What is the difference between contamination and radiation

Contamination Contamination occurs if an object has a radioactive material introduced into or onto it. Doctors can deliberately contaminate a patient's body when it will help with diagnosis with a radioactive source, such as: drinking a radioactive mixture barium meal will make soft tissue such as your intestine show up on an x-ray technetium is a radioactive isotope that can be introduced into the body to make soft tissue such as the brain or the thyroid show up on a scanner Irradiation versus contamination The two processes of irradiation and contamination are often confused.

Irradiation Contamination Occurs when an object is exposed to a source of radiation outside the object. Occurs if the radioactive source is on or in the object. Doesn't cause the object to become radioactive. A contaminated object will be radioactive for as long as the source is on or in it.

Can be blocked with suitable shielding or moving away. Once an object is contaminated, the radiation cannot be blocked from it. Stops as soon as the source is removed. Exposure: Replay animation Radiation exposure occurs when all or part of the body absorbs penetrating ionizing radiation from an external radiation source, as shown in the illustration above.

Exposure from an external source stops when a person leaves the area of the source, the source is shielded completely, or the process causing exposure ceases.

Radiation exposure also occurs after internal contamination, i. This kind of exposure stops only if the radionuclide is totally eliminated from the body, with or without treatment. The key difference between radioactive contamination and irradiation is that radioactive contamination occurs when there is direct contact with radioactive substances, whereas irradiation occurs when there is indirect exposure to radioactive substances.

Radioactivity is the process in which particles are emitted from nuclei as a result of nuclear instability of a material. These materials are named as radioactive materials. Radioactive contamination and irradiation are two important concepts related to radioactivity in physical chemistry. Overview and Key Difference 2.

What is Radioactive Contamination 3. What is Irradiation 4. Similarities Between Radioactive Contamination and Irradiation 5. Radioactive contamination is the deposition of or the presence of radioactive substances on surfaces where their presence is undesirable.