Final answer:
Radiation safety in health involves limiting the time spent administering care to reduce radiation exposure. The key principles include minimizing time exposure, maximizing distance from the source, and using adequate shielding. It's important to distinguish between 'activity' and 'dose' to ensure the safety and effectiveness of treatments like radiotherapy.
Step-by-step explanation:
Radiation safety is crucial in the field of health, particularly in medical practices where radiation is used for diagnosis and treatment. Radiation safety involves the time spent administering care to limit the amount of exposure to radiation.
There are three key principles to consider: minimize the time spent in the radiation environment, maximize distance from the radiation source, and use adequate shielding. These measures help to reduce the effective dose of radiation and minimize the risk to both patients and healthcare providers.
To avoid confusion, it's important to differentiate between activity, which refers to the radioactive source, and dose, which is the amount of energy from the radiation that is absorbed by a person or object.
The absorbed dose is typically measured in grays (Gy) or rads, and the biological effect of that dose is measured in rems or sieverts (Sv).
For example, when a cancer patient undergoes therapy with Cobalt-60, careful calculations are made to ensure that the dose delivered to the tumor is effective for treatment while minimizing harm to healthy tissues.