Beneficial uses of radiation
An overall decline in technical literacy within the American public has come at a time when technological advances are accelerating in the United States and around the world. This had led to a large communication gulf between the general public and the technologists. Nowhere is this more evident then with the topic of radiation. Regrettably, too few people know about sources of radiation, the pervasiveness, amounts, and variabilities, and do not have a true understanding of the environment in which we live. Nor do many people know that radiation has been used in beneficial ways for decades around the world. While the general public does not know of the scientific applications to which radiation has been deployed, it nevertheless had benefited tremendously from these efforts. Thanks to the well know properties of radiation, scientific ingenuity has found many uses of radiation in chemical and agricultural research, biomedical research, in the diagnoses and treatment of hundreds of types of diseases, in industrial applications, food irradiation, and many others. This paper provides a sample of the types of uses to which radiation has been used to help advance the betterment of humankind.
- Research Organization:
- Westinghouse Hanford Co., Richland, WA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE; USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC06-87RL10930
- OSTI ID:
- 6084715
- Report Number(s):
- WHC-SA-1273; ON: DE92003024
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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