Acute radiation doses - hdbk-1130-98

DOE-HDBK-1130-98

Module 2 Biological Effects

Instructor's Notes

1. Acute radiation doses

a. High doses of radiation received in a short period of time

EO5 Define the terms "acute

are called acute doses. The body's cell repair

dose" and "chronic dose."

mechanisms are not as effective for damage caused by an

acute dose.

Acute doses to the whole body

After an acute dose, damaged cells will be replaced by

new cells and the body will repair itself, although this

may take a number of months. Only in extreme cases,

such as with the Chernobyl firefighters (500 rem), would

the dose be so high as to make recovery unlikely.

Acute doses to only part of the body

1) X-ray machines

It is possible that radiation exposure may be limited to a

part of the body, such as the hands.

There have been accidents, particularly with X-ray

machines, in which individuals have exposed their

fingers to part of the intense radiation beam. In some of

these cases, individuals have received doses of millions

of mrem to their fingers, and some individuals have lost

their finger or fingers. It is important for individuals

who work with X-ray or similar equipment to be trained

in the safe use of this equipment.

Reference 5.

2) Radiation therapy

a) Radiation therapy patients receive high doses of

radiation in a short period of time, but generally only to a

small portion of the body (not a whole body dose).

b) The skin and limited tissue of these patients may receive

significant doses, but doses to the region of a tumor are

many times higher.