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1.0
Introduction
This document was prepared for
use as a manual of procedures for working with ionizing radiation at
Union College. This document will be revised periodically as
regulations change or better radiation safety criteria is
developed, Comments and suggestions from faculty, staff, and
students for improving this documents are welcome and should be directed
to the chairperson of the Radiation Safety Committee.
Within the United States the
Environmental Protection Agency is responsible for establishing the
radiation protection standards. These standards are
promulgated by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and in New York State,
the State Health Department (DOH). The evaluation of the risks of
the exposure to ionizing radiation has been done by numerous bodies of
scientists, most notable has been the National Academy of Sciences
Committee on the Biological Effects of Ionizing Radiations.
The uses of ionizing radiation
in science, industry, medicine, and environmental studies are documented
and well-known. Many of our Nobel laureates used radioactive
materials in their award-winning research. The practice of medicine
would be much more difficult without the uses of radionuclides in
nuclear medicine and x-rays in medical imaging.
People have always been exposed
to ionizing radiation in the form of a natural occurring
background. This natural background is derived from essentially
two sources, cosmic radiation and terrestrial. This cosmic
radiations originate from galaxies other than our own and also from the
sun. Terrestrial radiation are radiations given off from
radioactive materials present when the earth was created. These radioactive
materials such as uranium, thorium, and potassium are taken up in the
food chain resulting in deposition in our bodies from the food and water
we drink. They also decay into noble gases, such as radon,
resulting in inhalation into our bodies They also give off gamma
rays that irradiate us from the ground we walk on and the material we
use in building structures. The total quantity of this natural
background radiation, on the average, is about 360 mREMS each year, but
it can range from 11/2 to 2 times as much,
depending on where we are.
This natural background also
provides a "noise level" which is present when we are trying
to make measurements in our laboratories. This background,
therefore, must be accounted for.
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