Abstract
Human beings are exposed to two sources of radiation in the environment: natural and man-made. Natural sources include radioactive radon, radioisotopes with a long half-life, such as potassium in the body, cosmic rays (energetic γ-rays and particles from the sun and interstellar space), and some rocks. Various sources of artificial radiation include medical X-rays, nuclear medicine for cancer treatment, and some consumer products containing radioisotopes. Natural sources of radiation account for 82% of total exposure for humans. A common radioactive element is radium, one of whose decay products, radon, poses health concerns. Radon emanates from rock, soil, and underground water as a gas. In the solar system, various radioisotopes of radon gas form from decay of radioactive uranium and thorium elements found naturally. The contributing effects from natural and man-made radiation sources on human beings is shown in Fig. 1.
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Gökmen, A., Gökmen, İ.G., Hung, YT. (2005). Radon Pollution Control. In: Wang, L.K., Pereira, N.C., Hung, YT. (eds) Advanced Air and Noise Pollution Control. Handbook of Environmental Engineering, vol 2. Humana Press. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59259-779-6_9
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