Man-made
The additional radioactivity in the biosphere caused by human activity due to the releases of man-made radioactivity and of Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials (NORM) can be divided into several classes.
- Normal licensed releases which occur during the regular operation of a plant or process handling man-made radioactive materials.
- For instance the release of 99Tc from a nuclear medicine department of a hospital which occurs when a person given a Tc imaging agent expels the agent.
- 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.
- Releases which occur as a result of a crime.
- For example the Goiânia accident where thieves, unaware of its radioactive content, stole some medical equipment and as a result a number of people were exposed to radiation.
- Releases of naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM) as a result of mining etc.
- For example the release of the trace quantities of uranium and thorium in coal, when it is burned in power stations.
Read more about this topic: Environmental Radioactivity
Famous quotes containing the word man-made:
“No other man-made device since the shields and lances of the ancient knights fulfills a man’s ego like an automobile.”
—Sir William Rootes (1894–1964)
“Approximately 80% of our air pollution stems from hydrocarbons released by vegetation, so let’s not go overboard in setting and enforcing tough emission standards from man-made sources.”
—Ronald Reagan (b. 1911)
“There are two kinds of talent, man-made talent and God-given talent. With man-made talent you have to work very hard. With God-given talent, you just touch it up once in a while.”
—Pearl Bailey (1918–1990)