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The main source of radiation in the human body is potassium-40 (40 K), typically 17 milligrams in the body at a time and 0.4 milligrams/day intake. [28] Most rocks, especially granite , have a low level of radioactivity due to the potassium-40, thorium and uranium contained.
Releases of man-made radioactive materials which occur during an industrial or research accident. For instance the Chernobyl accident. Releases which occur as a result of military activity. For example, a nuclear weapons test, which have caused a global fallout, peaking in 1963 (the Bomb pulse), and up to 2.4 million deaths by 2020. [5]
Radioactive contamination, also called radiological pollution, is the deposition of, or presence of radioactive substances on surfaces or within solids, liquids, or gases (including the human body), where their presence is unintended or undesirable (from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) definition).
Mining is the largest source of uranium contamination in the environment. [1] Uranium milling creates radioactive waste in the form of tailings, which contain uranium, radium, and polonium. Consequently, uranium mining results in "the unavoidable radioactive contamination of the environment by solid, liquid and gaseous wastes". [13]
Naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM) and technologically enhanced naturally occurring radioactive materials (TENORM) consist of materials, usually industrial wastes or by-products enriched with radioactive elements found in the environment, such as uranium, thorium and potassium and any of their decay products, such as radium and radon. [1]
Bioremediation of radioactive waste or bioremediation of radionuclides is an application of bioremediation based on the use of biological agents bacteria, plants and fungi (natural or genetically modified) to catalyze chemical reactions that allow the decontamination of sites affected by radionuclides. [1]
In a 1999 report by the International Atomic Energy Agency titled "Inventory of radioactive waste disposals at sea," a grainy map shows that at least 56,261 containers of radioactive waste were ...
The National Nuclear Energy Commission has stated that these sources are 300,000 times weaker than the one involved in the 1987 Goiânia accident, with an activity of 5 mCi each (0.185 GBq), or 10 mCi combined (0.37 GBq). [68] On July 10, the two sources were found on a scrapyard in São Paulo, 432 km away from their original location. They ...