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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Irradiation

The process by which an article or body is exposed to a source of Ionising Radiation (either deliberate or by accident). A deliberate type of irradiation uses Gamma Rays or Electron beams to sterilize medical or food products. This type of irradiation is very different to the x-raying of items for security control where the exposures are much lower.

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 -