history of nuclear material ashley radcliffe. radon is a cancer-causing radioactive element you can...
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History of Nuclear Material
Ashley Radcliffe
• Radon is a cancer-causing radioactive element• You can not see, taste, or smell it• It is found in soil, rock, and water
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How Radon enters the home
• Radon usually enters homes through cracks and openings
• A small amount enters through well water • Highest Radon levels are usually found in
lower areas of a home such as a basement and crawl spaces
Health Effects
• Radon causes lung damage which can lead to lung cancer throughout your lifetime
• Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer
• There are no known short-term health effects from exposure to radon.
Radon Treatment Controversy
• Treatments utilizing radon-rich air or water have not been unequivocally embraced by modern medicine.
• The objective of the work is to examine factors that contribute to this continuing controversy.
• Medical evidence and patients' testimonials regarding effectiveness of radon spa treatments of various ailments, most notably rheumatoid arthritis are accumulating worldwide.
• Radium is a highly radioactive chemical element
• Classified among the alkaline earth metals of the periodic table of elements.
• Radium is found in trace amounts in uranium ore, and it is significantly more radioactive than uranium
Radium
• Radium is used to treat some types of cancer.• injected into a vein once a month• The exact dose and schedule of carboplatin
depends on your size, among other factors
Thorium Background Information
• Thorium was discovered by a chemist named Jons Jacob Berzelius
• Thorium is named after Thor, the Scandinavian god of war.
How does Thorium get into the environment?
• Natural thorium is present in very small quantities
• Where high concentrations occur in rock, thorium produces waste products such as mill tailings.
How people are exposed to Thorium
• People may inhale contaminated dust, or swallow thorium with food or water.
• Living near a thorium contaminated site, or working in an industry where thorium is used, increases your chance of exposure to thorium.
Health Effects
• Low to moderate level exposure to ionizing radiation is increased risk of cancer.
• Studies have shown that breathing in thorium dust causes an increased risk of developing lung cancer, and cancer of the pancreas.
• Bone cancer risk is also increased because thorium may be stored in bone.
•Uranium is a very heavy metal which can be used as an abundant source of concentrated energy
•Uranium occurs in most rocks •Uranium has a melting point is 1132°C.
How it enters
• A person can be exposed to uranium by inhaling dust in air, or ingesting water and food
• The average daily intake of uranium from food ranges from 0.07 to 1.1 micrograms per day.
Heath Effects
• Intakes of uranium exceeding EPA standards can lead to increased cancer risk, liver damage, or both.
• Long term chronic intakes of uranium isotopes in food, water, or air can lead to internal irradiation and chemical toxicity.
Uranium Pictures
Plutonium
• Discovered by G.T. Seaborg, J.W. Kennedy, E.M. McMillan, A.C. Wohl
• Name for the planet Pluto
What it is used for
• Plutonium is used as an explosive in nuclear weapons.
• One kilogram of plutonium is equivalent to 22 million kilowatt hours of heat energy, so plutonium is important for nuclear power.
How it enters the body
• People may inhale plutonium as a contaminant in dust. It is in water Most people have low inhalation of plutonium.
• People who live near government weapons production or testing facilities may have increased exposure. Plutonium exposure external to the body poses very little health risk.
• External exposure to plutonium poses very little health risk since plutonium isotopes emit alpha radiation and almost no beta or gamma radiation.
• Internal exposure to plutonium is an extremely serious health hazard.
Pictures
Work Cited • http://www.med.navy.mil/sites/nmcphc/Documents/environmental-prog
rams/risk-communication/posters/radon2.pdf• http://www.science.gov/topicpages/r/radon+treatment+controversy.html• http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-radium.htm#didyouknowout• http://healthvermont.gov/enviro/rad/Radium.aspx• http://www.chemicalelements.com/elements/ra.html• http://www.chemicool.com/elements/thorium.html
http://www.rsc.org/periodic-table/element/90/thorium• http://www.epa.gov/radiation/radionuclides/thorium.html#properties