Common sources of radiation include medical tests (mammograms, X-rays, CT scans), airport security screening, building materials, cigarette smoking, cell phones, wearable technology, sunlight, tanning beds, and more. Materials that can block radiation, include lead, concrete, and water.
Radiation is energy that originates from a source and travels through space at the speed of light. Energy from radiation has both electric and magnetic fields associated with it and wave-like properties.
We are exposed to radiation on a daily basis, but most of it is not sufficient to cause a problem.
Materials that can block radiation, include:
What Are Common Sources of Radiation?
There are a number of sources of radiation we can encounter in our everyday lives.
- Healthcare uses
- To help diagnose, manage, or treat some health conditions
- Computed tomography (CT) scans
- DEXA scans (bone densitometry)
- Fluoroscopy
- Nuclear medicine
- Mammography
- Radiography and dental X-rays
- In everyday life
- Air travel
- Cosmic radiation from space
- Airport security screening
- Building materials
- Those made of concrete, brick, sandstone, natural stone, gypsum, or granite contain naturally-occurring radioactive elements such as radium, uranium, and thorium which may emit low levels of radiation
- Cigarette smoking
- Tobacco contains radioactive materials polonium-210 and lead-210
- Cell phones and cordless phones
- Uses radiation (RF) to send signals, which is different from other types of radiation (such as X-rays) that are known to be harmful
- It is currently unknown if RF radiation from cell phones can cause health problems
- Ultraviolet (UV) radiation
- Sunlight
- Tanning beds
- Mercury vapor lighting (often found in stadiums and school gyms)
- Some halogen, fluorescent, and incandescent lights
- Some types of lasers
- Wearable computers and wearable technology
- Typically uses low-powered radiofrequency (RF) transmitters to send and receive data from smartphones or the Internet
- RF transmitters emit radio waves, a type of non-ionizing radiation
- In nature
- From space: cosmic radiation
- From earth: terrestrial radiation
- From nuclear weapons testing