Radiation Affecting Human Health

For over 100 years scientist have studied radiation and how it affects our body and health. Radiation is the release of energy in the form of moving waves or the stream of particles, in other words, it can damage your body and health if you are being exposed to a high dose. There are two different kinds of radiation; there is non-ionizing (low level of radiation) and Ionizing (high levels of radiation.  Radiation can be very critical as it can damage your DNA cells this can cause a list of illness. Incidents have occurred worldwide where radiation affected many people. The symptoms of radiation can be from acute to chronic symptoms, and there is limited treatment depending on the type of radiation you have obtained There have been radiation programs established to protect people against health risks of radiation exposure.

Radiation exists everywhere. There are two forms of it, Ionizing and non-ionizing radiation. Non-ionizing radiation is a design of radiation with less energy than ionizing radiation. We are exposed to non-ionizing on a daily basis, from using a microwave to being outside in the sun. In the other hand, ionizing radiation is a form of energy that can be internal or external. Internal exposure happens when the radionuclide is inhaled, ingested, or has entered your bloodstream. (Radiation and Your Health. (2017, January 25)) A radionuclide is an atom that has excess nuclear energy when in your body it can cause tissue damage. External exposure can be airborne that can be transferred to your skin or clothes.

Radiation illness can be caused by a high dose of radiation. According to mayo clinic, possible sources of high-dose can be the following; accident at a nuclear industrial facility, attack on a nuclear plant, detonation of a small radioactive device, and the list can go on. According to the US Department of Veterans Affairs, "Veterans who participated in a radiation-risk activity during service, the VA assumes that certain cancers are related to their exposure." Exposure to ionizing radiation pointed out to the following illness; all cancers, non-malignant thyroid nodular disease, parathyroid adenoma, posterior subcapsular cataracts, and tumors of the brain and central nervous system.  These of many illnesses we are still researching today caused by radiation.

On march 11, 2011 a magnitude 9.0 quake hit the Great East Japan following a tsunami that disabled the power supply and cooling of three Fukushima Daiichi reactors.  This event caused a nuclear accident which melted three large cores in the first three days after the earthquake. Radioactive released to the air which mandated an immediate evacuation for more than100,00 people.  If they had not proceeded with the evacuation, Japan officials estimated that there have had been well over 1,000 deaths from not evacuating due to radiation.  

Radiation symptoms and signs do depend on how much radiation you have engaged. According to Mayo Clinic, the main two symptoms of radiation are nausea and vomiting. A person who was exposed to ionizing radiation can briefly have no apparent illness. If you were exposed to a great radiation exposure, the symptoms could be rapid and very severe.  Based on radiation exposure contamination, if the radiation is severe some symptoms that can occur are the following; diarrhea, headache, fever, dizziness, and disorientation, weakness, fatigue, hair loss, bloody vomit and stools, poor wound healing, infections, low blood pressure.

Treatments to radiation can vary on the those of radiation that one has absorbed. According to Mayo Clinic, there are three different types of treatment to radiation. One of them is decontamination which is for removal of external radioactive particles. Treatment for this would be removing clothing and shoes which eliminates 90 percent of external contamination. Adding to that you would need to wash your skin with water and soap which would remove additional radiation particles. Decontamination minimizes the further distribution of internal radioactive from inhalation, ingestion or open wounds. (Radiation sickness. (2015, September 29)) Another type of treatment is granulocyte colony-stimulating factor; this treatment is used when the growth of white blood cells interferes with radiation on a bone marrow. It increases the white blood cell count to help prevent infections. Some other treatments for the specific type of radiations include Potassium Iodine; you would get treated with iodine in for of a vaccine and cleared from your body in urine. It is effective if taken a day from exposure. Prussian blue Is another type of treatment within a specific exposure to cesium and thallium, this treatment eliminates radioactive particles and is ejaculate in feces. The last treatment for a specific radioactive exposure is Diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid (DTPA) it binds to plutonium, americium, and curium elements; it is eliminated out of the body in urine. If a person has observed a large dose of radiation, their recovery is very poor. In this instance, death can occur within two days-2 weeks.