The document discusses sources of background radiation that people are exposed to on a daily basis. It states that the largest sources of radiation exposure are cosmic rays, radon gas inhaled from the air, radioactive potassium-40 from food, and gamma rays from rocks and building materials. The document also notes that while radiation can potentially damage DNA and cause health issues, most people live without harm from the levels of background radiation they experience.

1. Radiation is all around you. Your lifetime’s dose of radiation. What is responsible for each of the segments? Everyone is exposed to radiation from radioactive materials. What sources do you think contribute most to your radiation dose?

2. Lesson 2a Radioactive Cornflakes

4. What does radiation do to you?

5. 500 000 cosmic rays pass through you each hour.

6. From the air : 30 000 radon atoms decay each hour in your lungs.

7. From our food : 15 million atoms of potassium-40 decay inside you each hour.

8. From rocks and building materials : 200 million gamma rays pass through you each hour.

9. Most people live their lives without being harmed by this background radiation .

10. Radioactive materials emit ionizing radiation, which can damage living cells. nucleus cloud of electrons

11. Radiation can damage DNA. But that damage rarely leads to cancer, because DNA can repair itself. Radiation-damaged DNA in a sperm or ovum can produce genetic defects.

12. This shows the average radiation exposure for a person in the UK. Radiation exposure depends on where you live and what you do.