Background radiation is present everywhere in the environment, mostly from natural sources like the earth’s crust and radioactive gases. Ionizing radiation from human activities like nuclear weapons and power plants can be harmful. Cosmic rays and radon gas also contribute to background radiation. Human activities like radioluminescent paints, nuclear fuel recycling, and medical devices also add to background radiation levels.
Radiation is present, usually at low levels, almost everywhere in the environment; this scattered radiation is known as background radiation and is usually not harmful to life. Radiation in the environment is, for the most part, completely natural and comes from natural environmental sources rather than human actions. There are radioactive substances in the earth’s crust, some of which even mix with the ground in small quantities. Radioactive gases also exist in the air in small quantities; these gases also tend to come from Earth. Traces of radioactive substances can also be found in the human body.
Radiation is a process by which energy is released from one object and absorbed by another. In many cases, this is a harmless process and occurs continuously on a massive scale. Ionizing radiation occurs when subatomic particles released from one object are energetic enough to remove electrons from atoms contained in another object; this can be harmful. Ionizing radiation comes from things like nuclear weapons and nuclear power plants.
There are many sources of background radiation in and on Earth, many of which are consumed by terrestrial organisms, including humans, with little harmful effect. Background radiation can also come from space in the form of cosmic rays. Many of the cosmic rays that enter the atmosphere come from the sun, although there are many more distant sources that also send out cosmic rays. Such rays are usually harmless, but prolonged exposure could cause skin problems.
Much of the background radiation found in the atmosphere exists because radon gas, which is radioactive, enters the atmosphere from its source in the earth’s crust. It then attaches itself to various airborne particles that can be harmful in large quantities. Uranium miners, for example, are known to get lung cancer from radon exposure. Radon is also said to have some medical and therapeutic uses, although these are controversial due to the risks inherent in exposure to significant amounts of the gas.
Although most background radiation comes from natural environmental sources, a small percentage of the radiation in the environment can be attributed to human activities in science and industry. Small sources, such as radioluminescent paints, contribute only a small amount to the background radiation. However, the use and testing of nuclear weapons has resulted in increased global levels of background radiation. Nuclear power plants also contribute to environmental radiation, as does the recycling of nuclear fuel. Radioactive medical devices, such as X-rays, also contribute a small amount to background radiation levels.
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