There are many hazardous consequences that come along with nuclear radiation and its wastes, from increasing risks of getting cancer to people within contact with radiation or the productions of nuclear weapons; atomic bombs and etc. In addition, the hazards of radiation also results in damaging the organic molecules, creating reactive molecules and free radicals, the metamorphosis also occurs in DNA which can results in the outcomes of defecting the births, sterility and causes cancer. Furthermore, there are also dangers of radiation types, such as a decrease in the ability of penetrating and the ability to ionize or to create electric charges that might be damaged from radiation. These radiation hazards are so perilous because of the sources and situations that has occurred within nuclear radiation; the nuclear fallout from the atmospheric testing, the Chernobyl accident in the Ukraine in 1986 not including the sources we can access today, of uranium mining and conventional power plants. However, these nuclear radiations can be obtained and controlled by either limited exposure to nuclear radiation or protection from the operation of nuclear reactors.
In most countries, public dose are limited for exposure to nuclear radiation from uranium mining or nuclear power plants are generally set at 1mSv per year, with workers from uranium mining and power plants, limiting the exposure to approximately 20mSv per year. (2) This can be obtained by the requirements set from the factories and mines to keep exposure as low as possible. In uranium mining operations are regulated and levels of exposure are monitored precisely and accurately due to the safety in the heath of workers in the mines. There are four main approach that can be taken in effect to help protect and reduce the exposure of radiation which are; firstly, you can li mit the tie in which the people are exposed to radiation, and in occupational situations, doses of radiation can be reduce with the reduction of working time. Secondly, distance can also be kept from the intensity of the radiation since the further you are from the nuclear radiation, the less radiation will occur. Thirdly, shields can be used to protect the physical self for instance to protect individuals from too much exposure to gamma rays, barriers of lead, concrete, or water can be used to protect from higher level of penetrating. Radioactive materials can also be stored under water or by controlling manually in rooms of concrete and lead. Lastly, the use of containments and locations of workplaces and be closed up to protect against radiation. Nuclear reactors can operate within a secured system/room with barriers which can keep radioactive materials delimited, which can also be reduced in air pressure so no leaks will spread into the rooms. In addition, safeguard materials can also be used in protecting against radiation in working areas such as thermal shield, biological shields, built-in protection and specially designed radiation resistant clothing. When the object, area or the substance gets contaminated or/and irradiated, they can be decontaminated by special procedures.
Nuclear wastes are the excess of radioactive substance from nuclear reactors, research projects, and nuclear weapons and bombs productions. It produces dangerous levels of radioactive radon gas but is safe enough for contact. In addition, there are also primary source of nuclear waste in reactors and this may take it thousands of years to decay, these are also known as fission products. It can be classified as either a low level radioactive waste of a high level radioactive waste. The low level nuclear wastes contain resources that are used to handle the radioactive parts of nuclear reactors such as cooling water pipes and radiation suits. Moreover, it is also moderately easy to dispose of, with a period of 10 to 15 years, this would allow the waste to decay and slowly be disposed of to its habitual refuse. Whereas the high level radioactive are from the cores of nuclear reactors and weapons including uranium, plutonium and other radioactive elements made from fission. Comparable to the low level radioactive waste, the high level radioactive waste emits a larger amount of radiation causing it to have a longer period of time (half- lives) before the waste will settle to its safe level of radioactivity, with some elements having a half-life of over 100,000 years. The low level wastes are disposed by the use of low level waste landfills that surrounds containers of waste that are buried underground in near trenches and that are bounded by compressed land. For high level wastes, it is disposed by the use of fuel rod storage pools that removes it from the reactors until permanent disposal will occur for approximately 40 years, so that the radioactivity decrease to a manageable level. It could also be disposed by burying it in the ocean receptacles, in polar sheets, sending it to outer space or burying it underground in an ecological container. (3)
In conclusion, nuclear radiation is one of the most hazardous discoveries made but it can also be beneficial to the use of medicines, radiations for patients, radioactivity transmission to televisions and radios. When radiations are in contact it could harm the individual’s health and put them into risks of receiving cancer. It is important to be protected from excessive exposure to radiation.
References:
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World Nuclear Association, “Radiation and Nuclear Energy”, Sweden, 1995, p 13,
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World Nuclear Association, “Radiation and Nuclear Energy”, Sweden, 1995, p 6,
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University of Wollongong, “Nuclear Waste Disposal” , Australia, 2008, p 1,
Picture References:
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Gold, Ezra. "Nuclear Waste Disposal." Rochester History. 2006.
<http://www.history.rochester.edu/class/EZRA/>.
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"Radiation and Radioactivity : Types of Radiation." Nuclear Science and Technology . 2006.
<http://www.aboutnuclear.org/view.cgi?fC=Radiation_and_Radioactivity,Types_of_Radiation>.
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