8.

3:
IONISING
RADIATION
AND NON
IONISING
RADIATION
NON IONISING RADIATION
 Non-ionising radiation refers to any less
energised electromagnet rays that cannot
ionise atom or molecule.
 It does not have sufficient energy to break the
molecule bond and ionise atom
 Generally radiation and particles energy that is
less than 10eV is categorised as non ionising
radiation.
 Penetration of non ionising radiation into tissue
is not deep but is able to cause hazard to skin
and eyes.
IONISING RADIATION
 Ionising radiation are electromagnet rays
that has enough energy to ionise atom or
molecules
 The radiation has enough energy to break
the electron bond to atom or molecule,
thus forming ion.
Three types of ionising radiation
that is produced during
radioactive decay are:
Alpha radiation, α
Beta radiation, β
Gamma ray, γ
SOURCES OF IONISING
RADIATION IN THE
ENVIRONMENT
 COSMIC RAY
 Cosmic rays are a form of high-energy
radiation, mainly originating outside the
Solar System and even from distant
galaxies – known as galactic cosmic rays.
 Upon impact with the Earth's atmosphere,
cosmic rays can produce showers of
secondary particles that sometimes reach
the surface
 The dosage rate of cosmic ray on
aeroplane is very high. airlines staff
receives an average dosage that’s higher
than other staff including workers at
nuclear plant.
 Kebanyakan sinaran kosmik galaksi (~
85%) terdiri daripada nukleus atom
hidrogen (proton), manakala zarah alfa
(helium nuclei) membentuk sekitar 12%
sinaran kosmik. Selebihnya adalah
nukleus dan elektron atom yang lebih
berat.
 Apabila zarah tenaga tinggi ini
memukul atmosfer planet kita dan
berinteraksi dengan nukleus atmosfera,
mereka menghasilkan pancuran zarah
sekunder, juga disebut sebagai
'pancuran udara'.
Perwakilan artistik dari sinaran udara sinar
kosmik yang dicipta oleh proton yang
mengagumkan atmosfera 20 kilometer di
atas permukaan bumi
BACKGROUND RADIATION
 Made up of various types of ionising
radiation in the environment.
 Released from various sources including
natural sources and man-made sources
include:
 cosmic rays
 radioactive radiation from natural
radioactive substances in the surrounding.
 Radioactive wastes from nuclear accident
and nuclear test.
 Radioisotopes from medical use.
UNIT OF DOSE RATE MEASUREMET FOR
BACKGROUND RADIATION
 IONISING RADIATION THAT IS ABSORBED
INTO HUMAN BODY WILL DAMAGE BODY
CELL
 THE BIOLOGICAL EFFECT FROM IONISING
RADIATION ON HUMAN BODY IS
MEASURED IN A QUANTITY KNOWN AS
DOSE
 A DOSE OF 1Sv (Sievert) = 1 JOULE OF
IONISING RADIATION ENERGY THAT IS
ABSORBED BY 1 KG OF LIVING TISSUE.
THE
UNIT OF BACK GROUND
RADIATION DOSE THAT IS
COMMANLY USED IS
microSievert/hour (μSv/h)
Measuring tools
of background
radiation known
as Geiger
Counter.
Safe background radiation
dose in daily life
Lessthan 0.2 μSv/h is the
normal level = safe level.
Estimation dose of ionising
radiation:
Risks from exposure to natural
ionising radiation
 8.4 Uses of radioactive
radiation
 Radioactivity tracers are commonly
used in the medical field and also in
the study of plants and animals.
Radiation is used and produced in
nuclear reactors, which controls
fission reactions to produce energy
and new substances from the fission
products.
AGRICULTURE
 Pest control – Gamma rays are shine on
pests to kill or hinder their breeding.
 Increase quality of agriculture products –
Gamma rays are used to mutate plants
cells to create a new gene with more
quality.
 Research – Phosphorus-32 is used to
determine the absorption rate of fertilisers
by plant.
 Carbon-14 is used to investigate the
effectiveness of pest control of plant.
Medical
 Illnesstreatment – gamma rays from
cobalt -60 is used to destroy cancer cell
and shrink tumor
Uranium -192 – used to treat cancer and
breast cancer.
Samarium 153- to treat leukemia.
 Detection – Iodine 123- to detect block in
kidney.
iodine 131 – to detect damage in thyroid
gland.
Sodium 24 – detects position of blood
cloth.
industrialisation
 Thickness Control Device
monitors the thickness of metal
sheets in factories.
 A metal sheet is passed in
between beta radiation source
and beta radiation detector.
 Too much beta radiation detects
= the metal sheet is too thin.
Beta radiation is used for
tracers and monitoring the
thickness of materials.
Archeology
 Estimate age of artefact.
- Plant with carbon 14 isotopes are
obtained from carbon dioxide gas through
photosynthesis
-The carbon 14 is transferred to animal body
through food chain.
-When these plants and animals die and
decay, the supply of carbon 14 halts and
isotope decay.
-Archeologists estimate artefact age using
carbon dating.