Contamination

Key Stage 4

Meaning

Contamination is when a radioactive material gets spread onto other surfaces or mixed with other materials.

About Contamination

Contamination is extremely dangerous because objects that should not be radioactive may start emitting ionising radiation because they have radioactive materials in or on them.

The contamination of food or the skin is particularly dangerous because the radioactive material can find its way inside the body and release ionising radiation directly to sensitive tissue.

Precautions

To prevent contamination the following precautions can be taken when using radioactive materials:

Wear gloves - to prevent it getting on the skin.
Use tongs to handle the source, never touch it - to prevent it getting on the skin.
Store the source in a sealed container - to prevent it getting on other materials.