Thursday, November 13, 2008

Mobile Phone Radiation


Concers on the mobile phone radiation increase day by day. Because of the widely usage of mobile phones, people are worry about is it unhealthy. There are several researches on mobile phone radiation however nobody can say last word. Modern technology make life easier but all know it has also side-effects.

For instance, chemical technology find DDT, with the help of DDT millions of poeple saved from starve to death but some of them will sick of cancers. At the this point medical industry gives us some pills and treatment for cancers.

It is too early to give final decision about the effects of mobile phone radiation is tolerable or not. We will be publis some contrar and supporter opinions about the effects of it.

This is a publication from EPA about the protection from mobile radiation. http://www.epa.sa.gov.au/mobilephone.html

DNA defect of mobile phones www.nature.com/news/2004/041220/full/041220-6.html

Sunday, May 25, 2008

Nuclear Wastes

Nuclear wastes is the most common way of the nuclear pollution because of the amount which have given out off process is huge amounts. The IAEA (2007) reported there are 439 nuclear power reactors in operation in the world, operating in 31 countries. Everyday they waste huge amounts of nuclear wastes. The handling of nuclear waste is hard to control because of the long half time of this meterials.

The following figure illustrate that the amount of nuclear waste according to countries in tonnes/year.

Use of Radioactive Rays

Today radioactivity is used many industrial and health aplication such as knowing the gender of the baby before its born, checking the welding quality of the petrolium pipes. We can give many such examples.
All of this application sometimes radioactivity protection is vistal. However sometimes lack of experience sometimes lack of ethical behaviours provoke the radiation pollution which can give people and ecology around the specific sites.

Thursday, March 20, 2008

Man Made Nuclear Sources

Man made nuclear pollution takes place by nuclear explosions, nuclear wastes and use of radioactive rays to certain purposes.

1- Nuclear Explosions

A nuclear explosion causes both immediate radiation and residual radiation. Immediate radiation is given right now the explosion. It is dangerous only within two or three kilometers. If a living organism is near the explosion without adequate protection and managed to survive the effects of blast and fire, it can dramatically damaged by the immediate radiation.

Residual radiation is given off by the radioactive particles left as "fallout" after the explosion. The danger from fallout would be so great and widespread that it is discussed separately.
This radioactive material is then carried by winds until it settles to earth. This is called "Fallout". Under some circumstances you may see the fallout; under others you may not.
The radioactivity it gives off cannot be seen and it has no smell. But fallout doesn't come out of the sky like a gas and seep into everything. It can best be described as a fine to coarse sand carried by the winds. Because the wind direction varies at different heights above the ground, it is not possible to judge from the ground where the fallout will settle. It can settle in irregular patterns hundreds of miles from the explosion.
The fallout from a 5-megaton explosion could affect seriously an area of 7,000 square miles. If nothing were done to gain protection during the period of high radioactivity, there would be a grave danger to life in that area.
Because fallout is carried so far and covers such a large area, it could be the greatest danger to the largest number of Canadians in a nuclear war. If Canada was not hit by nuclear bombs, those exploding in the United States close to our border could result in serious fallout in many parts of Canada.
There are four things which determine the amount of radiation reaching your body from fallout:
1.The time that has passed since the explosion.
2.The length of time you are exposed to fallout.
3.The distance you are from the fallout.

Thursday, February 28, 2008

Natural Radiation Sources

Nuclear activities not only occur due to humans but also occur by naturally. The main energy source of the Universe, Sun releases energy by the way of Nuclear explosions. Also under the Earth surface millions of tons radiactive chemicals lay on.


1- The Sun

Imagine a region the size of Asia exploding with a force equvalent to billions of magatons hydrogen bombs, with plasma temperatures reaching tens millions of kelvin and mass of a trillion kilometers per second. In the first few seconds, a blast of deadly X-rays is beamed toward the earth. Then a huge shock wave is lunched into space.

Such a outburst with an energy 10 trillions kw-hours, represents only a hunderedth of the sun's total energy output for one second. And yet it could supply the present energy reuirements of the US for forty thousand years. (B. Zirker, Journey from the Center of the Sun)

Solar flares can severely affect the earth and its surrounding magnetic field. In this case the X-rays from the flare caused a sharp drop in the height ıf the earth's ionosphere, the layer that reflects radio signals. They can destroy sensitive satellite electronics or even kill an astronaut working outside a space station. Thanks to athmosphere this intense radiation does not give severe harm to living organisms on the earth.

2- Radioactive Chemicals

Radioactivity was discovered near the turn of the twentieth century through the work of Wilhelm Röentgen (1895, discovers X-rays), Antoine Becquerel (1896, discovers radioactivity), Marie and Pierre Curie (1898, isolates polonium and radium), and Ernest Rutherford (1899 and following years, identifies alpha, beta, and gamma radiation). Since that time, use of radioactive materials has made significant impacts in such areas as biology, chemistry, medicine, energy production, and nuclear weapons production.

High-level radioactive waste (HLRW) includes fuel rods and associated material from commercial nuclear power generation. Transuranic (TRU) waste consists of elements with atomic numbers greater than that of uranium, including plutonium, neptunium, and americium. These materials were generated as part of the nuclear weapons program.

Waste that is below regulatory concern (BRC) consists primarily of short-lived materials that are used in medicine and research. Low-level radioactive waste (LLRW) is a catch-all category and consists of everything that is not included in the other waste categories. Low-level waste does not necessarily mean low activity waste, though much of it is. Certain low-level waste streams may contain high levels of radioactivity, such as resins, filters, and certain pieces of equipment from the nuclear power industry.(URL 2)