Louisiana State University Radiation Safety Office

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Louisiana State UniversityRadiation Safety
Office

• Module 1
• Radiation Safety At LSU

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Who Was

• Bruce Banner
• and
• Peter Parker

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David Banner

• Incredible Hulk
• Became the incredible hulk after being exposed
  to gamma radiation

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Peter Parker

• Spider Man
• He became the spider man after being bitten by a
  radioactive spider.

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Chernobyl (for more information click here)
Mushroom Cloud
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Radiation Environment
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Natural Sources

• Cosmic
• Terrestrial
• Internal
• Inhaled

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Cosmic Radiation

• High energy particles and photons from the sun
  and other sources outside the earth's atmosphere
• Atmosphere provides shielding from cosmic
  radiation
• An increase in altitude results in an increase in
  exposure (measured in millirem)
• 26 mrem/yr _at_ sea level
• 50 mrem/yr in Denver
• .5 mrem/hr _at_ 39,000 feet

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Terrestrial Radiation

• Radiation from radioactive materials occurring
  naturally in the earths crust
• Lowest on the Atlantic coast (16 mrem/yr)
• Highest on eastern slopes of the Rockies (63
  mrem/yr)
• About 30 mrem/yr in the remainder of the U.S.

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Inhaled Radiation

• Primarily Radon (Rn-222) and its daughters
• Rn-222 is released from the soil as Radium-226
  and then it decays to radon
• Radium is part of Uranium-238 decay chain
• Levels vary widely from area to area
• Average dose is 200 mrem/yr
• Dose may be enhanced by poor ventilation or the
  use of Uranium-containing building materials

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Internal Radiation

• Radiation from radioactive materials incorporated
  in the human body
• Primarily Carbon-14 (C-14) and
  Potassium-40 (K-40)
• Total dose of 39 mrem/yr (due mostly to K-40)

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Man-Made Sources

• Medical Uses
• Consumers Products
• Industrial Uses
• Nuclear Power

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Medical Sources

• Diagnostic X-ray
• General Radiography
• Dental Radiography
• Fluoroscopy
• CT
• Etc.
• 39 mrem/yr U.S. average

• Nuclear Medicine
• Imaging using I-131, Tc-99m, Tl-201
• Therapy using I-131
• 14 mrem/yr U.S. average

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Medical Sources (cont.)

• Radiation Therapy
• Use of external beams and sealed sources for
  treatment of cancers
• 2.3 mrem/yr U.S. average

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Industrial Sources

• Industrial Radiography
• Use of X-rays or sealed gamma-ray sources for
  imaging of structures and components
• Level Gauges
• - Use of sealed sources
• to check the level of
• materials in a tank or vat.

• Well Logging
• Use of sealed sources to measure soil porosity,
  soil density, or underground structure
  composition
• Static Elimination
• - Use of radiation to
• remove static electricity

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Nuclear Power

• Doses are calculated for maximally exposed member
  of the general public
• Uranium Mines 26-61 mrem/yr
• Processing 1-8 mrem/yr
• Nuclear Power Plants lt 1 mrem/yr
• Waste Storage lt 1 mrem/yr
• Transportation 20 mrem/yr

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Consumer Products

• Smoke Detectors (Am-241)
• Tobacco Products (Pb-210 Po-210)
• Building Materials
• (Sheetrock gypsum board)

• Airport Baggage Inspection (x-rays)
• Welding Rods (Thorium)
• Luminous Paints for watch and instrument dials
• (H-3, Ra-226, Pm-147)

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Consumer Products (cont.)

• Television (Low energy x-rays)
• Radium Hot Springs (Ra-226, Rn-222)
• Fiesta-ware (red) (Uranium oxide coating)

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Contributions to the Public Dose