Radiation Protection Glossary

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

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Internal Radiation

Published: Oct 12, 2018

The internal radiation (hazard) exists where radioactive materials enter the body. The materials can enter via inhalation, ingestion, absorption or injection. Once in the body they will enter the systemic system where they will then migrate to the organs of accumulation (for example I-125 will go to the thyroid and Ca-45 will migrate to the bone). The actual radiation dose delivered will depend on the radioactive nature of the material (its half-life and principal emitters) and its physical and chemical properties (its particle size and the biological half-life).

Physics is really nothing more than a search for ultimate simplicity, but so far all we have is a kind of elegant messiness

– Bill Bryson -