Radioactive material: substances, their sources and hazards

About a century ago humanity had a special era - the time of studying first natural, and then artificially created radiation. In the middle of the century, which was called the atomic one, there were two opposite events:

• Firstly, the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki;
• Secondly, for the first time in the world, a nuclear power plant was opened in Obninsk.

In the latter case, destructive energy became creative for mankind. What are the radioactive materials? What is a substance that can cause radiation?

Which substances are radioactive

To begin with, it is necessary to understand which substances belong to the radioactive class. Mendeleyev's periodic system includes 120 elements. Each of them consists of atoms, and the atoms of some substances can disintegrate into parts. This releases dangerous radiation.

Radioactive material is represented by all chemical elements located after lead. In total, more than 80 dangerous radioactive elements are known. For example, it is radium, france, polonium, strontium, bismuth, germanium, cesium. Some of them are found in natural conditions. Others are the work of man.

Properties of radioactive substances

The danger of these substances is due to the fact that they are, first of all, invisible to the human eye. They do not have color, taste or smell. For many years a person can live next to a source of radioactivity, not knowing anything about it. Another dangerous property of this class of substances is their ability to move to distant distances from their source. At the same time, their decay does not depend on the influence of environmental factors.

Nuclear danger can not be eliminated by physical or chemical means. Radioactive substances can be in the air, earth, food. For example, it is proved that most of the radionuclides contain vegetables such as cabbage and beet.

Natural radioactive elements

Radioactive material can be contained in mineral deposits, in many rocks that can contain radioactive elements in one or another quantity. For example, such are the oil-producing territories of Western Siberia. There is a large number of uranium deposits, as well as those substances that are the products of its decay - radon, radium. Also, radioactive material can enter the environment through GRES and CHP plants, which can operate on certain types of coal.

Regions with natural radioactive radiation

Examples of radioactive places on planet Earth, where radiation is natural, can be the Indian beaches of Kerala, the Chinese province of Guangdong, where the isotopes are in the soil, as well as some areas in Brazil. Also, high radiation radiation of rocks is typical of some regions in France, Ukraine, Sweden.

Often, nuclear materials and radioactive substances are contained in building materials. Examples are building materials such as crushed stone, alum and phosphorites. They have in their composition a high number of radionuclides, while being used in the construction industry everywhere. This leads to a multiple increase in the dose of gamma radiation inside buildings.

Use of radioactive materials in construction: imperceptible danger

Such cases have been established more than once. For example, in Omsk often construction workers for filling concrete used the construction crushed stone extracted in the regions of Northern Kazakhstan. It contained increased amounts of radioactive uranium, which resulted in a significant increase in the level of gamma radiation in buildings.

A case was also established where radioactive building materials were used for the construction of residential buildings. This violation was recorded in the Ekaterinburg region, at the station Kostousovo. For the construction of foundations, plaster works, and other types of finishes, workers used sand containing radioactive thorium.

Cases like these, recorded a huge number. In Kazakhstan, Transbaikalia and many other areas for uncovering streets, playgrounds, yards, builders used sub-standard uranium ore. This led to a significant increase in the hazardous radiation field.

Artificial sources of radioactivity

Radioactive material can also be the work of human hands. There are various sources that pollute the environment with radionuclides:

1. These are nuclear explosions, which are used in the extraction of oil.
2. Tests on military training grounds.
3. Enterprises of the nuclear fuel cycle.
4. Accidents at nuclear power plants.
5. Also of great danger are fighting, which use atomic bombs and shells.
6. Burial of radioactive substances.
7. Unnecessary use of various kinds of technical devices.

Transportation of radioactive substances

Transportation of radioactive materials occurs according to special rules, which are approved by the Federal Law "On Atomic Energy". For many enterprises, their transportation is an integral part of all activities. To transport these substances there is a special security system.

Fissile substances are those substances whose nuclei begin to divide when neutrons are captured. Simply, their nuclei fall apart, and at the same time energy is released. Examples of fissionable substances can serve as uranium-235, uranium-233, plutonium-239, and others. Fissile and radioactive materials are prohibited for transportation through customs. Through customs control, there is a stopping of their transportation across the border.