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8 Ionizing Radiation and Life
There are treatment strategies if a person has been exposed to high levels of
radiation, although there are no treatments which can stop or prevent all damaging
effects. The following lists important elements of these strategies:
1. Find protected and un-radiated shelter, with an effective filter on the air intake to
the shelter;
2. Wash whole body of any radioactive materials;
3. Drink pure water and eat only food that was protected from radiation, such as
food in cans;
4. Ingest Prussian blue to help purge radioactive Cesium and Thallium (reducing
their biologic half-lives: t Cs from 110 to 30 days, t T l from 8 to 3 days);
5. Ingest stable iodine (as KI ) to replace any radioactive iodine in thyroid;
6. Take diethylenetriamine pentaacetate (via IV) to help purge Plutonium, Americurium, and Curium;
7. Inject filgrastim to stimulate an immune system damaged by radiation.
8.16 Radiation Hazards of Space Travel
Astronauts face a number of dangers and debilitations by being in space without
the radiation protection afforded by the Earth’s atmosphere, without atmospheric
incineration of passing meteors and debris, without the charged-particle shielding
of the Earth’s magnetic field, and without g-forces. The degeneration which may be
caused by zero gravity can be easily compensated by regimented exercise and living
within a rotating spacecraft. Psychological disorientation due to social isolation can
be overcome.
For home-bodies, the Earth’s field stops 99.9% of the harmful ionizing radiation
from outer space. Our atmosphere equals about 1 m of thick metal.
As for space travelers without such shielding, the radiation hazards depend on the
dose received and the duration. The dose itself depends on the intensity and energy
of the radiation, and on the length of exposure time. The result of a high dose is:
Dose ∼0.5 Sv Nausea, vomiting
Dose 5–12 Sv Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, dehydration, electrolytic imbalance,
loss of digestion ability, bleeding ulcers. Death in 30–60 days from
sepsis (inflammation throughout body)
Dose >20 Sv Central nervous system breakdown, with symptoms include loss of
coordination, confusion, coma, convulsions, shock. Also evident are
the symptoms of degradation of the hair follicles, of blood-forming
bone marrow cells and of the gastrointestinal tract, due to the fact
that cells in these organs divide faster than other cells, and so their
DNA is more vulnerable to radiation. No survivors expected.
Near the Moon, the galactic cosmic radiation (GCR) accounts for ∼91.4% of
the total absorbed dose in astronauts, with GCR protons responsible for ∼42.8%,
GCR alpha particles for ∼18.5%, and GCR heavy ions for ∼30.1%. The remaining
8 Ionizing Radiation and Life
There are treatment strategies if a person has been exposed to high levels of
radiation, although there are no treatments which can stop or prevent all damaging
effects. The following lists important elements of these strategies:
1. Find protected and un-radiated shelter, with an effective filter on the air intake to
the shelter;
2. Wash whole body of any radioactive materials;
3. Drink pure water and eat only food that was protected from radiation, such as
food in cans;
4. Ingest Prussian blue to help purge radioactive Cesium and Thallium (reducing
their biologic half-lives: t Cs from 110 to 30 days, t T l from 8 to 3 days);
5. Ingest stable iodine (as KI ) to replace any radioactive iodine in thyroid;
6. Take diethylenetriamine pentaacetate (via IV) to help purge Plutonium, Americurium, and Curium;
7. Inject filgrastim to stimulate an immune system damaged by radiation.
8.16 Radiation Hazards of Space Travel
Astronauts face a number of dangers and debilitations by being in space without
the radiation protection afforded by the Earth’s atmosphere, without atmospheric
incineration of passing meteors and debris, without the charged-particle shielding
of the Earth’s magnetic field, and without g-forces. The degeneration which may be
caused by zero gravity can be easily compensated by regimented exercise and living
within a rotating spacecraft. Psychological disorientation due to social isolation can
be overcome.
For home-bodies, the Earth’s field stops 99.9% of the harmful ionizing radiation
from outer space. Our atmosphere equals about 1 m of thick metal.
As for space travelers without such shielding, the radiation hazards depend on the
dose received and the duration. The dose itself depends on the intensity and energy
of the radiation, and on the length of exposure time. The result of a high dose is:
Dose ∼0.5 Sv Nausea, vomiting
Dose 5–12 Sv Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, dehydration, electrolytic imbalance,
loss of digestion ability, bleeding ulcers. Death in 30–60 days from
sepsis (inflammation throughout body)
Dose >20 Sv Central nervous system breakdown, with symptoms include loss of
coordination, confusion, coma, convulsions, shock. Also evident are
the symptoms of degradation of the hair follicles, of blood-forming
bone marrow cells and of the gastrointestinal tract, due to the fact
that cells in these organs divide faster than other cells, and so their
DNA is more vulnerable to radiation. No survivors expected.
Near the Moon, the galactic cosmic radiation (GCR) accounts for ∼91.4% of
the total absorbed dose in astronauts, with GCR protons responsible for ∼42.8%,
GCR alpha particles for ∼18.5%, and GCR heavy ions for ∼30.1%. The remaining