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

Published: Oct 12, 2018

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 (see also Industrial Irradiation which is specifically defined in the UK Ionising Radiations Regulations (IRR17).

If you start from nothing, it is very difficult to get anywhere

– Gerhard Herzberg -