How Does Radiation Sickness Work?

Christian explains the science behind the healthy green glow.

Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:02):
Welcome to brain stuff from how stuff works. Hey, I'm
Christian Segar, and this is brain stuff for most people.
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

(00:25):
industrial devices, or acts of terrorism. And what we know
about severe radiation sickness is from incidents like these. So
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

(00:48):
away from atoms, creating a positively charged atom called an ion. Therefore,
high energy radiation is called ionizing radiation. Releasing the electron
produces thirty three electron volts of energy, and this heat
surrounding tissue and disrupts some chemical bonds. Extremely high energy

(01:08):
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
human body bombarded with radiation. Now, radiation exposure is measured
in units called milarem or m REM. Higher readings are

(01:29):
measured in ms V, which are multiples of one hundred mrem.
In the US, we get an average annual dose of
three hundred and sixty m rem. More than eight percent
comes from natural background radiation, and there are three kinds
of ionizing radiation. Alpha particles are the first, and they're

(01:50):
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 to lung cancer.
Beta particles are another one. These are when electrons move
quickly with a lot of energy. There are eight thousand

(02:11):
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 most dangerous, which
are gamma rays, extremely high energy that travels through matter.
Since they have no mass, these can be only blocked

(02:34):
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 make a
sick Well, it deposits energy into our tissue, causing cell damage,

(02:54):
and this can make our cells abnormal or malignant. Huge
amounts of radiation and kill within days or hours in
acute exposure and frequent exposure to low doses over long
periods is called chronic exposure. This causes a delay in
those health effects. However, when we're talking about amounts of

(03:15):
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 c vert, measured by the

(03:35):
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. Point seven

(03:59):
five sea verts 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

(04:19):
your skin, swelling and forming keloids. Now between three siverts
and ten siverts gives you a fifty percent chance of
dying in thirty days, and an instant dose of ten
siverts that will be fatal even with medical care. The
effects of radiation sickness include initial symptoms like nausea, diarrhea, headaches, fever,

(04:44):
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

(05:06):
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

(05:28):
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,

(05:48):
and blood transcusions 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,

(06:08):
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

(06:30):
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.

(06:57):
Check out the brain stuff channel on YouTube, and for
more in this and thousands of other topics, visit how
stuff works dot com