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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Open Source

Published: Oct 12, 2018

With respect to Radiation Protection, an open source is a source of Ionising Radiation in the form of Radioactive material which is not encapsulated or otherwise contained. The possibility is that open radioactive material can move around and if uncontrolled would lead to Contamination. If not controlled, this could lead to an intake of radioactive material by inhalation or ingestion. It should be noted that open sources are used extensively in biological research and medicine. See also Unsealed Source.

Physics is, hopefully, simple. Physicists are not

– Edward Teller -