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6 - Radiation Dosimetry and Biological Effects

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 December 2021

R. J. Pentreath
Affiliation:
University of Reading
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Summary

As we have seen, nuclear transformations result in both electromagnetic radiation and particles with a high kinetic energy that are then transformed into other forms of energy as a result of interactions with surrounding atoms. These facts alone raise two simple questions: what are the absorbed doses received by different types of animals and plants exposed externally and internally to different sources of radiation, including natural background; and what are the likely biological consequences of such exposures? As one might imagine, although these are easy questions to ask, they have not been easy ones to answer.

Type
Chapter
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Radioecology
Sources and Consequences of Ionising Radiation in the Environment
, pp. 226 - 284
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

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