Introduction To Radiations: Dr. Mohammad Khairul Azhar Abdul Razab

Introduction to Radiations
Dr. Mohammad Khairul Azhar Abdul Razab

Ph.D (Radiation Physics), M.Sc (Medical Physics), B.Sc (Medical Radiations);
Certified Radiation Protection Officer (AELB)
Lecturer
Medical Radiations Program
School of Health Science
Universiti Sains Malaysia Health Campus
16150 Kubang Kerian, Kelantan, Malaysia
Kami Memimpin We Lead
Course Learning Outcomes (CLO’s)
Lecture Contents
1. Electromagnetic spectrum: Ionizing & non-ionizing radiations: characteristics
and classifications; Definitions of radiation: wave-particle duality
2. Ionizing radiations: Physical quantities and units
3. Natural occuring and background radiations: Food, water, air, soil, stone,
cosmic rays, radon gas.
4. Application of ionizing radiations in life: Medical, research, energy, industries,

instrumentation and etc.
5. Radiation issues: Hazard

1. Electromagnetic (EMR) Spectrum

ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION

Electromagnetic Radiation (EMR) Characteristics: Definition and Physics
 The propagation of radiant energy through space and matter by

time-varying (vibrating) electric (E) and magnetic (H) fields.
 This radiation may be characterized as particles or waves (per wave-

particle duality).
 Per quantum theory, EMR = discrete particles (photons).
 When characterized as a wave, EMR is described in terms of

wavelengths

Electromagnetic Propagation Wave
 The electric field vector (solid line) is vibrating up and down in the plane of the
paper, while the magnetic field vector (dashed line) is vibrating in and out of the
plane of the paper.
 The moving of radiation direction is defined by a third vector — the propagation

vector, k.
 Electromagnetic fields are transverse to the direction of propagation and contained

within the envelope formed by the axis of propagation and the sinusoidal waves.

Electromagnetic Radiation
 May be described by three quantities:
– Photon energy (E in joules)
– Wavelength (λ) – distance between 2 points in the same phase of
consecutive wave cycles; also, one complete cycle of a wave -- units of
length: nanometers (nm, 10-9) or micrometer (μm, 10-6)
– Frequency (ƒ) – number of complete wave cycles that occur in one
second (units of frequency: 1 hertz (Hz) = 1 cycle per second;
multipliers = GHz (109 Hz), MHz (106 Hz), kHz (103 Hz)
 E = hƒ = hc/λ
Where h is Planck’s constant (6.626 x 10-34 J - seconds), c is speed of light
3.00 x 108 m/s, is λ wavelength (m), and ƒ is frequency in Hz
 Photons with relatively long wavelengths (and low frequency) have

relatively low energy
 Lower photon energy = lower potential hazard

Electromagnetic Fields
 Field – any physical quantity that has different values at different positions
in space.
 Electric fields are derived from electric charges.
 Magnetic fields are derived from moving electric charges

Electric (E) Fields
 Created by any charged object whether still or moving; lines of force or
flux.
 Described by the magnitude or intensity (E) of voltage difference or

gradient between two points in the field.
 E is proportional to the voltage difference and inversely proportional to

the distance between the two points.
 Electric field strength is calculated by dividing the voltage between two

points by the distance between them: volts per meter (V/m).
 Easily shielded – many common materials influence these fields

Electric Fields
Electric field lines – A) from positive point charge; B) between linearly

distributed positive and negative charges

Magnetic (B) Fields
 Created by moving electric charges – currents
 Defined by magnitude and direction of force exerted on a moving charge

(current)
 Apply force to moving ions in a biological system
 Difficult to shield effectively – many common materials exhibit low

permeability
 Permeability is a measure of how magnetizable a material is (iron-

containing materials exhibit high permeability)

Magnetic Fields
Current flow (I) produces magnetic

field with magnetic flux density (B).
Tesla (T) is used to measure a unit of

magnetic flux density, which is equal
to one weber per square

Voltage produces an electric field and current produces a magnetic field
Source: National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS): EMF Questions and Answers: Electric and Magnetic Fields
Associated with Electric Power. NIEHS, 2002. http://www.niehs.nih.gov/health/docs/emf-02.pdf

An appliance that is plugged in and therefore connected to a source of electricity has
an electric field even when the appliance is turned off. To produce a magnetic field,
the appliance must be plugged in and turned on so that the current is flowing.
Source: National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS): EMF Questions and Answers: Electric and
Magnetic Fields Associated with Electric Power. NIEHS, 2002. http://www.niehs.nih.gov/health/docs/emf-02.pdf

Definition of radiations
 Radiation can be defined as energy transferred through
space, either in form of wave or particles characteristics,
depending on its mesurement and interactions with matter.
 In general, radiations can be divided by two types:

 Ionizing radiations – changes the atomic structures
 Non-ionizing radiations – not changes the atomic structures

Wave-Particle Duality

1927 Solvay Conference in Brussels, where 29 brilliant
scientists gathered to discuss the fledgling quantum theory
• wave–particle duality, in which light can act as

particles and particles such as electrons interfere like
light waves.
• According to Neils Bohr, a system behaves as a wave

or a particle depending on context, but you cannot
predict which it will do.

2. Ionizing radiations: Physical quantities and units
Physical SI Unit Non-SI Relationships
Quantity
Activity Becquerel (Bq) Curie (Ci) 1Ci = 3.7x1010 Bq
1Bq = 2.7x10-11 Ci
Exposure Coulomb per Roentgen (R) 1R = 2.58x10-4 C/kg
kilogram (C/kg) 1C/kg = 3876R
Absorbed Dose Gray (Gy) rad (rad) 1 rad = 0.01Gy
1Gy = 100rad
Dose Equivalent Sievert (Sv) rem (rem) 1rem = 0.01Sv
1Sv = 100rem
Effective Dose Sievert (Sv) rem (rem) 1rem = 0.01Sv
1Sv = 100rem

There are 5 radiation quantities with their respected
units:
1. Activity
2. Exposure
3. Absorbed dose
4. Dose equivalent vs Equivalent dose
5. Effective dose

Activity, A
 When an atom disintegrates, radiation is emitted. If the rate of
disintegration is large, a radioactive source is considered to have a high
activity.
 The unit for the activity of a radioactive source was named after Becquerel
(abbreviated Bq) and is defined as:
1 Bq = 1 disintegration per second
 In some countries, the old unit, the curie (abbreviated Ci) is still used.
 The curie unit was defined as the activity in one gram of radium.

 The number of disintegrations per second in one gram of radium is
37 billion.
 The relation between the curie and the Becquerel is given by:
1 Ci = 3.7 x 1010 Bq
 Bq is the SI unit for activity.

Exposure, X
 The exposure, X is the quotient of dQ by dm where the value for dQ is the
absolute value of the total charge of the ions of one sign produced in air
when all the electrons and positrons liberated by photons in air of mass dm
are completely stopped in air.
X = dQ/dm
 Exposure is relates to ionization in air and not to ionization in an irradiated

medium such as tissue.
 The roentgen is the unit of exposure until the introduction of SI units.
 The SI unit for exposure is Ckg-1 (Coulomb per kilogram). 1 roentgen is equal
to 2.58 x 10-4 Ckg-1.
Absorbed Dose, D
 Exposure does not describe the energy imparted to an irradiated
material and cannot be used to specify the radiation energy
absorbed by a patient.
 Absorbed dose is the quantity required. Absorbed dose, D is equal to

Ed/m, where :
Ed is the energy imparted by ionizing radiation to the matter in a

volume element and m is the mass of matter in that volume element.

 The original unit of absorbed dose, the rad was defined in terms
of an energy deposition of 100 erg/g of absorber.
 In SI units, the unit of absorbed dose is called the Gray (Gy).
 The Gray is defined as 1 joule (J) of energy deposition in 1 kg of

material. This can be expressed as:
1 Gy = 1 J/kg = 1Jkg-1
1 rad = 10-2 Gy
100 rad = 1 Gy

Dose Equivalent, H
 Biological effects are attributed not only to the absorbed dose but also
depend on the type and energy of the radiation.
 Radiation with a high linear energy transfer (LET) in general is more

destructive to biological material than low LET radiation.
 A special quantity and unit are needed to address the differences in

biological effectiveness.
 This quantity is the dose equivalent, H and its conventional unit is the
rem (rad equivalent man).

 The dose equivalent can be calculated using the absorbed dose, D:
H = DQ
where Q is a quality factor of the particular radiation.
 The quality factor, Q reflects the effectiveness of a particular type of

radiation resulting in the same biological effect as another type of radiation.
 The SI unit of dose equivalent is the Sievert (Sv). The Sievert is related to the
Gray as follows:
Sievert = Gray x WR
where WR is a radiation weighting factor.
1 Sv = 100 rem
1 mSv = 100 mrem

Equivalent Dose
 In the 1990 recommendations of the ICRP, 1991 (International
Commission on Radiological Protection) the term dose equivalent has
been superseded by the term equivalent dose (HT).
 This is a weighting absorbed dose in a tissue or organ and it is obtained

by weighting the absorbed dose by the radiation weighting factor, WR.
HT = RWRDT,R
HT: equivalent dose

WR: radiation weighting factor
DT,R: the absorbed dose averaged over the tissue or organ.

Radiation Weighting Factors for Different Types of Ionizing
Radiation, WR
Type and Energy Range of Radiation WR

Photons , all energies 1
Electron and muon, all energies 1
Neutrons, energy < 10keV 5
10keV to 100keV 10
> 100keV to 2MeV 20
> 2MeV to 20MeV 10
> 20MeV 5
Proton, other than recoil proton, energies > 2MeV 5

Alpha particle, fissions, heavy nucleus 20

Comparison between Linear Energy
Transfer for radiations

Effective Dose
 If the equivalent dose, HT is weighted by the tissue weighting
factor, WT, we will get another quantity, which the ICRP (1991)
refers to as the effective dose, E.
Effective dose, E = T WT HT
where HT is the equivalent dose in tissue T and WT is the

corresponding tissue weighting factor.

In general instead of single but several organs will receive radiation
doses. In this situation it is convenient to express the multiplicity of
doses as a single value. This value represents the hypothetical
radiation dose that would have the same effects (risk) if it was
applied uniformly to the whole body. This combined value is the
effective dose (effective dose equivalent).

Tissue Weighting Factor, WT
 Radiation biological effects depend not only on the type and energy
of the radiation but also on the type of tissue or organ that has been
exposed.
 ICRP (1991) introduced the tissue weighting factor, WT which

represents the relative contribution of that organ or tissue to the
total detriment due to those effects resulting from uniform
irradiation of the whole body. Tissue weighting factors represents
the sensitivity of a particular organ.

Tissue Weighting Factors, WT
Tissue WT
Gonads 0.20
Lower large intestine 0.12
Breast 0.05
Stomach 0.12
Bone marrow 0.12
Bladder 0.05
Lung 0.12
Liver 0.05
Thyroid 0.05
Oesophagus 0.05
Bone surfaces 0.01
Skin
*Remainder comprises the following
tissues and organs:
 Adrenals, brain, kidney, muscle, 0.05

pancreas, small intestine, spleen,
thymus, upper large intestine and
uterus.

 The purpose of effective dose is to compare the risk for late effects
of different types of radiation because different organs and types of
tissue have different sensitivities to radiation.
 Late effects are biological responses that are only observed after a
substantial amount of time has passed.
 Effective dose has units of Sieverts (Sv).

2. Ionizing radiations

Elements 2017
3. Natural occurring radiation materials (NORM) and

background radiations

There is nowhere in this world you can run
away from radiation exposure!!!!!.....NORM &
TENORM is everywhere among us due to
human activities……..

Term definitions
• NORM: Natural occurring radioactive materials (NORM) is defined as,
“Materials which may contain any of the primordial radionuclides or
radioactive elements as they occur in nature, such as radium, uranium,
thorium, potassium, and their radioactive decay products, such as radium
and radon, that are undisturbed from human activities”.
• TENORM: Technologically Enhanced Naturally Occurring Radioactive

Material (TENORM) is defined as, "Naturally occurring radioactive
materials that have been concentrated or exposed to the accessible
environment as a result of human activities usually for industrial
purposes such as manufacturing, mineral extraction, or water processing”.

Term and definitions (cont)
• Background radiation: Radiation which is present in terrestrial, cosmic,
and cosmogenic sources, is always around us. Some man-made radiation
like X-rays and ‘nuclear radioactivity’ is considered part of the background
for regulatory purposes (e.g., fallout from weapons testing, nuclear
medicine).

Primordial radionuclides…the initial of NORM
 Uranium (235U, 238U), thorium (232Th) and potassium
(40K) are primordial radionuclides that have existed
around 4.55 billion years ago in one or more great
supernova circumstances which then formed our solar
system.
 Half life of 235U, 238U, 232Th and 40K, (time required to

reduce half of radionuclide activities) are 0.704, 4.47,
14.1 and 1.28 bilion years respectively, good enough to
give the radiations effects on living things.
TENORM

potassium-40, carbon-14, hydrogen-3, radium-226, and thorium-232
3520 pCi/kg 1,400 pCi/liter
1,200 pCi/liter

EPA USA: Action level = 4 pCi/L
Hazard of Radon gas

Hazard of Radon Gas to human
• Natural radon gas in air inhaled by human and enter the respiration route.
• The gas will interact with lung tissues and release the alpha particles during
respiration process.
• Alpha particles with high linear energy transfer (LET) with 20 weighting
radiations factor (WR) will give adverse effect to the lung tissues.
• Continuous exposure to higher Radon gas concentrations will risk human to

the lung cancer.
• Adverse effects will occur if the lung tissues have tiny wounds, where alpha
particles can go depth into the subcell layers.

Radon gas properties
“silent
killer”
Melting Alpha ()
point: particle
- 71 C° productions
222
Rn
Boiling point: Half life:
- 61.7 C° 3.82 days
Originated
Existed as from U-238
GAS decay
series

Background of natural radiations among selected countries

Background radiation in selected cities

Natural radiations in building

Risiko gas radon: kesan jangka panjang
Radon in building materials - AELB

Perubatan: Blood Transfusion, Brachytherapy, Gamma
Camera, Thyroid Counter, X-ray, Fluoroscopy, Linac
4. Ionizing radiation applications in our life

FESEM, Nd:YAG Laser, XRD, XRF
Research

Nuclear Reactor, Level checking, Density checking,
Gamma projector, Smoke detector, Oil lamp
Energy resource, factories, oil & gas industries and home/building instruments

5. Radiation issues

Gamma Projector LOST
• https://www.hmetro.com.my/utama/2018/08
/369816/hilang-tengah-jalan
• http://www.astroawani.com/berita-malaysia/
hilang-alat-rdd-bukan-kejadian-pertama-1835
51
• https://soscili.my/peranti-radioaktif-hilang-di-
malaysia-boleh-ke-ia-disalahguna-pengganas/
Radiations burning due to improper radiation protection (acute radiation
syndrome) – usually in industries: oil & gas/nuclear power plant

Exposure Dose Limit

Thank you for your attention.
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Introduction to Radiations

Dr. Mohammad Khairul Azhar Abdul Razab

2. Ionizing radiations: Physical quantities and units

4. Application of ionizing radiations in life: Medical, research, energy, industries,

5. Radiation issues: Hazard

Kami Memimpin We Lead

Kami Memimpin We Lead

Kami Memimpin We Lead

 The propagation of radiant energy through space and matter by

 This radiation may be characterized as particles or waves (per wave-

 Per quantum theory, EMR = discrete particles (photons).

 When characterized as a wave, EMR is described in terms of

Kami Memimpin We Lead

 The moving of radiation direction is defined by a third vector — the propagation

 Electromagnetic fields are transverse to the direction of propagation and contained

Kami Memimpin We Lead

 Photons with relatively long wavelengths (and low frequency) have

 Lower photon energy = lower potential hazard

Kami Memimpin We Lead

 Electric fields are derived from electric charges.

 Magnetic fields are derived from moving electric charges

Kami Memimpin We Lead

 Described by the magnitude or intensity (E) of voltage difference or

 E is proportional to the voltage difference and inversely proportional to

 Electric field strength is calculated by dividing the voltage between two

 Easily shielded – many common materials influence these fields

Kami Memimpin We Lead

Electric field lines – A) from positive point charge; B) between linearly

Kami Memimpin We Lead

 Defined by magnitude and direction of force exerted on a moving charge

 Apply force to moving ions in a biological system

 Difficult to shield effectively – many common materials exhibit low

 Permeability is a measure of how magnetizable a material is (iron-

Kami Memimpin We Lead

Current flow (I) produces magnetic

Tesla (T) is used to measure a unit of

Kami Memimpin We Lead

Kami Memimpin We Lead

Kami Memimpin We Lead

 In general, radiations can be divided by two types:

Kami Memimpin We Lead

Kami Memimpin We Lead

• wave–particle duality, in which light can act as

• According to Neils Bohr, a system behaves as a wave

Kami Memimpin We Lead

Kami Memimpin We Lead

Kami Memimpin We Lead

Kami Memimpin We Lead

 Bq is the SI unit for activity.

Kami Memimpin We Lead

 Exposure is relates to ionization in air and not to ionization in an irradiated

 The roentgen is the unit of exposure until the introduction of SI units.

 Absorbed dose is the quantity required. Absorbed dose, D is equal to

Ed is the energy imparted by ionizing radiation to the matter in a

Kami Memimpin We Lead

 In SI units, the unit of absorbed dose is called the Gray (Gy).

 The Gray is defined as 1 joule (J) of energy deposition in 1 kg of

Kami Memimpin We Lead