Ionizing radiation applications

A.F. Readdy, Applications of Ionizing Radiations in Plastics and Polymer Technology , PLASTEC Rept 41 (1971) 35) J.B. Titus,... 

Among the various radiation-induced modifications, the EB-processing of polymers has gained special importance as it requires less energy, is simple, fast, and versatile in application. The overall properties of EB-irradiated polymeric materials are also improved compared to those induced by other ionizing radiation. 

A sterilization process may thus be developed without a full microbiological background to the product, instead being based on the ability to deal with a worst case condition. This is indeed the situation for official sterilization methods which must be capable of general application, and modem pharmacopoeial recommendations are derived firm a careful analysis of experimental data on bacterial spore survival following treatments with heat, ionizing radiation or gas. 

Dose equivalent or rem is a special radiation protection quantity that is used, for administrative and radiation safety purposes only, to express the absorbed dose in a manner which considers the difference in biological effectiveness of various kinds of ionizing radiation. The ICRU has defined the dose equivalent, H, as the product of the absorbed dose, D, and the quality factor, Q, at the point of interest in biological tissue. This relationship is expressed as H = D x Q. The dose equivalent concept is applicable only to doses that are not great enough to produce biomedical effects. 

Cothem, C.R., D.J. Crawford-Brown, and M.E. Wrenn. 1990. Application of environmental dose-response models to epidemiology and animal data for the effects of ionizing radiation. Environ. Inter. 16 127-140. 

The epoxy resin formed by tetraglycidyl 4,4 -diamino diphenyl methane and 4,4 -diamino diphenyl sulfone was characterized by dynamic mechanical analysis. Epoxy specimens were exposed to varying dose levels of ionizing radiation (0.5 MeV electrons) up to 10,000 Hrads to assess their endurance in long-term space applications. Ionizing radiation has a limited effect on the mechanical properties of the epoxy. The most notable difference was a decrease of approximately 40°C in Tg after an absorbed dose of 10,000 Mrads. Sorption/desorption studies revealed that plasticization by degradation products was responsible for a portion of the decrease in Tg. 

It is clear that, along with the discovery of x-rays in 1895, Roentgen also found the chemical action of ionizing radiation. He drew attention to the similarity of the photographic effect induced by light and x-rays. Application to medicine appeared very quickly, followed by industrial applications. However, this field of investigation remained nameless until Milton Burton, in 1942, christened it radiation chemistry to separate it from radiochemistry which is the study of radioactive nuclei. Historical and classical work in radiation chemistry has been reviewed by Mozumder elsewhere [1]. Here we will only make a few brief remarks. 

Absorbed dose is a fundamental and basic physical quantity which can be used in all fields where ionizing radiations are used. It is directly related to the physical, chemical, and biological effects produced by the irradiation. The concept of absorbed dose thus has broad applications and is indeed widely used. Metrological institutions provide standards and calibration of instruments in terms of absorbed dose. 

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