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What Are the Biological Effects of Radiation?

Radiation is naturally present in the environment. Radiation is found in air, food, water, x-rays, construction materials, outer space and the ground, among many other places. With radiation all around, its presence will obviously have a varying degree of biological effects based on the levels of radiation.

  1. No Cell Change or Cell Repair

    • In living cells exposed to radiation, injured or damaged cells may repair themselves. This would result in no radiation damage. When exposed to low levels of radiation, biological effects can be so small they may not even be detected. However, the body also has repair mechanisms to turn around damage caused by radiation and chemical carcinogens. High levels of radiation exposure can cause cancer, but low levels of radiation exposure, whether environmental or incidental (such as dental x-rays), have not been shown to cause cancer.

    Cells Die

    • Exposure to radiation can kill cells, which can then be replaced through normal biological processes. High levels of radiation will normally kill cells, while low levels will just damage or slightly alter the genetic DNA. High levels of radiation can immediately kill so many cells that tissues or organs will be damaged at the time of exposure. With higher radiation doses, effects surface sooner and the odds of death increase.

    Cell Change and Cancer

    • During radiation exposure, cells can incorrectly repair themselves, resulting in a biophysical change. High levels of radiation exposure can cause cells to metastasize and result in cancers such as leukemia, breast, bladder, colon, liver, lung, esophagus, ovarian, multiple myeloma and stomach. It can be many years between the time someone is exposed to radiation and when the cancer develops. The likelihood of cancer developing in someone who has had high levels of radiation exposure is five times as likely as any genetic predisposition alone.

    Symptomatic Effects

    • Symptomatic effects of radiation exposure can include nausea, vomiting, fever, diarrhea, headache, the loss of white blood cells, temporary hair loss, nerve cell damage and digestive tract cell damage. Radiation also reduces the body's ability to clot blood, which can result in a person hemorrhaging. Death can occur within 2 to 14 days for people who have been exposed.

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