The
Potential hazards/Risks of X-radiaton to Personnel
X-radiation
is a form of ionising radiation which potentially has detrimental as well
as beneficial effects. Ionising radiation, which also includes alpha and
beta particles, gamma rays and neutrons, has sufficient energy to generate
ion pairs (i.e. electrons) in living tissue. This causes chemically active
free radicals to be formed, which damage molecular structure. DNA
may also be directly affected, resulting in cell dysfunction (somatic effects)
or mutations (genetic damage). Radiation is one of the most potent mutagens
in existence, and is also known to be teratogenic.
Depending on the tissue in
question, the effect of a given dose of x-rays may vary in magnitude from
imperceptible to lethal. Highly mitogenic tissues such as bone marrow and
intestinal epithelium exhibit noticeable effects, while non-dividing tissues
such as muscle may receive a high radiation dose but show little effect.
Two other tissues, foetal and gonadal, are extremely sensitive to radiation,
and irradiation of these tissues at sensitive stages may result in biological
amplification of any damage caused.
One of the methods of reducing
radiation exposure to personnel is to increase the distance between the
x-ray beam and personnel. The inverse square law states that the intensity
of the x-ray beam decreases proportionately with the square of the
distance. In addition the area irradiated quadruples with the square
of the distance.
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