The Negative Impact Of X-Rays On The Human Body

- Even though the X-ray expose patient to harmful radiation it is used to see inside the human body and diagnose broken bones, gallstones and later tuberculosis.

Thesis Statement: I am speaking to you today about the importance, history, and safety concerns of X-rays and the radiation associated with them.

Opponents of body scans argue that the scans put lives at risk. They believe that because radiation can cause harmful diseases such as cancer. J.D Heyes says, “As for the TSA full-body scanners at airports, those could cause cancer”. Heyes is suggesting that if a person travels he or she is putting themselves at risk when it comes to getting a body scan. Additionally body scanners cause radiation just like any other types of scanners such an X-Ray, this is important because the more radiation you passed through your body the more in danger you are of getting cancer. In the article “Doctor warns about health risks of TSA body scanners” by J.D Heyes talks about how X-rays are unhealthy for the body. “In the 1960s, when everybody went to

Although there have been signs of leukemia, there is still uncertainty if that long hours of radiation exposure has any effect on x-ray techs. (RSNA) Although I first believed that as an x-ray tech I would be diagnosed with cancer or some other disease, I now know that there is only a slight possibility that I will even be diagnosed. Even though getting zapped by some kind of radiation would turn the x-ray tech into a powerful beast would be cool, it is impossible… for now anyways.

The average annual radiation dose received by Americans is 360 millirems (or "mrems"), about 300 of which come from naturally occurring sources like radon. By contrast, you would get only 0.01 mrems per year as a result of living 50 feet from a nuclear power plant. Even a single annual cross-country airplane flight exposes you to 3 mrems, while a medical X-ray gives you a dose of 20 mrems.

X-rays are electromagnetic waves of very short wavelength and high frequency, in the range 0.001nm to 10nm. Due to their high frequency (therefore meaning high energy), x-rays penetrate flesh and may cause ionization of atoms they encounter. The body tissue absorbs energy and the intensity of the beam is reduced when x-rays pass through the body. Denser material, such as bone, absorbs more X-radiation.

Also, x rays are capable of detecting many other issues such as cancerous masses or pneumonia as well as even dental problems all of which, again, can and have saved many lives [4]. For comparison, 400 million people are subject to x rays annually, which save substantially more lives than those of which were killed in japan [5]. Radiation can also be applied, not only to see but also to save patients in that it can be used, since it damages tissues, to kill things like tumors and other potential dangerous or life threatening masses within your body. Ironically enough it kills what it causes and for purpose of numbers, women with breast cancer had a survival rate of 25.1% in 1944 that more than tripled to 76.5% in the years 1995-2004 [6]. Also, now, 67% of women receive radiation treatment after having been diagnosed and the number is increasing [6]. But, beyond the medical field there are also economical advances that are largely caused by the use of nuclear power. These include the implementation of nuclear power plants that provide the cleanest and quickest way of generating electricity [7]. Also, to again throw numbers into the equation, fossil fuels are being consumed faster than they can be produced and the fuel for nuclear reactors, Uranium-235, is only worth 20%,

X-rays may be invisible waves found on the electromagnetic spectrum which can almost make their known danger seem of little importance because our five senses cannot measure their activity, however x-rays must not be taken lightly. Radiologic Technologist must keep in mind the dangers and gravity of the force that they are working with on a daily basis. Patients should have the right to their own safety when undergoing a medical procedure that requires the use of x-rays. Radiologic Technologist are the ones responsible for upholding this safety. They can and must do this in variety of ways that include, making sure the patient is knowledgeable about the procedure, using correct collimation to the part under examination, and by shielding the

You already know too much radiation is not a good thing, but it has been proven that no diagnostic x-ray test gives off the amount of radiation it takes to harm a fetus and cause any adverse effects. The

They can play crucial part in determining what can be wrong with a patient. The first X-ray was discovered in 1985 by Wilhelm Roentgen, a German scientist (Cite-radiology history). X-rays are described as “electromagnetic energy waves that act similarly to light rays, but at wavelengths approximately 1,000 times shorter than those of list” (German scientist discovers x-rays). The first X-ray was in use during the Balkan war. During this time in 1897, they used the X-ray to determine if there were any bullets in the soldiers, or to find if they had any broken bones. Although the X-ray was found very helpful, scientist later started to discover the effects that the radiation could have on the patient. The event that caused the entire scientist community to raise concern. They realized that the effects of X-ray could cause patients to end up with burns and possibly cancer. After several reports of burns and the death of Clarence Dally (due to cancer form working with X-ray), these events raised concern for many. Scientist and doctors became aware of the risk X-rays imposes, and started to take precautions to protect them and the patients. Thanks to this discovery, many patients and x-ray technicians now are required to wear lead aprons. These aprons help protect against the radiation x-rays give off. The technician also have to wear a dosimeter. A dosimeter measures the amount of radiation the technician receives while

The effects of radiation can be hazardous to any part of the human body. In this guide I will explain the advantages, and disadvantages of x-ray radiation. I will also discuss the technological advances that we have today then of what we had the past on the human body during radiation exposure. I will explain preventions of exposure and safety precautions that we as dental assistants as well as patients can follow to stay safe.

Since the technologies being used only bounce waves of the body surface, this leaves then skin highly exposed to concentrated amounts of radiation. Health side effect studies of full body scanners have been labeled classified and inaccessible to the general public. Four professors from the University of California- San Francisco, whom are well respected cancer, X-ray crystallographers and imaging experts stated in a letter to the Obama administration that, “The low-energy rays do a “Compton scatter” off tissue layers just under the skin, possibly exposing some vital areas and leaving the tissues at risk of mutation. When an X-ray Compton scatters, it doesn’t shift an electron to a higher energy level; instead, it hits the electron hard enough to dislodge it from its atom.” The authors note that this process is “likely breaking bonds,” which could cause mutations in cells and raise the risk of cancer (Johnston). Furthermore, the UCSF researchers write in their letter, “older passengers are more susceptible to mutagenic effects of X-rays, and “the risk of

In an effort to address the issue of radio frequency radiation exposure in this community, we will provide a background on the sources of radio frequency radiation as well as the known and suspected health effects. We will also proposed two epidemiological studies and discuss risk management and

radiation (the kind used in X-rays) is known to cause cancer at high doses, the risks of

With this stability and mass production, x-rays machines became very common everywhere. From large factories, to doctors offices, all the way to the corner store of small towns, where children and adults alike could insert a coin into a machine and view the bones in their feet. (3.) Because of their relative adolescences in the world, not much was known about x-rays or their effects on the human body. The first theories about the rays’ effects on the human body were that they had beneficial applications. With this being the only theory about their effect, widespread use went on, unmonitored, and unregulated. This unregulated use led to injuries but because of their slow onset the injuries were never attributed to x-rays. While some scientists tied certain skin burns to over exposure of x-rays it wasn’t until popular minds of the world like Thomas Edison, Nikola Tesla and William J. Morton expressed that they experienced eye pain when dealing with the rays for extended periods of time that people began to connect the dots and understand the negative