Radiation protection programs

Radiation protection programs strive to prevent or minimize the harmful effects of radiation sources for those individuals in laboratories involved with the analysis of radioactivity in food and the environment. Sources of radiation inherent to these analytical processes and procedures include ionizing waveforms, particulate radiation, and frequently nonionizing radiation. Sources of ionizing radiation may be used as encapsulated standards for the calibration of counting equipment or in dispersible forms for radiolabeling or internal standardization procedures. Ionizing radiation may also be encountered in the form of radiation producing devices, such as analytical x-ray machines, electron microscopes, or x-ray diffraction devices. Sources of nonionizing radiation, in particular high-energy lasers, are also increasingly being used in analytical devices. The unknown analytical sample in the lab may also contain radioactivity. Samples of food and environmental media contain myriad radionuclides in variable concentrations stemming from natural sources or from environmental releases. With all of these different types of sources that might be present in any analytical lab, and the various pathways for potential exposure, the development of a vigilant radiation protection program to protect the health of the individuals associated with the lab activities is considered to be a necessity.