Alpha particles damages caused

As with other radioactive substances, exposure to its ionizing radiation can cause cancer. When ingested it tends to accumulate in the liver, kidney, and spleen causing radiation damage from the alpha particles. All operations and handling must be carried out in leak-proof boxes by mechanical means behind thick neutron shields. 

Emitted by heavy atoms, such as uranium, radium, radon, and plutonium (to name a few), alpha particles are helium nuclei, making them the most massive kind of radiation. Alpha radiation can cause a great deal of damage to the living cells it encounters, but has such a short range in tissue (only a few microns) that external alpha radiation cannot penetrate the dead cells of the epidermis to irradiate the living cells beneath. If inhaled, swallowed, or introduced into open wounds, however, alpha radiation can be very damaging. In nature, alpha radiation is found in rocks and soils as part of the minerals, in air as radon gas, and dissolved in water as radium, uranium, or radon. Alpha emitters are also found in nuclear power plants, nuclear weapons, some luminous paints (radium may be used for this), smoke detectors, and some consumer products. Objects and patients exposed to alpha radiation may become contaminated, but they do not become radioactive. 

Explain why, although gamma rays are far more penetrating than alpha particles, the latter are more likely to cause damage to an organism. Which type of radiation is more effective at causing ionization of biomolecules ... 

The moderator slows the neutrons to increase the efficiency of the fission reaction. The control rods absorb neutrons to slow or halt the fission reaction. 39. Even though gamma rays penetrate human tissue very deeply, they are very small and cause only occasional ionization of biomolecules. Alpha particles, because they are much more massive, are very effective at causing ionization of biomolecules and produce a dense trail of damage once they get inside an organism. 

The study of radiation damage caused by fission fragments is of considerable practical interest. For this reason the problem has received closer attention than in the case of protons and alpha particles 48, 52-54). 

These radioactive isotopes are solids that can collect on dust. When the dust is inhaled, the radioactive solids remain in the lungs. High-energy alpha particles from the polonium and lead damage the DNA of lung cells, sometimes causing cancer. 

D. Radiation Dose. Once in the body, DU can cause damage by ionizing radiation. The principal radiation hazard from internal deposits of DU is the intense ionization in tissue produced by alpha particles emitted during the radioactive decay process. 

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