BrainStuff Classics: How Does Radiation Sickness Work?

Most of us don't have to worry about ionizing radiation -- that is, the kind of radiation that can make you sick. Learn why (and what ionizing radiation can do) in this classic episode of BrainStuff.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to brain Stuff production of iHeart Radio. Hey brain Stuff,
I'm Lauren vogel Bomb and today's episode is a classic,
by which I mean it's from the past and from
our former host, Christian Sager. This one was inspired by
some of the comments on our YouTube channel. We've done
an episode about diesel versus nuclear submarines and made a
perhaps ill conceived joke about nuclear radiation exposure and a

(00:25):
healthy green glow. To set the record straight about irradiation,
we created this episode about how radiation sickness really works. Also,
if you've been watching Chernobyl, this one is pertinent. Hey,
I'm Christian Sagar and this is brain stuff. For most people,

(00:45):
ionizing radiation isn't something we need to worry about, but
some unexpected events can make us sick from radiation, like
nuclear power plant accidents, atomic bombs, leaks and medical or
industrial devices or acts of terrorism. And what we know
about severe radiation sickness is from incidents like these. So

(01:05):
radiation it's actually everywhere. It's in the atmosphere, the ground,
the water, and even our own bodies. We call this
natural background radiation and it's perfectly safe. Radiation strips electrons
away from atoms, creating a positively charged atom called an ion. Therefore,
high energy radiation is called ionizing radiation. Releasing the electron

(01:31):
produces thirty three electron volts of energy, and this heat
surrounding tissue and disrupts some chemical bonds. Extremely high energy
radiation can destroy the nuclei of atoms, releasing even more
energy and causing more damage. The resulting radiation sickness is
a cumulative effect of all of this damage on a

(01:52):
human body bombarded with radiation. Now, radiation exposure is measured
in units called millarem or m rem. Higher readings are
measured in ms v, which are multiples of one hundred
m rem. In the US, we get an average annual
dose of three hundred and sixty m rem. More than

(02:13):
eight comes from natural background radiation. And there are three
kinds of ionizing radiation. Alpha particles are the first, and
they're the least dangerous. They don't penetrate deeply into our
skin if they do at all, because clothes can stop
the particles, but they can be inhaled or ingested, usually
as a raid on gas, and they can also lead

(02:35):
to lung cancer. Beta particles are another one. These are
when electrons move quickly with a lot of energy. There
are eight thousand times smaller than alpha particles, so they
can penetrate the skin and this can burn us or
cause tissue damage. Beta particles can be ingested if they
enter food or water supplies. And then we've got the

(02:56):
most dangerous, which are gamma rays, extremely high energy that
travels through matter. Since they have no mass, these can
be only blocked by several inches of lead or concrete.
If you're exposed to them, they run through your whole body,
affecting the tissue and even the marrow of your bones,
and these cause widespread systemic damage. So how does radiation

(03:21):
make a sick Well, it deposits energy into our tissue,
causing cell damage, and this can make our cells abnormal
or malignant. Huge amounts of radiation can kill within days
or hours in acute exposure, and frequent exposure to low
doses over long periods is called chronic exposure. This causes

(03:42):
a delay in those health effects. However, when we're talking
about amounts of radiation needed to trigger radiation sickness symptoms,
it's in terms of total dosage, and this also takes
into account radiation intensity. How much is absorbed into the
human body, how long the exposure is, and the types
of radiation involved, and this is quantified as the civert,

(04:06):
measured by the absorption of energy multiplied by the radiation type. So,
for instance, a CT scan is equal to point zero
one siverts of radiation. Now, federal guidelines limit your maximum
annual dose to point zero five siverts. The average person
gets point zero zero three six siverts from background radiation.

(04:30):
Point seven five siverts can be enough to induce radiation sickness,
including nausea in a weak immune system. Three siverts is
more severe, but it won't kill you. Five siverts and
higher radiation will start damaging your skin so it doesn't
heal properly. Your hair will fall out, scars develop under

(04:51):
your skin, swelling and forming keloids. Now, between three siverts
and ten siverts gives you a fifty chance of dying
in thirty days, and an instant dose of ten severts
that will be fatal even with medical care. The effects
of radiation sickness include initial symptoms like nausea, diarrhea, headaches, fever,

(05:16):
and a loss of consciousness. With high doses, you'll also
see burns to the skin, and symptoms occur more quickly
the higher the dose, but they fade over one to
two days. The latent period is where there are no
symptoms over several weeks, and after this period real damage
is evident. Bone marrow is vulnerable and can't produce enough

(05:38):
red or white blood cells, and this makes victims anemic
and susceptible to infections. It also damages the digestive systems lining,
and this allows bacteria to migrate from there into your blood,
causing more infections. So you're probably wondering, well, what's the
treatment available. Well, that begins with decontaminating the patient. If

(06:00):
radioactive material is still present, washing and special drugs like
Prussian blue dye can be used, and these drugs bind
radioactive particles and flush them from your body. You'll also
want to evaluate your exposure with symptom checks using blood
tests or a Geiger counter. You'll want antibiotics for the infections,

(06:20):
and blood transusions are used to compensate for damaged bone marrow.
Actual marrow transplants are used in even more severe cases,
and pills can reduce the symptoms of exposure. For instance,
potassium iodide tablets prevent radioactive iodine from concentrating in your thyroid. However,

(06:40):
it does not protect you from direct radiation exposure. To
prevent that, well, you can start by avoiding radiation, but
the CDC recommends that you stay inside your home because
the walls can block some radiation and the safest room
in your house is the one with the least windows.
Once you're in a safe place, figure out if you've

(07:02):
been contaminated. Ways to do this would be get out
of the area, remove your outer clothes and put these
clothes in a plastic bag away from all others. Wash
all your exposed body parts, and any internal contamination may
need medical attention. Now you know what to do if
you've been exposed to enough radiation to cause serious sickness.

(07:28):
Today's episode was written by Ben Bullen and produced by
Tyler Clang. Brain Stuff is a production of I Heart
Radio's How Stuff Works. For more in this and lots
of other topics, visit our home planet, how stuff Works
dot com. Plus. For more podcasts from my heart Radio,
visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you
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