Iodizing Radiations: Industrial Hygiene And Toxicology - Term Paper Example

Iodizing Radiations: Industrial Hygiene and Toxicology Introduction Industries, governments, non-governmental organizations, and the public are concerned with the need to address health issues, particularly those related to hazardous events. Over the decades, industrial hygiene and toxicology has been a fundamental issue addressed under occupational health and safety. Different policies and procedures have been implemented in the attempts to minimize or eliminate health related hazards in the industry sector. It is apparent that industrial working environment poses a wide range of safety and health concerns, which can cause severe injury, illness, or death. In addition, industrial hazards vary depending on the nature of the work environment and outcomes of work performed. Industrial hazards include fire and explosion, biologic hazards, ionizing radiation, heat stress, chemical exposure, electrical hazards, oxygen deficiency, noise, safety hazards, and cold exposure. These hazards among other incidents or situations in the contemporary industrial sector require the skill of an industrial hygienist. Furthermore, events such as the anthrax scares, terrorist attacks, and the potential use of “dirty bombs” enhance the importance for the awareness on the principles of industrial hygiene. The framework or main principles of industrial hygiene and toxicology include recognition, anticipation, control, and evaluation of workplace hazards. As such, an industrial hygienist must take into consideration these principles to ensure safety and health in the workplace. This paper will discuss ionizing radiation, a physical agent in industrial work environment. It will also discuss its effects on exposure, control, principles, and regulations. Ionizing Radiation Ionizing radiation constitutes particles that hold sufficient energy to free an electron from a molecule or atom, thus ionizing it. This radiation is produced through nuclear reactions, natural or artificial, and by extremely high temperature. Ionizing radiation is also generated through high-energy particle production using particle accelerators, nuclear decay, or charged particles acceleration through electromagnetic fields created by innate processes such as supernova explosions and lighting (Wilson para.10). As such, natural sources of ionizing radiation include the supernova explosions, lightning, the sun, and artificial sources that include x-ray tubes, particle accelerators and nuclear reactors. Ionizing radiations includes x-rays, gamma, beta, alpha, and cosmic rays. There are three harmful radiation emitted by radioactive materials, which include gamma, beta, and alpha (Debra 240). Alpha radiation is characterized by limited penetration capacity. Clothing and the skin outer layers typically blocks or stops it. Alpha radiation causes minor risks outside the body, although it turns out to be harmful when materials generating alpha radiation are ingested or inhaled. On the other hand, Beta radiation exposure results in harmful "beta burns" on the victim’s skin as well as harms subsurface blood system. If materials producing beta radiation are ingested or inhaled, they can be substantially harmful with severe detrimental effects on the individual. Protective clothing used together with decontamination and conscientious personal hygiene gives appropriate protection against beta as well as alpha radiation (Debra 242). Gamma radiation can penetrate easily through clothing and human tissue, and cause severe permanent damage to an individual on exposure. Chemical-protective clothing does not provide protection from detrimental effects of gamma radiation on its own; but, use of respiratory as well as other protective equipment assists in preventing materials producing gamma radiation from getting into the body through injection, inhalation, skin absorption or ingestion. In an industry with employees working with materials emitting gamma rays, an industrial hygienist should check levels of radiation. A health physicist should be consulted in case the levels of radiation are found to be above natural background. Furthermore, activities in the industry should be ceased if radiation levels are higher than 2 mrem/hr, until a health physicist assesses the workplace (NIOSH, OSHA, USCG and EPA 9). Effects of ionizing radiations Ionizing radiation has the potential to affect adversely the lives of individuals upon their exposure. It has deleterious effect on human tissue, particularly when an individual is exposed to high levels of radiation. Ionizing radiation effects are categorized into deterministic effects and stochastic effects. Deterministic effects, also known as non-statistic effects, occur only after a particular exposure threshold is exceeded. The severity of these effects amplifies with an increase of the exposure dose. Since threshold level is identifiable, the risk for deterministic effects can be reduced by use of fitting radiation protection systems as well as limiting occupational exposure dose. Deterministic effects result from considerable cell damage or loss. Physical effects occur due to significant cell death burden causing apparent functional impairment of an organ or body tissues. Examples of deterministic effects include cataract, sterility, fetal death or teratogenesis, radiation sickness, and necrosis or skin erythema. Furthermore, deterministic effects are relatively rare, but deterministic effects associated with diagnostic imaging are more prevalent (Goodman para.5). Stochastic effects are believed to occur in accordance to a linear no-threshold hypothesis. In this sense, the risk of stochastic effects incidence amplifies linearly with an increase in the dose, although a threshold level is unidentifiable for these effects. Stochastic effects arise because of symmetrical translocations effect of ionizing radiation that normally occurs during cell division. Examples of stochastic effects include cancer and hereditary defects such as Down syndrome. The risk of stochastic effect can be estimated by considering the age of the individual and average effective exposure dose. It is important that accurate diagnosis be made to prevent further increase in detrimental effect resulting from exposure to ionizing radiation (Goodman para.13). Following the effects on the industry perspective, it is apparent that an event of ionizing radiation results in significant negative effects to the industry. One of the effects is high costs of purchasing chemical-protective clothing, radiation protection systems, respiratory equipment, and installing other protective systems. The industry also incurs large costs in the efforts to remedy incidences of ionizing radiation accidents or exposures. Upon the occurrence of ionizing radiation exposure, the industry is held responsible for various adverse effects on employees, environment, and the public. This translates to huge costs and expenditures in compensating victims, restoring conducive environs, and implementing measures for preventing future occurrences. Furthermore, extreme levels of ionizing radiation exposure can result to closure of the industry. The operations or activities of an industry can be halted in case the level of ionizing radiation is high enough to render the workplace hazardous to workers. Regulations of Ionizing Radiation In the United States, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Agreement States, and Federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) regulate radioactive materials control. The NRC establishes licensing requirements and personal exposure limits. This commission safeguards the health interests of individuals in various plants or industries with the potential risk for exposure to ionizing radiations. In addition, it protects the public from such exposure. NRC advocates for notices, reports as well as instructions to workers, and standards for protecting workers and the public against radiations. It establishes applicable regulations for various radioactive materials use such as medical application as well as industrial use. The commission also provides general applicability rules for licensing byproduct material use for domestic purposes (Harris 197). Occupational safety and health administration have authority over several aspects of radiation protection program that are not regulated by Agreement State regulation or NRC. It addresses occupational exposures caused by non-mining sources that NRC do not regulate, including naturally occurring radioactive materials as well as accelerator created radioactive materials. OSHA has the authority to inspect and regulate compliance but does not have the capacity to license utilization of various radiation sources. Agreement States and U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) also participate in the regulation of ionizing radiations. Agreement States can implement the NRC requirements or establish their own regulations provided that they as stringent as regulations by the NRC. It constitutes nonprofit organizations that have members from different states. In addition, Agreement States provides details such as contact phone number and name for radiation protection resources. On the other hand, U.S. Department of Transportation promulgates regulations concerning the packaging as well as transportation of radioactive materials. It ensures that radioactive materials are transported safely without causing harm (Harris 197). State programs usually control radiation-generating machines as well as accelerators. It is recommended that the appropriate authority and associated regulations be identified before developing a control program. In addition, restraints and licenses produce occupational dose and public dose. Public dose are fashioned for the public exposure to radiations while occupational dose concerns employees working in an environment that entails exposure to ionizing radiations. In the control and evaluation of ionizing radiations exposures, both doses along with their respective limits should be considered. An industrial hygienist therefore, must ensure that only the allowed or permissible exposure limits subsist in an industry. Furthermore, compliance to these regulations is paramount not only for the continued subsistence of the company but also the hygiene and health of employees as well as the public (Harris 198). Principle of Radiation Protection Radiation protection constitutes several principles, which represent contemporary practices for reducing personnel exposures to least achievable levels. These principles are based on common themes of distance, time, and shielding that are sufficient for minimizing external exposures. Principles based on these themes are also adequate for addressing exposure to several radioactive isotopes, particularly those that decay by gamma radiation. Furthermore, radiation protection principles provide appropriate practices implemented in industries involving working with radioactive substances. They cater for internal and external exposures. The principles are suitable for radiation protection program that is already implemented with several tasks as well as radiation sources. They are also significant for radiation protection programs constituting an unplanned or unexpected event for which no contingency plans exist. Moreover, these principles are applicable in varying working environments: those with sealed sources of radioactive materials used in industrial setting for nondestructive testing application, and unsealed sources in testing or research application. It is common for unsealed source to encompass a risk for external and internal exposure through ingestion as well as inhalation pathways. These principles should, therefore, be used along with other more comprehensive protection interventions and programs. According to Harris (2000), radiation protection principles include time, dispersal, source barrier, distance, source reduction, decorporation, personal barrier, optimal technology, effect mitigation, and control or restraint of other exposure. Time principle functions to minimize intake or exposure duration, and dispersal principle entails maximizing dilution and minimizing concentration. The source reduction principle regards reducing use and production of radioactive material and radiation while source barrier principle involves minimizing release and maximizing absorption of radiations. In the context of distance, individuals should maximize distance from the area of occurrence to avoid further exposure or prolonged exposure (Harris 199). Effect mitigation principle entails optimizing exposure among individuals, searching free radicals, and inducing repair. Personal barriers requires that radioactive materials and radiation entry into the body is minimized while optimal technology entails selecting the best technology in order to optimize risk-benefit-cost. Based on the other exposure limitation principle, individuals should reduce exposures to agents likely to occur simultaneously with radiation such as agents causing commencement, progression, or promotion of tumors, and genotoxic agents. Furthermore, decorporation principle necessitates blocking of materials or maximizing removal of radioactive materials or radiations from the body (Harris 199). Conclusion Institutions and the public address health issues, especially those related to hazardous events. Industrial hazards include fire and explosion, biologic hazards, ionizing radiation, heat stress, chemical exposure, electrical hazards, oxygen deficiency, noise, safety hazards, and cold exposure. As aforementioned, ionizing radiation including gamma, beta, and alpha are harmful with the potential to cause negative effects to individuals on exposure. It has deleterious effects on humans, which are categorized into deterministic effects and stochastic effects. In addition, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Agreement States, and Federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) regulate radioactive materials use, in the United States. Radiation protection constitutes several principles with contemporary practices for reducing personnel exposures. These principles are based on common themes of distance, time, and shielding that are sufficient for minimizing external exposures. Furthermore, radiation protection principles include time, dispersal, source barrier, distance, source reduction, decorporation, personal barrier, optimal technology, effect mitigation, and control or restraint of other exposure. Works Cited Debra, Nims. Basics of Industrial Hygiene. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1999. Print. Goodman, T R. Ionizing Radiation Effects, and Their Risk to Humans. 2010. . 4 December 2012. Harris, Michael K. Essential Resources for Industrial Hygiene: A Compendium of Current Practice Standards and Guidelines. Fairfax, VA: AIHA Press, 2000. Print. NIOSH, OSHA, USCG, & EPA. Occupational Safety and Health Guidance Manual for Hazardous Waste Site Activities. 2003. . 4 December 2012. Wilson, Richard. Effects of Ionizing Radiation at Low Doses. 2000. . 4 December 2012. Read More