Radioactive substances - what is the real danger?

All living and inanimate nature on our planet is exposed to radioactive radiation throughout its existence. It is absolutely impossible to avoid this.

Radioactive substances can be both inside the body and outside it - this is due primarily to the presence of a natural background, which form isotopes of natural origin. They are present in all shells of the globe: underground, in soil, in water, in air.

Conventionally, radioactive substances can be divided into three large groups:

1. Isotopes that are formed from uranium 232, thorium 232, and actinuranium 235.
2. Radioactive elements of potassium 40, calcium 48, rubidium 87 and others not genetically related to the first group.
3. Isotopes that are formed during the course of nuclear reactions that continuously flow on the Earth due to the action of cosmic rays (for example, carbon 14 and tritium 3).

In turn, these substances are divided into natural and artificial radioactive. The isotopes-long-livers, which exist in the natural compounds of the elements, belong to the natural. Their half-life is from one hundred to one thousand years.

Artificial radioactivity is obtained as a result of nuclear reactions launched by man. Thus, during the nuclear explosion , about 250 isotopes are formed, of which 225 are radioactive. These isotopes arise as a result of the fission of the nuclei of the so-called "heavy" elements and the subsequent products of their decay. The activity of a radioactive substance directly depends on the number of nuclei that decay over a certain period of time. The more nuclei are formed, the higher the activity.

The immediate danger of radioactive radiation for living organisms is borne by toxic radionuclides (Ra 226, Th 228, Pb 21, Ru 106, Na 22, Sr 89, etc.), which include non-separated nuclei of plutonium and uranium atoms - i.e. Part of the nuclear fuel, which did not enter into the fission reaction.

Humanity was able to create more than two hundred artificial radionuclides and learned to use atomic energy for a variety of purposes, peaceful and not very much. Thus, the energy of a nuclear explosion is used in medicine, armament, to search for deposits of minerals and in the production of inexpensive energy. Thus, the total radiation doses of the inhabitants of the Earth are increasing.

Most often, radioactive substances enter the human body together with food, water and air. The quantity and toxicity of radionuclides in food is determined by the radiation situation that has developed in this region.

Plants absorb radiation not only from the soil, but also from natural precipitation. The most accumulated radionuclides in cabbage and beet, and least of all they are contained in ordinary grass.

Cleaning and subsequent thermal treatment of plants significantly reduces the amount of radiation in them. For example, when cleaning potatoes and beets, up to 40% of radionuclides are removed, and when cooking - another 10-15%. When cooking animal meat, radioactive substances also become a decoction (from 20% to 50%).

To reduce the content of radionuclides in dairy products, they are best translated into fat and protein concentrates.

What is the danger of radioactive radiation?

First of all, even small doses of it can trigger a chain of events in the body that will lead to genetic abnormalities or cancer. Radiation in large doses destroys cells and tissues, causing the body to die. At the cellular level, the mechanism of cell division and its chromosomal apparatus is damaged, the processes of cell renewal and formation with subsequent tissue regeneration are blocked.

The most destructively radioactive substances act on the bone marrow, thyroid, sex glands and spleen - that is, on those organs that require constant updating of cells and tissues.