or impurity in a location (material, physical body, natural environment, workplace) where it is not intended or desired to be. Contamination has much more general meaning, since is can be defined in disciplines such as chemistry, environmental protection, radiation protection or agriculture.

Radioactive contamination is referred to as the presence of an unwanted radioactive substances on surfaces, or within solids (including the human body), liquids or gases, where their presence is unintended or undesirable. Radioactive contamination consist of radioactive atoms (material) that have escaped the system or structure that would normally contain them. Since radioactive contamination is radioactive material, ionizing radiation is emitted by the contamination. It is very important, which material (which radioisotope) is the radioactive contaminant. It is also very important to distinguish between radioactive contamination and radiation itself.

Contamination versus Radiation

Radioactive contamination consist of radioactive material, that generate ionizing radiation. It is the source of radiation, not radiation itself. Anytime that radioactive material is not in a sealed radioactive source container and might be spread onto other objects, radioactive contamination is a possibility. Radioactive contamination may be characterized by following points:

• Radioactive contamination consist of radioactive material (contaminants), that may be solid, liquid or gaseous. Large contaminants can be even visible, but you cannot see radiation produced.
• When released, contaminants can be spread by air, water or just by mechanical contact.
• We cannot shield contamination.
• We can mitigate contamination by protecting integrity of barriers (source container, fuel cladding, reactor vessel, containment building)
• Since contaminants interact chemically, they may be contained within objects such as the human body.
• We can rid of contamination by many mechanical, chemical (decontaminate surfaces), or biological processes (biological half-life).
• It is of the highest importance, which material is the radioactive contaminant (half-life, mode of decay, energy).

Ionizing radiation is formed by high-energy particles (photons, electrons, etc.), that can penetrate matter and ionize (to form ion by losing electrons) target atoms to form ions. Radiation exposure is the consequence of the presence nearby the source of radiation. Radiation exposure as a quantity is defined as a measure of the ionization of material due to ionizing radiation. The danger of ionizing radiation lies in the fact that the radiation is invisible and not directly detectable by human senses. People can neither see nor feel radiation, yet it deposits energy to the molecules of the body. The energy is transferred in small quantities for each interaction between radiation and a molecule and there are usually many such interactions. Unlike radioactive contamination, radiation may be characterized by following points:

• Radiation consist consist of high-energy particles that can penetrate matter and ionize (to form ion by losing electrons) target atoms. Radiation is invisible, and not directly detectable by human senses. It must be noted, beta radiation is indirectly visible due to cherenkov radiation.
• Unlike contamination, radiation cannot be spread by any medium. It travels through materials until it loses its energy. We can shield radiation (e.g. by standing around the corner).
• Exposure to ionizing does not necessary mean, that the object becomes radioactive (except very rare neutron radiation).
• Radiation can penetrate barriers, but sufficiently thick barrier can minimize all effects.
• Unlike contaminants, radiation cannot interact chemically with matter and cannot be bound inside body.
• It is not important, which material is the source of certain radiation. Only type of radiation and energy matters.

There is one common feature, natural radiation and natural contaminants are all around us. In, around, and above the world we live in. It is a natural energy force that surrounds us. It is a part of our natural world that has been here since the birth of our planet. All living creatures, from the beginning of time, have been, and are still being, exposed to ionizing radiation. Natural background radiation is ionizing radiation, that originates from a variety of natural sources. All living creatures, from the beginning of time, have been, and are still being, exposed to ionizing radiation. This radiation is not associated with any human activity.  There are radioactive isotopes in our bodies, houses, air, water and in the soil. We all are also exposed to radiation from outer space.

Types of Contamination

Radioactive materials may exist on surfaces or in volumes of material or air, and specialist techniques are used to measure the levels of contamination by detection of the emitted radiation. We can distinguish between following types of contamination:

Surface Contamination

Surface contamination means that radioactive material has been deposited on surfaces (such as walls, floors). It may be loosely deposited, much like ordinary dust, or it may be quite firmly fixed by chemical reaction. This distinction is important, and we classify surface contamination on the basis of how easily it can be removed:

• Free Contamination. In the case of free contamination (or loose contamination), the radioactive material can be spread. This is surface contamination that can easily be removed with simple decontamination methods. For example, if dust particles containing various radioisotopes land on the person’s skin or garments, we can clean it up or remove clothes. Once a person has been decontaminated, all of the particulate radioactivity sources are eliminated, and the individual is no longer contaminated. Free contamination is also a more serious hazard than fixed contamination, because dust particles can become airborne and they can be easily ingested. This leads to an internal exposure by radioactive contaminants. Although almost all contaminants are beta radioactive with accompanying gamma emission, but there is also the possibility of alpha contamination in any nuclear fuel handling areas.
• Fixed Contamination. In the case of fixed contamination, the radioactive material cannot be spread, since it is chemically or mechanically bound to structures. It cannot be removed by normal cleaning methods. Fixed contamination is a less serious hazard than free contamination, it cannot be re-suspended or transferred to skin. Therefore the hazard is usually an external one only. On the other hand, it depends on the level of contamination. Although almost all contaminants are beta radioactive with accompanying gamma emission, but there is also the possibility of alpha contamination in any nuclear fuel handling areas. Unless the level of contamination is very severe, the gamma radiation dose rate will be small and external exposure will be significant only in contact with, or very close to, the contaminated surfaces. Since beta particles are less penetrating than gamma rays, the beta dose rate can be high only at contact. A value of 1 mSv/h at contact for a contamination level of 400 – 500 Bq/cm² is fairly representative.

Airborne Contamination

This type of contamination is of particular importance in nuclear power plants, where it must be monitored. Contaminants can become airborne especially during reactor top head remove, reactor refueling, and during manipulations within spent fuel pool. The air can be contaminated with radioactive isotopes especially in particulate form, which poses a particular inhalation hazard. This contamination consists of various fission and activation products that enter the air in gaseous, vapour or particulate form. There are four types of airborne contamination in nuclear power plants, namely:

• Particulates. Particulate activity is an internal hazard, because it can be inhaled. Transportable particulate material taken into the respiratory system will enter the blood stream and be carried to all parts of the body. Non-transportable particulates will stay in the lungs with a certain biological half-life. For example, Sr-90, Ra-226 and Pu-239 are radionuclides known as bone-seeking radionuclides. These radionuclides have long biological half-lives and are serious internal hazards. Once deposited in bone, they remain there essentially unchanged in amount during the lifetime of the individual. The continued action of the emitted alpha particles can cause significant injury: over many years they deposit all their energy in a tiny volume of tissue, because the range of the alpha particles is very short.
• Noble gases. Radioactive noble gases, such as xenon-133, xenon-135 and  krypton-85 are present in reactor coolant especially when fuel leakages are present. As they appear in coolant, they become airborne and they can be inhaled. They are exhaled right after they are inhaled, because the body does not react chemically with them. If workers are working in a noble gas cloud, the external dose they will receive is about 1000 times greater than the internal dose. Because of this, we are only concerned about the external beta and gamma dose rates.
• Radioiodine. Radioiodine, iodine-131, is an important radioisotope of iodine. Radioiodine plays a major role as a radioactive isotope present in nuclear fission products, and it is a major contributor to the health hazards when released into the atmosphere during an accident. Iodine-131 has a half-life of 8.02 days. The target tissue for radioiodine exposure is the thyroid gland. The external beta and gamma dose from radioiodine present in the air is quite negligible when compared to the committed dose to the thyroid that would result from breathing this air. The biological half-life for iodine inside the human body is about 80 days (according to ICRP). Iodine in food is absorbed by the body and preferentially concentrated in the thyroid where it is needed for the functioning of that gland. When ¹³¹I is present in high levels in the environment from radioactive fallout, it can be absorbed through contaminated food, and will also accumulate in the thyroid. ¹³¹I decays with a half-life of 8.02 days with beta particle and gamma emissions. As it decays, it may cause damage to the thyroid. The primary risk from exposure to high levels of ¹³¹I is the chance occurrence of radiogenic thyroid cancer in later life. For ¹³¹I, ICRP has calculated that if you inhale 1 x 10⁶ Bq, you will receive a thyroid dose of H_T = 400 mSv (and weighted whole-body dose of 20 mSv).
• Tritium. Tritium is a byproduct in nuclear reactors. Most important source (due to releases of tritiated water) of tritium in nuclear power plants stems from the boric acid, which is commonly used as a chemical shim to compensate an excess of initial reactivity. Note that, tritium emits low-energy beta particles with a short range in body tissues and, therefore, poses a risk to health as a result of internal exposure only following ingestion in drinking water or food, or inhalation or absorption through the skin. The tritium taken into the body is uniformly distributed among all soft tissues. According to the ICRP, a biological half-time of tritium is 10 days for HTO and 40 days for OBT (organically bound tritium) formed from HTO in the body of adults. As a result, for an intake of 1 x 10⁹ Bq of tritium (HTO), an individual will get a whole-body dose of 20 mSv (equal to the intake of 1 x 10⁶ Bq of ¹³¹I). While for PWRs tritium poses a minor risk to health, for heavy water reactors, it contributes significantly to collective dose of plant workers. Note that, “Air that is saturated with moderator water at 35°C can give 3 000 mSv/h of tritium to an unprotected worker (See also: J.U.Burnham. Radiation Protection). The best protection from tritium can be achieved using an air-supplied respirator. Tritium cartridge respirators protects workers only by a factor of 3. The only way to reduce the skin absorption is by wearing plastics. In PHWR power plants, workers must wear plastics for work in atmospheres containing more than 500 μSv/h.

Respirators with suitable air filters, or completely self-contained suits with their own air supply can mitigate dangers from airborne contamination. Airborne contamination is usually measured by special radiological instruments that continuously pump the sampled air through a filter. Instruments that do this are called Continuous Air Monitors (CAM). Radioactive particulates in the air collect on the filter, where the activity is measured by a detector placed close to the filter.

See also: Derived Air Concentration

See also: Annual Limit on Intake

Decontamination

Decontamination is a process used to reduce, or remove radioactive contamination to reduce the risk of radiation exposure. The removal of contamination from occupied areas, equipment and personnel is important to maintain an ionizing radiation dose as low as reasonably achievable (ALARA). Decontamination also reduces background radiation levels, radioactive material inventory, and the spread of contamination to uncontrolled areas, equipment and personnel.

Decontamination may be accomplished by cleaning or treating surfaces to reduce or remove the contamination. It may be also accomplished by filtering contaminated air or water or by covering the contamination to shield or absorb the radiation. The process can also simply allow adequate time for natural radioactive decay to decrease the radioactivity.

In nuclear power plants, it is inevitable that many items of equipment, and also tools, clothing, work areas, and even people will become contaminated. This is quite common, that some of radioactive material becomes attached to surfaces (e.g. the sole of a shoe). In this case, workers are continuously monitored and in this case, surface contamination must be removed. We can rid of contamination by many mechanical, chemical (decontaminate surfaces). Biological processes (biological half-life) always work in case of internal contamination. A person becomes ‘radioactive’ if dust particles containing various radioisotopes land on the person’s skin or garments. Once a person has been decontaminated by clothes removal and dermal scrubbing, all of the particulate radioactivity sources are eliminated, and the individual is no longer contaminated.

Decontamination Techniques

In general, there are many techniques and equipment used for decontamination surfaces and persons. In any case, type of contamination and contaminated material matters. For example, it is very difficult to decontaminate porous materials. As a general orientation to the reader, these decontamination techniques and their main applications are highlighted in:

Special Reference: State of the Art Technology for Decontamination and Dismantling of Nuclear Facilities, IAEA. IAEA Vienna, 1999. ISBN 92–0–102499–1.

• Chemical Decontamination. Chemical decontamination is one of the best method for most decontamination operations is to clean with water to which one or more suitable chemical cleaning agents have been added. These methods include decontamination using chemical solutions, chemical gels, foam decontamination etc. Removing contamination from personnel must be done carefully to ensure the skin is not damaged, and to prevent contamination from entering the body or a wound.
• Mechanical Decontamination. Mechanical decontamination can be used especially for industrial decontamination. There are decontamination methods in which the outer layer of the contaminated surface is removed by physical force. Such methods are effective, but they are somewhat crude and destructive, and it may not be possible to use them on delicate objects. These methods include decontamination using steam cleaning, abrasive cleaning, sandblasting, vacuum cleaning, ultrasonic cleaning etc.

See also:

Protection from Exposures

Radiation is all around us. In, around, and above the world we live in. It is a natural energy force that surrounds us. It is a part of our natural world that has been here since the birth of our planet. All living creatures, from the beginning of time, have been, and are still being, exposed to ionizing radiation. Ionizing radiation is generated through nuclear reactions, nuclear decay, by very high temperature, or via acceleration of charged particles in electromagnetic fields. This radiation is known as background radiation. Background radiation is ionizing radiation present in the environment, that originates from a variety of natural and artificial sources.

There are two broad categories of radiation sources:

• Natural Background Radiation. Natural background radiation includes radiation produced by the Sun, lightnings, primordial radioisotopes or supernova explosions etc.
• Man-Made Sources of Radiation. Man-made sources include medical uses of radiation, residues from nuclear tests, industrial uses of radiation etc.

Special Reference: Sources and effects of ionizing radiation, Annex B. UNSCEAR. New York, 2010. ISBN: 978-92-1-142274-0.

Natural Background Radiation

Natural background radiation is ionizing radiation, that originates from a variety of natural sources. All living creatures, from the beginning of time, have been, and are still being, exposed to ionizing radiation. This radiation is not associated with any human activity.  There are radioactive isotopes in our bodies, houses, air, water and in the soil. We all are also exposed to radiation from outer space.

Sources of Natural Background Radiation

We divide all these natural radiation sources into three groups:

• Cosmic Radiation. Cosmic radiation refers to sources of radiation in the form of cosmic rays that come from the sun or from outer space. At ground level the muons, with energies mostly between 1 and 20 GeV, contribute about 75 % of the absorbed dose rate in free air. The remainder comes from electrons produced by the muons or present in the electromagnetic cascade. The annual cosmic ray dose at sea level is around 0.27 mSv (27 mrem). If you live at higher elevations or are a frequent airline passenger, this exposure can be significantly higher, since the atmosphere is thinner here. The effects of the earth’s magnetic field also determines the dose from cosmic radiation.
• Terrestrial Radiation. Terrestrial radiation refers to sources of radiation that are in the soil, water, and vegetation. The major isotopes of concern for terrestrial radiation are uranium and the decay products of uranium, such as thorium, radium, and radon. The average dose rate that originates from terrestrial nuclides (except radon exposure) is about 0.057 µGy/hr. The maximum values have been measured on monazite sand in Guarapari, Brazil (up to 50 µGy/hr and in Kerala, India (about 2 µGy/hr), and on rocks with a high radium concentration in Ramsar, Iran (from 1 to 10 µGy/hr). The average annual radiation dose to a person from radon is about 2 mSv/year and it may vary over many orders of magnitude from place to place. Radon is so important, that it is usually treated separately.
• Internal Radiation. In addition to the cosmic and terrestrial sources, all people also have radioactive potassium-40, carbon-14, lead-210, and other isotopes inside their bodies from birth. The concentration of potassium-40 is nearly stable in all persons at a level of about 55 Bq/kg (3850 Bq in total), which corresponds to the annual effective dose of 0.2 mSv. The annual dose from carbon-14 is estimated to be about 12 μSv/year.

Man-made Sources of Radiation

Since ionizing radiation has many industrial, and medical uses, people can be exposed also to man-made sources of radiation. Man-made sources include medical uses of radiation, residues from nuclear tests, industrial uses of radiation, television, and numerous other radiation producing devices. For example, in some kind of smoke detectors, you can meet man-made radionuclides such as americium-241. This man-made radionuclide is used to ionize air and to detect smoke.

It must be noted, most of these exposures are very low in intensity and the total dose and does not posse larger health effects. In each case, usefulness of ionizing radiation must be balanced with its hazards. Nowadays a compromise was found and most of uses of radiation are optimized. Today it is almost unbelievable that x-rays was, at one time, used to find the right pair of shoes (i.e. shoe-fitting fluoroscopy). Measurements made in recent years indicate that the doses to the feet were in the range 0.07 – 0.14 Gy for a 20 second exposure. This practice was halted when the risks of ionizing radiation were better understood.

In general, the following man-made sources expose the public to radiation:

• Medical Exposures (by far, the most significant man-made source)
  • Diagnostic x-rays
  • Nuclear medicine procedures (iodine-131, cesium-137, technetium-99m etc.)
• Consumer Products
  • Building and road construction materials
  • Smoking cigarettes (polonium-210)
  • Combustible fuels, including gas and coal
  • X-ray security systems
  • Televisions
  • Smoke detectors (americium)
  • Lantern mantles (thorium)

To a lesser degree, the public is also exposed to radiation from the nuclear fuel cycle, from uranium mining and milling to disposal of used (spent) fuel. Noteworthy, the public is also exposed to radiation from so called “enhanced sources of naturally occurring radioactive material”. This means also industries such as metal mining, coal mining and power production from coal creates additional exposures due to densification of naturally occurring radionuclides. The public receives some minimal exposure from the transportation of radioactive materials and fallout from nuclear weapons testing and reactor accidents (such as Chernobyl).

Background Radiation and Health Hazard

You can not go through life without radiation. The danger of ionizing radiation lies in the fact that the radiation is invisible and not directly detectable by human senses. People can neither see nor feel radiation, yet it deposits energy to the molecules of the body.

But don’t worry, the doses from background radiation are usually very small (except radon exposure). Low dose here means additional small doses comparable to the normal background radiation (10 µSv = average daily dose received from natural background). The problem is that, at very low doses, it is practically impossible to correlate any irradiation with certain biological effects. This is because the baseline cancer rate is already very high and the risk of developing cancer fluctuates 40% because of individual life style and environmental effects, obscuring the subtle effects of low-level radiation.

Secondly, and this is crucial, the truth about low-dose radiation health effects still needs to be found. It is not exactly known, whether these low doses of radiation are detrimental or beneficial (and where is the threshold).  Government and regulatory bodies assume a LNT model instead of a threshold or hormesis not because it is the more scientifically convincing, but because it is the more conservative estimate. Problem of this model is that it neglects a number of defence biological processes that may be crucial at low doses. The research during the last two decades is very interesting and show that small doses of radiation given at a low dose rate stimulate the defense mechanisms. Therefore the LNT model is not universally accepted with some proposing an adaptive dose–response relationship where low doses are protective and high doses are detrimental. Many studies have contradicted the LNT model and many of these have shown adaptive response to low dose radiation resulting in reduced mutations and cancers. This phenomenon is known as radiation hormesis.

According to the radiation hormesis hypothesis, radiation exposure comparable to and just above the natural background level of radiation is not harmful but beneficial, while accepting that much higher levels of radiation are hazardous. Arguments for hormesis center around some large-scale epidemiological studies and the evidence from animal irradiation experiments, but most notably the recent advances in knowledge of the adaptive response. Proponents of radiation hormesis typically claim that radio-protective responses in cells and the immune system not only counter the harmful effects of radiation but additionally act to inhibit spontaneous cancer not related to radiation exposure.

See also: LNT Model

See also:

Sources of Radiation

Radiation is all around us. In, around, and above the world we live in. It is a natural energy force that surrounds us. It is a part of our natural world that has been here since the birth of our planet. All living creatures, from the beginning of time, have been, and are still being, exposed to ionizing radiation. Ionizing radiation is generated through nuclear reactions, nuclear decay, by very high temperature, or via acceleration of charged particles in electromagnetic fields.

Radiation Exposures from Nuclear Fuel Cycle

The nuclear fuel cycle is a process chain consisting of a series of differing stages. In general, nuclear fuel cycle consists of steps in the front end (the preparation of the fuel), steps in the service period (fuel burnup), and steps in the back end (reprocessing or disposal of spent nuclear fuel). Radiation exposures from nuclear fuel cycle are, according to UNSCEAR, evaluated from entire life cycle of nuclear fuel and this includes:

• uranium mining, milling and mill tailings,
• fabrication of fuel assemblies
• power plant operation (except accidents),
• spent fuel storage or reprocessing,
• disposal of radioactive waste,
• decommissioning activities.

The collective dose, which results from nuclear fuel cycle is:

• 130 man Sv for nuclear fuel cycle,

Almost half of the contribution to public exposures from the nuclear fuel cycle comes from discharges of natural radionuclides during uranium mining and milling activities.

The normalized collective dose (per gigawatt and year) is:

• 0.43 man Sv/GW.a (man sievert per gigawatt year) for nuclear fuel cycle

Special Reference: Sources and effects of ionizing radiation, UNSCEAR 2016 – Annex B. New York, 2017. ISBN: 978-92-1-142316-7.

In the following points we try to express ranges of radiation exposure from electricity generation together with doses from, which can be obtained from various sources.

• 05 µSv – Sleeping next to someone
• 09 µSv – Living within 30 miles of a nuclear power plant for a year
• 1 µSv – Eating one banana
• 3 µSv – Living within 50 miles of a coal power plant for a year
• 10 µSv – Average daily dose received from natural background

The above doses are related to public exposure. If we consider occupational exposure, regarding the uranium mining, power plant workers etc., the collective dose is higher especially uranium miners. The miners are surrounded by rocks and sloshing through ground water that is exuding radon.

Note that, the collective effective dose is often used to estimate the total health effects, but according to the ICRP this should be avoided.

See also:

Electricity Generation

Radiation is all around us. In, around, and above the world we live in. It is a natural energy force that surrounds us. It is a part of our natural world that has been here since the birth of our planet. All living creatures, from the beginning of time, have been, and are still being, exposed to ionizing radiation. Ionizing radiation is generated through nuclear reactions, nuclear decay, by very high temperature, or via acceleration of charged particles in electromagnetic fields.

Coal Ash – Fly Ash as Radiation Source

According to the UNSCEAR, power generation from coal and entire coal cycle contribute more than half of the total radiation dose to the global population from electricity generation. This statement will seem paradoxical to many readers, since it’s not commonly known that non-nuclear energy sources release any radiation into the environment. But power generation from coal also creates additional exposures to public. Even nuclear fuel cycle releases less radiation into the environment than coal cycle and any other major energy source.

The problem is coal itself and especially coal ash (fly ash). Coal, a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, contains a substantial amount of the radioactive elements uranium and thorium. According to the UNSCEAR, the average specific activity of both uranium-238 and thorium-232 in coal is generally around 20 Bq/kg (range 5-300 Bq/kg). Coal mines in Freital, Germany, which have uranium concentrations of 15000 Bq/kg coal, are an exception. Burning coal gasifies its organic materials, concentrating its inorganic components into the remaining waste, called fly ash. Around 10% of coal is fly ash. Fly ash is hazardous and toxic to human beings and some other living things, and fly ash also contains the radioactive elements uranium and thorium, which are concentrated by a factor of 10. It must be emphasized, even fly ash does not possess any health hazards to the public. There are a few restrictions on the use of fly ash in landfill and road construction. Most restrictions are on the use in building construction, where it can result in increased exposures especially from radon. In any case, we don’t want to cause any irrational fear of radiation from coal. It does not mean, that it must be dangerous. In case of radiation from electricity generation, the doses are usually very, very low. Moreover, these results cannot be used to determine whether one form of energy generation is preferable to another.

The collective dose, which results from coal cycle is:

• 670-1400 man Sv for coal cycle, depending on the age of the power plant,

When considering the amount of electricity generated in the year 2010 by each technology, the coal cycle resulted in the largest collective dose to the global public and workers combined, followed by the nuclear fuel cycle. Of the remaining technologies, geothermal energy and combustion of natural gas were the next largest contributors.

The normalized collective dose (per gigawatt and year) is:

• 0.7 – 1.4 man Sv/GW.a (man sievert per gigawatt year) for coal cycle

Special Reference: Sources and effects of ionizing radiation, UNSCEAR 2016 – Annex B. New York, 2017. ISBN: 978-92-1-142316-7.

In the following points we try to express ranges of radiation exposure from electricity generation together with doses from, which can be obtained from various sources.

• 05 µSv – Sleeping next to someone
• 09 µSv – Living within 30 miles of a nuclear power plant for a year
• 1 µSv – Eating one banana
• 3 µSv – Living within 50 miles of a coal power plant for a year
• 10 µSv – Average daily dose received from natural background

The above doses are related to public exposure. If we consider occupational exposure, regarding the coal mining and fly ash deposits, the collective dose is higher especially for coal miners. Coal miners as a group receive the largest collective dose of radiation, through enhanced exposure to naturally occurring radionuclides.

Note that, the collective effective dose is often used to estimate the total health effects, but according to the ICRP this should be avoided (see more: Collective Dose).

See also:

Electricity Generation