What are examples of ionizing radiation?
Ionizing radiation consists of both particles and electromagnetic radiation. The particles are further classified as electrons, protons, neutrons and alpha particles, depending on their atomic characteristics. The most common electromagnetic radiation with enough energy to produce ions, break chemical bonds, and alter biological function comes from x-rays and gamma rays. Exposure to such radiation can cause cellular and molecular changes such as mutations, chromosome aberrations, and cell-killing. At high doses, it is well-established that ionizing radiation is capable of increasing the cancer rate in exposed populations; at low doses, it is not possible to detect changes in cancer frequency. Studies on the health effects of ionizing radiation have been conducted with each of these types of radiation, delivered over a very wide range of exposures and doses, and the effects have been evaluated at every level of biological organization from the molecular to whole human populations. These
