Why ionising radiation is dangerous

This can cause a mutation. If the DNA in the nucleus of a cell is damaged, the cell may become cancerous. In this case the cell divides rapidly and causes serious health problems. Although it may not accurately describe all stochastic health effects, they are sometimes described as "long-term" health effects. All-or-none response; an individual either develops the health effect or does not develop the effect. Stochastic health effects can develop from radiation doses over a short period of time or long period of time such as a working lifetime.

Note that the health effect may not be observed for many years i. The U. Radium dial painters in the early s put brush bristles into their mouths to bring the bristles to a point for painting glow-in-the-dark radium on dials. In the process, the painters ingested large quantities of radium. A U. Department of Labor study reported 33 cases of radium poisoning among dial painters, many of whom had died at the time of the report. Commissioner of Labor Statistics Ethelbert Stewart wrote in the introduction, "The investigation has proved that luminous dial painting is deadly under the old methods of operation" Radium Poisoning , p.

For an online calculator for estimating lifetime risk of cancer incidence from exposure to ionizing radiation for doses below rad 1 Gy , visit:. Control measures, including shielding and personal protective equipment PPE , function to protect workers by reducing the radiation dose and preventing contamination, respectively.

See the Control and Prevention page for more information. Some workers, such as radiology department workers, may be repeatedly exposed to low levels of ionizing radiation over the course of their careers. The resulting dose levels are almost always below the threshold doses needed for deterministic health effects to occur.

Stochastic health effects, such as cancer, may occur years following the radiation dose. The probability of an adverse health effect occurring is proportional to the radiation dose received. Scientific studies have shown significant associations between cancer and radiation dose levels of about 10 rem 0. For low-level radiation exposure i. When radiation exposure of larger amounts occurs, even if it is for a short time, damage, radiation poisoning, and even death can occur.

The scientific community has not reached consensus 7 on the effects of very low doses of radiation less than 10 rem as is described by Radiation Answers Organization , a website created by the Health Physics Society consisting of experts in this field.

However, scientists are in complete agreement that doses greater than 50 rem cause observable health effects. The Radiation Answers Organization has a table describing the effects of radiation on humans at the Radiation Answers Organization website. The experts have determined that exposure to doses of rem may increase your chances of cancer, and will have observable short-term effects on blood cells.

Doses between rem over a short time have observable affects, and over a long time will increase your chances of cancer. Above rem, if you receive the dose in a short amount of time you might experience nausea and would require medical attention. Above rem in a short amount of time may cause death within a few days. If you eat a banana a day for a year you are exposing yourself to about 3.

In our everyday lives we are exposed to 5 mrem of radiation each time we fly roundtrip across the United States. A reasonable average amount of radiation in our homes from the production of radon gas occurring naturally is about mrem per year. Even our own bodies have radioactive isotopes! Potassium is a naturally occurring radioactive isotope, and although it is not a high percentage of all of the potassium in the world, it does account for 0.

We require potassium to survive and 0. NRC: Ionizing Radiation external icon. Skip directly to site content Skip directly to page options Skip directly to A-Z link. Radiation and Your Health. Section Navigation. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Syndicate.

The Electromagnetic Spectrum: Ionizing Radiation. Minus Related Pages. On This Page. What is ionizing radiation? How much ionizing radiation am I exposed to? What is the risk from exposure to ionizing radiation? More information. We are exposed to low levels of ionizing radiation every day.

Ionizing radiation can fall into two categories: natural and manmade Ionizing Radiation from Natural Sources Ionizing radiation that comes from natural sources is typically at low levels. For more information on possible health effects from radiation and radiation dose, click here These low levels of exposure vary with location, altitude and type of building materials used in home construction. In nature, sources of ionizing radiation include: Radiation from space cosmic and solar radiation Radiation from the earth terrestrial radiation Radon Radiation from building materials Ionizing Radiation from Manmade Sources Every day, we use Ionizing radiation to help us live healthy lives.

Natural Sources Natural sources of ionizing radiation usually release ionizing radiation at low levels, which also means the amounts of radiation absorbed by our bodies doses is usually small.