Radiologic Technologist Questions Radiologist

Effects of radiation?

Does radiation have a cumulative effect on the human body? In another word is radiation stored in the body over a lifetime lying dormant with the potential to mutate cells and cause some form of cancer?

Male | 69 years old

2 Answers

yes, but low dose radiation has been shown to have a protective effect over time. that is to say people who work in the xray field tend to live longer than those in the healthcare field that don't.
Radologists tend to live longerthan other doctors.
There are different types of radiation. Gamma rays pass through you like light passes through glass. It does have an effect on you and we are all continually bombarded by gamma rays from the space and the earth itself. Beta radiation is emitted from different isotopes that either exist in nature or were created by humans. For example radioactive iodine 131 which can be given as a medicine to kill off thyroid tissue which picks up the iodine from your blood stream. Alpha radiation is a radioactive helium nucleus. These are emitted by different compounds in nature. The most common one you might have heard of in the news is radon gas. This slowly rises from the ground and may accumulate in basements with poor air circulation and create a health hazard when inhaled.