WEBVTT - BrainStuff Classics: How Does Radiation Sickness Work?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff production of iHeart Radio. Hey brain Stuff,

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<v Speaker 1>I'm Lauren vogel Bomb and today's episode is a classic,

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<v Speaker 1>by which I mean it's from the past and from

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<v Speaker 1>our former host, Christian Sager. This one was inspired by

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<v Speaker 1>some of the comments on our YouTube channel. We've done

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<v Speaker 1>an episode about diesel versus nuclear submarines and made a

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<v Speaker 1>perhaps ill conceived joke about nuclear radiation exposure and a

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<v Speaker 1>healthy green glow. To set the record straight about irradiation,

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<v Speaker 1>we created this episode about how radiation sickness really works. Also,

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<v Speaker 1>if you've been watching Chernobyl, this one is pertinent. Hey,

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<v Speaker 1>I'm Christian Sagar and this is brain stuff. For most people,

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<v Speaker 1>ionizing radiation isn't something we need to worry about, but

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<v Speaker 1>some unexpected events can make us sick from radiation, like

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<v Speaker 1>nuclear power plant accidents, atomic bombs, leaks and medical or

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<v Speaker 1>industrial devices or acts of terrorism. And what we know

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<v Speaker 1>about severe radiation sickness is from incidents like these. So

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<v Speaker 1>radiation it's actually everywhere. It's in the atmosphere, the ground,

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<v Speaker 1>the water, and even our own bodies. We call this

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<v Speaker 1>natural background radiation and it's perfectly safe. Radiation strips electrons

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<v Speaker 1>away from atoms, creating a positively charged atom called an ion. Therefore,

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<v Speaker 1>high energy radiation is called ionizing radiation. Releasing the electron

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<v Speaker 1>produces thirty three electron volts of energy, and this heat

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<v Speaker 1>surrounding tissue and disrupts some chemical bonds. Extremely high energy

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<v Speaker 1>radiation can destroy the nuclei of atoms, releasing even more

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<v Speaker 1>energy and causing more damage. The resulting radiation sickness is

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<v Speaker 1>a cumulative effect of all of this damage on a

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<v Speaker 1>human body bombarded with radiation. Now, radiation exposure is measured

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<v Speaker 1>in units called millarem or m rem. Higher readings are

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<v Speaker 1>measured in ms v, which are multiples of one hundred

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<v Speaker 1>m rem. In the US, we get an average annual

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<v Speaker 1>dose of three hundred and sixty m rem. More than

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<v Speaker 1>eight comes from natural background radiation. And there are three

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<v Speaker 1>kinds of ionizing radiation. Alpha particles are the first, and

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<v Speaker 1>they're the least dangerous. They don't penetrate deeply into our

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<v Speaker 1>skin if they do at all, because clothes can stop

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<v Speaker 1>the particles, but they can be inhaled or ingested, usually

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<v Speaker 1>as a raid on gas, and they can also lead

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<v Speaker 1>to lung cancer. Beta particles are another one. These are

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<v Speaker 1>when electrons move quickly with a lot of energy. There

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<v Speaker 1>are eight thousand times smaller than alpha particles, so they

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<v Speaker 1>can penetrate the skin and this can burn us or

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<v Speaker 1>cause tissue damage. Beta particles can be ingested if they

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<v Speaker 1>enter food or water supplies. And then we've got the

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<v Speaker 1>most dangerous, which are gamma rays, extremely high energy that

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<v Speaker 1>travels through matter. Since they have no mass, these can

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<v Speaker 1>be only blocked by several inches of lead or concrete.

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<v Speaker 1>If you're exposed to them, they run through your whole body,

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<v Speaker 1>affecting the tissue and even the marrow of your bones,

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<v Speaker 1>and these cause widespread systemic damage. So how does radiation

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<v Speaker 1>make a sick Well, it deposits energy into our tissue,

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<v Speaker 1>causing cell damage, and this can make our cells abnormal

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<v Speaker 1>or malignant. Huge amounts of radiation can kill within days

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<v Speaker 1>or hours in acute exposure, and frequent exposure to low

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<v Speaker 1>doses over long periods is called chronic exposure. This causes

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<v Speaker 1>a delay in those health effects. However, when we're talking

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<v Speaker 1>about amounts of radiation needed to trigger radiation sickness symptoms,

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<v Speaker 1>it's in terms of total dosage, and this also takes

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<v Speaker 1>into account radiation intensity. How much is absorbed into the

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<v Speaker 1>human body, how long the exposure is, and the types

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<v Speaker 1>of radiation involved, and this is quantified as the civert,

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<v Speaker 1>measured by the absorption of energy multiplied by the radiation type. So,

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<v Speaker 1>for instance, a CT scan is equal to point zero

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<v Speaker 1>one siverts of radiation. Now, federal guidelines limit your maximum

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<v Speaker 1>annual dose to point zero five siverts. The average person

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<v Speaker 1>gets point zero zero three six siverts from background radiation.

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<v Speaker 1>Point seven five siverts can be enough to induce radiation sickness,

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<v Speaker 1>including nausea in a weak immune system. Three siverts is

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<v Speaker 1>more severe, but it won't kill you. Five siverts and

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<v Speaker 1>higher radiation will start damaging your skin so it doesn't

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<v Speaker 1>heal properly. Your hair will fall out, scars develop under

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<v Speaker 1>your skin, swelling and forming keloids. Now, between three siverts

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<v Speaker 1>and ten siverts gives you a fifty chance of dying

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<v Speaker 1>in thirty days, and an instant dose of ten severts

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<v Speaker 1>that will be fatal even with medical care. The effects

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<v Speaker 1>of radiation sickness include initial symptoms like nausea, diarrhea, headaches, fever,

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<v Speaker 1>and a loss of consciousness. With high doses, you'll also

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<v Speaker 1>see burns to the skin, and symptoms occur more quickly

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<v Speaker 1>the higher the dose, but they fade over one to

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<v Speaker 1>two days. The latent period is where there are no

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<v Speaker 1>symptoms over several weeks, and after this period real damage

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<v Speaker 1>is evident. Bone marrow is vulnerable and can't produce enough

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<v Speaker 1>red or white blood cells, and this makes victims anemic

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<v Speaker 1>and susceptible to infections. It also damages the digestive systems lining,

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<v Speaker 1>and this allows bacteria to migrate from there into your blood,

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<v Speaker 1>causing more infections. So you're probably wondering, well, what's the

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<v Speaker 1>treatment available. Well, that begins with decontaminating the patient. If

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<v Speaker 1>radioactive material is still present, washing and special drugs like

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<v Speaker 1>Prussian blue dye can be used, and these drugs bind

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<v Speaker 1>radioactive particles and flush them from your body. You'll also

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<v Speaker 1>want to evaluate your exposure with symptom checks using blood

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<v Speaker 1>tests or a Geiger counter. You'll want antibiotics for the infections,

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<v Speaker 1>and blood transusions are used to compensate for damaged bone marrow.

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<v Speaker 1>Actual marrow transplants are used in even more severe cases,

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<v Speaker 1>and pills can reduce the symptoms of exposure. For instance,

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<v Speaker 1>potassium iodide tablets prevent radioactive iodine from concentrating in your thyroid. However,

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<v Speaker 1>it does not protect you from direct radiation exposure. To

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<v Speaker 1>prevent that, well, you can start by avoiding radiation, but

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<v Speaker 1>the CDC recommends that you stay inside your home because

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<v Speaker 1>the walls can block some radiation and the safest room

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<v Speaker 1>in your house is the one with the least windows.

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<v Speaker 1>Once you're in a safe place, figure out if you've

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<v Speaker 1>been contaminated. Ways to do this would be get out

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<v Speaker 1>of the area, remove your outer clothes and put these

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<v Speaker 1>clothes in a plastic bag away from all others. Wash

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<v Speaker 1>all your exposed body parts, and any internal contamination may

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<v Speaker 1>need medical attention. Now you know what to do if

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<v Speaker 1>you've been exposed to enough radiation to cause serious sickness.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's episode was written by Ben Bullen and produced by

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<v Speaker 1>Tyler Clang. Brain Stuff is a production of I Heart

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<v Speaker 1>Radio's How Stuff Works. For more in this and lots

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<v Speaker 1>of other topics, visit our home planet, how stuff Works

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<v Speaker 1>dot com. Plus. For more podcasts from my heart Radio,

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