Is radiation in daily life harmful to the human body?

Radiation is always a concern.

But in fact, it is not something terrible.

Everything is radiant

Radiation is not something to be afraid of. All objects in nature (including us humans) will emit radiation as long as the temperature is above absolute zero (-237.15℃).

However, radiation is radiation, but they are different. According to whether it has ionizing ability, radiation can be divided into non-ionizing radiation and ionizing radiation.

Non-ionizing radiation is a large and powerful family. The communication base stations, radio and television, mobile phones, microwave ovens, infrared remote controls, rainbows, ultraviolet rays, lightning, etc. that we are familiar with are all non-ionizing radiation.

What really scares people is ionizing radiation. Ionizing radiation is good at being "invisible". It cannot be seen, touched or smelled, but it can hurt people invisibly. Due to excessive fear, many people mistake non-ionizing radiation for ionizing radiation.

In fact, ionizing radiation is not completely useless. With the development of technology, ionizing radiation is playing an increasingly important role in the fields of medicine, industry, agriculture, environment, security, aerospace, archaeology, nuclear energy, etc.

Many contributions to the medical field

Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 epidemic, medical protective clothing has become a scarce commodity. You may not know that it is ionizing radiation that shortens the disinfection and sterilization time of medical protective clothing from 7 to 14 days by chemical methods to less than 1 day.

According to the relevant data of the International Atomic Energy Agency, about 12 million cubic meters of medical devices are sterilized by irradiation technology every year. More than 40% of all disposable medical devices produced in the world are sterilized by irradiation. Most of the disposable infusion sets, injection needles, surgical instruments, etc. commonly seen in hospitals are sterilized by irradiation.

Not only for medical disinfection, in fact, since the moment nuclear science was discovered, ionizing radiation has been used in medicine. It can be used as both a diagnostic tool and a therapeutic tool, and is used in many areas such as imaging medicine, nuclear medicine, and radiotherapy.

The X-ray machines, CT machines, gamma knives and other equipment we are familiar with are all ionizing radiation equipment. Heavy ion tumor treatment, which is currently quite popular, is also a rising star in ionizing radiation.

Make apples sweeter and flowers more colorful

The application of ionizing radiation in the industrial field is even more extensive, including nuclear instruments, radioactive well logging, industrial nondestructive testing, industrial irradiation and scientific research.

For example, the liquid levels of beverage bottles of the same specification on supermarket shelves are all the same. How is this possible? This is exactly the credit of the nuclear radiation level meter.

In addition to measuring the liquid level of materials, ionizing radiation can also measure density, thickness, weight, etc. The amount of oil stored in the oil tank, the height of the cola liquid level, the thickness of the printing paper/plastic board, the weight of the coal, the compaction of the ground, etc. can all be detected based on this principle.

Roses and chrysanthemums are colorful, watermelons are seedless, apples are red and sweet, pickled chicken feet can be kept fresh for a long time, potatoes and garlic do not sprout... All of these are the results of ionizing radiation breeding and radiation preservation.

By using radiation to induce mutations in plant genetic material and then selecting good varieties for planting, you can get delicious, beautiful and high-yielding fruits and vegetables.

Food radiation preservation is a storage and preservation technology that uses X-rays, gamma rays generated by radiation sources and high-energy electron beams generated by accelerators to irradiate food to inhibit germination, delay maturity, kill insects and sterilize, while not destroying nutrients. Irradiation does not produce radioactive substances and is completely safe to eat.

Not only that, exploring the historical mysteries of Sanxingdui through C-14 dating method, using radiation sterilization technology to eliminate mosquitoes, and clean energy nuclear power to help achieve carbon peak/carbon neutrality... these are also thanks to ionizing radiation.

You all understand, radiation is all around us. If used properly, it is not only not scary, but also very useful.

Can washing your face protect you from computer radiation?

Beauty-conscious ladies always want to remove computer radiation particles by washing their faces after using the computer. Is this really useful?

Cleaning radiation particles is a related measure for nuclear radiation protection. After a nuclear explosion, particles with nuclear radiation will spread and stick to people's faces and clothes. If they are not cleaned in time, they will cause continuous ionizing radiation damage to the human body. However, the radiation of computer monitors is only electromagnetic waves, which will not spread radioactive substances, and there will be no radiation particles, so washing your face will not work to prevent computer radiation.

Can I still eat the buns that have passed through the subway security scanner?

I take the subway to work every morning and don't have time to eat breakfast. Can I eat the steamed buns in my bag safely after they pass through the subway security scanner? Will there be nuclear radiation?

Subway security scanners use the transmission capability of X-rays to check whether there are dangerous items in luggage. The signal from X-rays penetrating the object is processed by a computer to form an image of the internal structure of the object, which is then displayed in different colors to obtain a color image of the inspected object.

The X-ray energy in the security scanner is low and will not cause damage to items. Just like basking in the sun, the warm sunlight shines on the body, but the light does not stay in the body. Therefore, although the buns that pass through the security scanner have been irradiated by X-rays, there will be no X-rays left on them, nor will it change the characteristics of the buns, so you can eat them without worry. In the same way, after taking an X-ray film, the rays will not remain in the body.

Does riding an electric bike cause radiation?

During rush hours in the morning and evening, the traffic jams are so annoying that I want to switch to an electric bicycle, but I’m worried about the radiation in it. What should I do?

Electric bicycles use batteries as their energy source, and use controllers, motors and other components to convert electrical energy into mechanical energy to move the vehicle forward. Batteries can be divided into primary batteries, which are disposable batteries that cannot be reused, such as carbon-zinc batteries, alkaline batteries, mercury batteries, lithium primary batteries, etc.; the other type is secondary batteries, which are rechargeable and reusable batteries. Most electric bicycles use secondary batteries. It is the same as charging our mobile phones and computers, but the amount of charge is different, and there is no nuclear radiation in the battery.

Author: Emergency Office, Institute of Radiation Medicine, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences

Wang Fang Jiao Ling

Review | Experts from the National Health Science Expert Database

Sun Quanfu, researcher at the Institute of Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Medicine, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention

Planning｜Tan Jiayu Yunxi

Editor: Wang Jianying

Source: Healthy China