Quiz – Health Effects of Radiation
1.
Which is larger, a millisievert or a microsievert?
2.
What is an isotope?
3.
What is a radionuclide?
4.
What is the meaning of half-life?
5.
Are all radionuclides equally dangerous to human health?
6.
What was the natural background radiation in Japan before the Fukushima accident?
7.
What parts of the world were affected by heavy fallout or radionuclides from the Chernobyl
disaster?
8.
What are the four kinds of ionizing radiation?
9.
What is the difference between internal and external radiation?
10. Why do people take potassium iodide during a nuclear emergency?
11. What are the symptoms of acute radiation poisoning?
12. Why is radiation more harmful to children than to adults?
13. What biological molecule is damaged by radiation
14. Which of these are symptoms of damage from internal radiation?
a) cancer
b) immune deficiency
c) malformation of organs
d) chronic fatigue
e) all of these
15. When was the first atomic bomb exploded?
16. When was the structure of DNA discovered?
17. In most countries, what is the recommended annual dose limit for the public?
a) 1mSv
b) 5mSv
18. What is radiophobia?
c) 20mSv
d) 250mSv
Quiz – Health Effects of Radiation (answers)
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Which is larger, a millisievert (mSv) or a microsievert (µSv)? Microsievert.
1000 µSv
= 1 mSv, 1000mSv = 1Sv
What is an isotope? Atoms are defined by the number of protons in the nucleus. If
the number of neutrons in the nucleus changes, it is considered to be a different
isotope of the same atom. For example, U-235 and U-238 are isotopes of uranium.
What is a radionuclide? A radioactive isotope.
What is the meaning of half-life? All radioactive isotopes are unstable, which means
they are changing into other elements. The change at different speeds and have
different levels of energy. Iodine-131 has a half-life of 8 days, and this means, for
example, that 1 gram of Iodine 131 will become 0.5 g after 8 days. 8 days later it
will be only 0.25 grams, and so on.
Are all radionuclides equally dangerous to human health? No. Some are chemically inert,
but others, like Cs-137, will be absorbed by muscle cells and cause damage. Cs137 acts chemically like potassium. Sr-90 acts chemically like calcium, so it goes
to bones.
What was the natural background radiation in Japan before the Fukushima accident? About
0.05 µSv/h.
What parts of the world were affected by heavy fallout or radionuclides from the Chernobyl
disaster?
Western Europe, Scandinavia, Turkey, Belarus, Ukraine, Russia.
What are the four kinds of ionizing radiation? Alpha, beta, gamma, neutron.
What is the difference between internal and external radiation? Internal radiation refers
to radionuclides that get inside the body and cause damage to cells. External
radiation refers usually to exposure to gamma rays from sources in the
environment.
Why do people take potassium iodide during a nuclear emergency? The thyroid gland
absorbs iodine. If a person swallows a large amount of stable iodine, the thyroid
will be full and will not absorb radioactive iodine.
What are the symptoms of acute radiation poisoning? A drop in blood cell count, nausea,
loss of appetite, vomiting, abdominal pain, dizziness, headache, altered
consciousness.
Why is radiation more harmful to children than to adults? The cells of children are
reproducing more quickly, so damaged DNA is more likely to get copied.
What organic molecule is damaged by radiation. DNA.
Which of these are symptoms of damage from internal radiation?
a) cancer
b) immune deficiency
e) all of them
c) malformation of organs
d) chronic fatigue
Cancer is not the only health effect of radiation.
When was the first atomic bomb exploded? July 16, 1945.
When was the structure of DNA discovered? In the 1920s it was understood that a
molecule in the nucleus of cells contained hereditary information, but the
structure and function of DNA were not fully understood until 1953.
In most countries, what is the recommended annual dose limit for the public?
a) 1mSv
b) 5mSv
c) 20mSv
d) 250mSv
Answer: a)
What is radiophobia?
An irrational fear of radiation. Some scientists state that radiation is much less
harmful than most people believe. They say that the stress of worrying about
radiation often causes more health problems than radiation itself.
The most common isotope of carbon is Carbon12, with six neutrons and six protons.
Carbon-14 radioactive, but less common. It has
six protons and 8 neutrons.
When a neutron strikes an atom of U-235, this
atom is divided into two radionuclides - atoms
which are radioactive. Three neutrons are also
released in this reaction. These might strike
other U-235 atoms, creating a sustained (for
nuclear power) or critical (for a bomb) atomic
reaction.
The energized particles released from
radionuclides break the bonds in biological
molecules, such as DNA. This can lead to the
death of cells or to mutations that cause cancer.
Half-life
Sources
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ionizing_radiation#Types
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiation_poisoning
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DNA#History_of_DNA_research