Radiation Injuries - Causes



Radiation Injuries Causes 2566
Photo by: Dario Sabljak

Radiation causes damage because it destroys chemicals in a cell. The cell loses its ability to function normally and dies.

Cells in tissues that are growing rapidly are more sensitive to radiation. For example, bone marrow cells in the center part of a bone are the fastest-growing

Five-year-old Alec Zhloba from a town in Belarus is suffering from leukemia. Some 70 percent of the fallout from the 1986 Chernobyl disaster fell on Belarus. (Reproduced by permission of AP/Wide World Photos)
Five-year-old Alec Zhloba from a town in Belarus is suffering from leukemia. Some 70 percent of the fallout from the 1986 Chernobyl disaster fell on Belarus. (Reproduced by permission of
AP/Wide World Photos
)

These children live in a village not far from the Chernobyl nuclear plant. Four years after the 1986 Chernobyl accident, these children are suffering intestinal problems from exposure to radiation. (Reproduced by permission of AP/Wide World Photos)
These children live in a village not far from the Chernobyl nuclear plant. Four years after the 1986 Chernobyl accident, these children are suffering intestinal problems from exposure to radiation. (Reproduced by permission of
AP/Wide World Photos
)

cells in the body. They are the most sensitive of all body cells to IR. The cells of a fetus are also growing very rapidly. They are also at high risk for damage from IR.

The sensitivity of various types of cells is shown below. The dose given in each case is the lowest amount of radiation that cells in the tissue can absorb without being damaged:

  • Fetus: 2 Gy
  • Bone marrow: 2 Gy
  • Ovaries: 2–3 Gy
  • Lens of the eye: 5 Gy
  • A child's bone: 20 Gy
  • An adult's bone: 60 Gy
  • A child's muscle: 20–30 Gy
  • An adult's muscle: 100 or more Gy

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