Radiation protection services in UAE | Radiation: Health effects & safety measures | Safe Ray

 Radiation Health Hazards & 

 protective measures

Radiations are part of the earth and every time we are exposed to radiation. It can be from the earth and outside the earth. The radiations we receive from outside of earth are called cosmic rays, mainly from the sun. Radioactive gases are present in the air that we breathe.  Also, radioactive elements are present in our bones, muscles, tissues, anywhere and everywhere. Apart from these, we are also exposed to manmade radiation, like in medical imaging for diagnostics etc...If radiation is a common phenomenon how it can be hazardous? At what level radiation is said to be harmful? 

Through this blog, we hope to delve into different aspects of radiation. Saferay UAE has been providing the best radiation protection services in UAE for over 27 years and is capable to deliver the right information to you. Without further ado, let us get into the read. 

What is radiation??

The transmission of energy within the sort of waves or high-velocity particles is named radiation. There are 2 types of radiation

• Ionizing radiation 

• Non- ionizing radiation

Ionizing radiations are high energy radiation. With this energy, when passed through matter it can produce ions(charged particles). In living tissue, this affects the biological process. It includes gamma Rays,  X-Rays, alpha particles, beta particles, neutrons etc...The radiation we get from medical imaging systems is ionizing. 

You can find commonly used medical imaging systems and their uses in the previous post- commonly used radiology equipment 

Non-ionizing radiations are of low energy. This doesn’t mean that this radiation won’t cause health problems. But the damage from high exposure to non-ionizing radiation is limited to thermal damages( burns)

Exposure to high levels of radiation can cause severe health issues. 

Health effects of radiation

The health effect of radiation is determined by understanding whether it is chronic or acute. When exposed to a high dose of radiation once, it is called acute exposure. It is said to be chronic exposure when a small dose of radiation is received for a long period.  

 

Few harmful effects of radion in the human body are:

• Hair loss

• Intense exposure to radiation kills nerve cells and blood vessels. 

• Thyroid glands are affected due to a considerable amount of radioactive iodine

• Reduction of lymphocytic cells and thereby low immunity

• Affect reproductive tract etc…

Skin burns can be caused by being exposed to a lot of radiation in a short period, such as during a radiation emergency. It's also possible that it'll cause acute radiation syndrome (ARS, or "radiation sickness"). Headache and diarrhoea are two of the symptoms of ARS. They generally begin within a few hours. Those symptoms will fade away, and the person will appear to be in good health for a time. They will, however, get unwell again. The quantity of radiation they got determines how quickly they become ill again, what symptoms they have, and how sick they become. ARS can lead to mortality in a matter of days or weeks in some situations.

The amount of damage depends on various factors

• Type of radiation

• Dose of radiation

• How it is exposed? Skin contact/ breathing/swallowing etc…

• How long it stays in the body

• Which body part is exposed

• Sensitivity of your body

• Immunity

Radiation and Healthcare providers

Medical imaging is a great diagnostic tool that has revolutionised the medical industry. Medical imaging systems like in x-ray, CT scans etc… make use of ionizing radiation to generate images of the body. The significant development of imaging technology has raised the crucial problem of radiation safety for both patients and health care workers, especially children. Overexposure to ionizing radiation causes DNA damages, cells repair most of the damages but sometimes repairing is not done perfectly. It may lead to DNA mutation and thereby can cause cancer. The main challenge in keeping the radiation dosage low is while obtaining the best picture quality possible for reliable medical diagnosis.

So, what all measures we can adopt to ensure maximum safety?

• Radiation assessment - Assessing radiation rooms and equipment, shielding calculation, dose assessment according to legal authorities

• Quality control - Improve the accuracy in dose delivery and avoid accidents

• Lead lining and room preparation - Lead is high dense metal. Lead lining in walls and ceilings make a protective barrier from radiation

• Radiation safety training for workers: Training for the workers who are engaging with ionizing radiation, provide knowledge and the basic idea of radiation physics, health effects and need of safety measures: 

• Personal Dosimetry: A radiation dosimeter is a device that detects the amount of ionising radiation a person has been exposed to. The individual is typically worn as a personal dosimeter and serves as a record of the radiation dosage received.

• Radiation protective garments: Radiation protective accessories include Lightweight lead and non-lead aprons, leaded eyeglasses, radiation-reducing surgical gloves, lead acrylic barriers etc...

Count on Saferay for quality services and Accessories

You can rely on Safe Ray for every radiation protection service in UAE and to avail yourself of a wide range of safety equipment. From short-term initiatives to long-term projects, we take after and assist your organisation in all processes and structures. In addition, SAFE RAY has an in-house Licensed Medical Physicist that checks Radiation Leakage Tests, Radiation Quality Control Test certifications, and Special Advisory in each of its projects. Reach out to us, we are right here for you.