10.29.06
Radiation
Radiation and how it affects our bodies has been something I have wanted to understand. As a recovered idiopathic aplastic anemia sufferer, I have often wondered what it was that ever caused my severe aplastic anemia condition in the first place. Since recovery, I’ve also wondered what I need to do to remain in remission. Amongst the idea that I should eat well and stay away from toxic chemicals as much as possible, I’ve also wondered what role radiation plays considering shortly after my aplastic anemia diagnosis a mineral analysis revealed that my uranium level was off the charts. I’m still perplexed at how that got into my body and what affects did it have on me. As a lay person, I’ve found it a bit of a challenge to understand radiation at all. There appears to be different levels of it as well as different sources of it, not to mention different beliefs as to what a safe level of exposure is to radiation. We all know about x-ray radiation such as what is used for regular medical chest x-rays or dental x-rays. We also know about radiation therapy, which is a higher dose of radiation given to some cancer patients and some BMT patients. Then there is radiation from the sun and other sources like cell phones, our personal computers, wireless hookups at various public facilities, etc. I’ve wondered what kinds of radiation are we being exposed to? With the knowledge that radiation damage is cumulative, I have often wondered how concerned should I be? I’ve had dental x-rays throughout the years, chest x-rays on various occasions, a CT scan during my AA diagnosis, exposure to cell phones left and right. . . are these the kinds of radiation exposures that are causing damage to the body that are cumulative? Is there anything I should be doing about it? Or is there anything I “can” do about it?
Then I find from Ralph Moss’s report today that, “It has been known for quite some time that radiation could cause ’serious and permanent injuries’ to growing bones as well as localized but incapacitating diseases (Fajardo 2001: 365). In fact, the real surprise in the latest study was that relatively small doses caused such a significant amount of damage.” This article caught my attention because 1). I didn’t think much about the effects of radiation on bone, and 2). I have been reading a book called The Woman Who Knew Too Much, Alice Stewart and the Secrets of Radiation, by Gayle Greene, which deals with Alice Stewart’s research which shows that the nuclear weapons industry is about twenty times more dangerous than worker safety standards admit, and that low dose radiation exposure is not as harmless as commonly accepted. It appears that low dose radiation exposure can cause very slow, but progressive damage in the body so that illnesses such as cancers appear after 20 or 30 or more years after low dose radiation exposure. This has to do with the radiation damaged cells that continue to reproduce more damaged cells throughout the years, until finally there is clinical symptoms such as cancer.
The picture to the left is the world’s largest open cast uranium mine in Namibia.
What I would like to do is sort out what kinds of radiation there are and what effect it might have on the human body. To make it more practical for every day understanding, I find it helpful to know what appliances or sources emit what kinds of radiation. This is particularly helpful in light of the fact that radiation can not ordinarily be seen, felt, or smelled. What I have found is that there are different kinds of radiation–alpha, beta, and gamma. There’s also non-ionising radiation (radiowaves), which is emitted by cell phones and wireless computers. This is a type of radiation which is considered “electric and magnetic field” (EMF) radiation. EMF’s are emitted from non-natural sources such as powerlines, hair dryers, and mobile phones. Radiation usually means EMFs which are not ELF (extremely low frequencies) type such as radiofrequencies or microwaves. However, I’d like to consider alpha, beta, and gamma radiation first, which is emitted from a number of sources and can affect us through external exposures such as in x-rays directed from outside the body and also internal radiation exposure from ingestion of radioactive substances. Newer drugs are coming to the market, which are radiolabeled and thus are a source of ingested radiation. This is the type of radiation, as well as x-rays, radiation therapy, and the gamma knife are forms of radiation used in medical therapies and treatments. Non-medical exposures to radiation can occur from inhalation of radon gas from the natural radioactive decay of uranium-238 and radium-226, which are common naturally occuring elements in the crust of the earth. We can obtain radiation exposures from nuclear facilities as well as mineral mines.
Why is any of this important? It is commonly accepted that radiation can have a profound negative effect on our health. Not only can radiation damage our cells at the DNA level and disrupt hormone function such as in the thyroid, it can also damage our bones to the point of necrosis. Since I’d been on steriods for so many years before AA, I am conscious of the condition of my bones, not to mention I hope I can avoid relapse of AA. And as I mentioned above, since radiation is cumulative, meaning any and all the doses we are ever exposed to in our lifetimes do not diminish, but rather add up, our health can be significantly impacted. How can we protect ourselves if we don’t know what we need to protect ourselves from? Is every x-ray necessary? Should one take a radiolabeled drug? What is the accepted safe level of exposure to radiation? How was the safe level of radiation exposure determined? Is radiation from cell phones the same as those from x-ray machines at the airport? What is used to irradiate foods or blood products? Should one be concerned that they’re living near a nuclear power facility? 
Should we be in favor of nuclear energy or weapons? What is done with radioactive waste? To what extent do patients treated with radioactive substances emit radiation? Naturally any choices regarding radiation are personal and the right of each individual. But understanding radiation and its effects can help one make more informed decisions regarding allowing their exposures to radiation. And since there is much to know about radiation, I’d like to continue this topic in sections, part two will be a continuation in another post.
Marlakins
