Philosophy and Principles of Radiation Protection, Security of Radioactive Sources and Preparedness for Response to Radiological Emergencies

Radiation and radioisotopes have been widely used in medicine, industries, agriculture and research and their application for the benefit of the society, has significantly increased over the last decade. As a result of this, probability of human beings getting exposed to both external as well as internal radiation, is also on the rise. Accidental exposures of human beings to radiations and the information derived from various experiments have confirmed that radiation can induce a variety of deleterious health effects, if not handled safely or if it is misused. Major evidence implicating radiation effects on human beings, comes from survivors of atomic bomb explosions in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, pioneer X-ray technicians and radiologists, radium dial painters, etc. Most of our present day knowledge on effects of radiation, is based on a careful study and follow-up of these exposed populations. Nuclear accident in Chernobyl, radiological accidents in Goiania, San Salvador etc. and the criticality accident at Tokaimura, Japan, have also provided useful information related to health effects, when human beings are subjected to acute and very high levels of radiation exposure.