Radiation biological effect

Microwaves may be used to ionize gases when sufficient power is apphed, but only through the intermediate process of classical acceleration of plasma electrons. The electrons must have energy values exceeding the ioniza tion potential of molecules in the gas (see Plasma technology). Ionizing radiation exhibits more biological-effect potential whatever the power flux levels (2). 

Health Effects Of Exposure to Row Revels oflonifing Radiation, Report of Committee on the Biological Effects of Radiation (BEIR Report V), National... 

U.S. radiation protection guidelines are estabHshed by the National CouncH on Radiation Protection and Measurement (NCRP) and are based on the recommendations of the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP). The National Research CouncH also sponsors a report from its advisory committee on the biological effects of ionizing radiations (20). 

Radiation Dosimetry. Radioactive materials cause damage to tissue by the deposition of energy via their radioactive emissions. Thus, when they are internally deposited, all emissions are important. When external, only those emissions that are capable of penetrating the outer layer of skin pose an exposure threat. The biological effects of radiation exposure and dose are generally credited to the formation of free radicals in tissue as a result of the ionization produced (17). 

N.uional Research Council, 1972, The Biological Effects of Ionizing Radiations, National Academy of Sciences. 

The response of humans to var> ing doses of radiation is a field tlmt has been widely studied. The obscr ed radiation effects can be categorized as stochastic or nonstochastic effects, depending upon tlie dose received and tlie time period over which such dose was received. Contrary to most biological effects, effects from radiation usually fall under tlie category of stochastic effects. The nonstochastic effects can be noted as having three qualities a minimum dose or tlucshold dose must be rcceii ed before the particular effect is obsen ed the magnitude of the effect increases as the size of the dose increases and a clear, casual relationship can be determined between the dose and the subsequent effects. 

The biological effect of radiation is expressed in rems (radiation equivalent for man). The number of rems is found by multiplying the number of rads by a "damage" factor, n ... 

Nuclear equation, 513 Nuclear masses, 521t Nuclear radiation. See Radioactivity Nuclear reactions biological effects, 527 equations, 513 fission, 523-526 fusion, 526-527,528 mass-energy relations, 520-523,... 

Why we need to eat d-metals, p. 670 Nuclear medicine, p. 708 Biological effects of radiation, p. 709... 

Q is the relative biological effectiveness of the radiation. Normally, Q < 1 Sv-Gy 1 for 7, P, and most other radiation, but Q < 20 Sv Gy 1 for a radiation and fast neutrons. A further factor of 5 (that is, 5Q) is used for bone under certain circumstances. 

Distinguish a, (3, and -y radiation by their response to an electric field, penetrating power, and relative biological effectiveness (Sections 17.1 and 17.6). 

The chemistry, and hence hazards, of hot, or radioactive, elements parallels that of their cold isotopes. However, the radiation poses additional toxicity hazards. A qualitative classification of selected isotopes in terms of their toxicity is given in Table 10.2. The biological effects of ionizing radiation stem mainly from damage to individual cells following ionization of the water content. Oxidizing species, e.g. hydrogen peroxide. 

Moskalev YI, Levdik TI, Lyubchanskii ER, et al. 1975. Metabolism and biological effects in rodents of plutonium and other actinide elements. In Nygaard OF et al., ed. Radiation research Biomedical, chemical, and physical perspectives. New York, NY Academic Press, 1214-1232. 

Biologic Effectiveness of Radiation—See Relative Biological Effectiveness. 

Dose Equivalent (DE)—A quantity used in radiation safety practice to account for the relative biological effectiveness of the several types of radiation. It expresses all radiations on a common scale for calculating the effective absorbed dose. It is defined as the product of the absorbed dose in rad and certain modifying factors. (The unit of dose equivalent is the rem. In SI units, the dose equivalent is the sievert, which equals 100 rem.)... 

Quality Factor (Q)—The linear-energy-transfer-dependent factor by which absorbed doses are multiplied to obtain (for radiation protection purposes) a quantity that expresses - on a common scale for all ionizing radiation - the approximate biological effectiveness of the absorbed dose. 

Relative Biological Effectiveness (RBE)—The RBE is a factor used to compare the biological effectiveness of absorbed radiation doses (i.e., rad) due to different types of ionizing radiation. More specifically, it is the experimentally determined ratio of an absorbed dose of a radiation in question to the absorbed dose of a reference radiation (typically 60Co gamma rays or 200 keV x rays) required to produce an identical biological effect in a particular experimental organism or tissue (see Quality Factor). 

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. 

RBE is used to denote the experimentally determined ratio of the absorbed dose from one radiation type to the absorbed dose of a reference radiation required to produce an identical biologic effect under the same conditions. Gamma rays from cobalt-60 and 200-250 keV x-rays have been used as reference standards. The term RBE has been widely used in experimental radiobiology, and the term quality factor used in calculations of dose equivalents for radiation safety purposes (ICRP 1977 NCRP 1971 UNSCEAR 1982). RBE applies only to a specific biological end point, in a specific exposure, under specific conditions to a specific species. There are no generally accepted values of RBE. 

BEIRIII. 1980. The effects on populations of exposure to low levels of ionizing radiation. Committee on the Biological Effects of Ionizing Radiations, National Research Council. Washington, DC National Academy Press. 

UNSCEAR. 1982. United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation. Ionizing radiation Sources and biological effects. New York United Nations. 

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