Radiation Protection Glossary

A radiation protection glossary for Radiation Protection Supervisors (RPS) and anyone interesting in radiation safety terminology. The glossary is a mixture of health physics terms, and phrases related to radiation legislation, transport, practical safety and similar.

Search the Glossary by either clicking on a letter or typing a Keyword into the search box.

Hereditary Effects

Published: Oct 12, 2018

Hereditary effects (with respect to Radiation Protection) are those effects present in the offspring of those exposed to Probabilistic / Stochastic levels of ionising radiation. See Genetic Effects.

The definition of 'safe' is not strictly an engineering term; it's a societal term. Does it mean absolutely no loss of life? Does it mean absolutely no contamination with radiation? What exactly does 'safe' mean?

– Henry Petroski