Chapter 6
Health Effects of Radiological Weapons
As noted in Chap. 3, one of the greatest radiation-related fears among the public is the
fear that it will affect their health. People worry about radiation sickness, radiation
burns, and death in the short term; they also worry about birth defects and cancer
in the long term. Because the great majority of people do not understand the actual
health effects associated with radiation exposure, there can be a tendency to attribute
to radiation a greater deadliness than is actually the case.
In addition to the public’s concerns, fears of radiation also affect emergency and
medical responders and their readiness to go to work in the aftermath of a radiological
incident. In a survey conducted in 2003, Martens and others reported that as few as
22% of emergency and medical responders stated that they were likely to report to
work due to concerns about the impact of radiation and radioactivity on their health
and that of their family members [5], a finding that is not uncommon [1].
6.1 Modes of Exposure
The fundamental modes of radiation exposure are internal and external: Internal
radiation exposure from the inhalation or ingestion of radioactivity disseminated
into the environment, and external exposure from a source set out as an RED or
from radioactivity from an RDD that remains outside the body on the ground or
suspended in the air. Radiation exposure can also come from pieces of radioactive
material that become embedded in the body or contamination that is absorbed into
the body through open cuts or scrapes or through mucus membranes.
External radiation exposure during an emergency will expose emergency responders and members of the public to relatively high doses of radiation in a relatively
short period of time. If this acute radiation exposure is sufficiently high it can cause
deterministic effects such as radiation sickness, skin burns, blood cell depletion, or
even death. External radiation exposure can also come from radionuclides suspended
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
P. A. Karam, Radiological and Nuclear Terrorism,
Advanced Sciences and Technologies for Security Applications,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-69162-2_6
51
Health Effects of Radiological Weapons
As noted in Chap. 3, one of the greatest radiation-related fears among the public is the
fear that it will affect their health. People worry about radiation sickness, radiation
burns, and death in the short term; they also worry about birth defects and cancer
in the long term. Because the great majority of people do not understand the actual
health effects associated with radiation exposure, there can be a tendency to attribute
to radiation a greater deadliness than is actually the case.
In addition to the public’s concerns, fears of radiation also affect emergency and
medical responders and their readiness to go to work in the aftermath of a radiological
incident. In a survey conducted in 2003, Martens and others reported that as few as
22% of emergency and medical responders stated that they were likely to report to
work due to concerns about the impact of radiation and radioactivity on their health
and that of their family members [5], a finding that is not uncommon [1].
6.1 Modes of Exposure
The fundamental modes of radiation exposure are internal and external: Internal
radiation exposure from the inhalation or ingestion of radioactivity disseminated
into the environment, and external exposure from a source set out as an RED or
from radioactivity from an RDD that remains outside the body on the ground or
suspended in the air. Radiation exposure can also come from pieces of radioactive
material that become embedded in the body or contamination that is absorbed into
the body through open cuts or scrapes or through mucus membranes.
External radiation exposure during an emergency will expose emergency responders and members of the public to relatively high doses of radiation in a relatively
short period of time. If this acute radiation exposure is sufficiently high it can cause
deterministic effects such as radiation sickness, skin burns, blood cell depletion, or
even death. External radiation exposure can also come from radionuclides suspended
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
P. A. Karam, Radiological and Nuclear Terrorism,
Advanced Sciences and Technologies for Security Applications,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-69162-2_6
51