[ RadSafe ] Uranium (and Canada) A Discussion Guide -- Questions &Answers (1) [SEC=UNCLASSIFIED]

[Peter Thomas]

Well, the basic physics says the alpha emitter is going to dump all its
energy inside you; a single gamma ray has a reasonable chance of
escaping your body entirely without depositing any energy.  I think the
recent polonium-210 incident serves as a reminder of the capabilities of
a well-chosen (depending on your point of view) internal alpha emitter.

Peter Thomas
Medical Physics Section
ARPANSA


-----Original Message-----
From: radsafe-bounces at radlab.nl [mailto:radsafe-bounces at radlab.nl] On
Behalf Of Roger Helbig
Sent: Tuesday, 20 February 2007 3:33 PM
To: radsafelist
Subject: [ RadSafe ] Uranium (and Canada) A Discussion Guide --
Questions &Answers (1)

[snip]

For example it states 

"Inside the body, however, alpha emitters are the most dangerous. They
are about 20 times more damaging than beta emitters or gamma emitters.
Thus, although alpha radiation cannot penetrate through a sheet of paper
or a dead layer of skin, alpha emitters are extremely hazardous when
taken into the body by inhalation or ingestion, or through a cut or open
sore."

I would really wonder whether it is more dangerous to take in an Alpha
emitter rather than one that emits Gamma radiation.

[snip]

Roger Helbig

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