Radiation Oncology/Health Physics

Health physics, also referred to as the science of radiation protection, is the profession devoted to protecting people and their environment from potential radiation hazards, while making it possible to enjoy the beneficial uses of radiation.

Natural Background Radiation

• Space radiation is made up of three kinds of radiation: particles trapped in the Earth's magnetic field; particles shot into space during solar flares (solar particle events); and galactic cosmic rays, which are high-energy protons and heavy ions from outside our solar system.
• Daryoush Shahbazi-Gahrouei et al. A review on natural background radiation. Adv Biomed Res. 2013 Jul 30;2:65. (PMID: 24223380)
• M C Thorne et al. Background radiation: natural and man-made. J Radiol Prot. 2003 Mar;23(1):29-42. (PMID: 12729417)

Radiation and Health

• J C BUGHER et al. Radiation and human health. Am J Public Health Nations Health. 1957 Jun;47(6):682-7. (PMID: 13424812)
• Kenji Kamiya et al. Long-term effects of radiation exposure on health. Lancet. 2015 Aug 1;386(9992):469-78. (PMID: 26251392)
• Zuzana Bárdyová et al. The importance of public health in radiology and radiation protection. J Public Health Res. 2021 Mar 12;10(3):2141. (PMID: 33709644)

Radiation Safety and Protection

• Nicholas Frane et al. Radiation Safety and Protection. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2023 Jan.

2023 May 22. (PMID: 32491431)

• Joyce Helena Brusin et al. Radiation protection. Radiol Technol. 2007 May-Jun;78(5):378-92; quiz 393-5. (PMID: 17519374)

Radiation and the Environment

• Radioecology is the branch of ecology concerning the presence of radioactivity in Earth’s ecosystems.
• R J Pentreath et al. Radiation protection of people and the environment: developing a common approach. J Radiol Prot. 2002 Mar;22(1):45-56. (PMID: 11929112)
• François Bréchignac et al. Addressing ecological effects of radiation on populations and ecosystems to improve protection of the environment against radiation: Agreed statements from a Consensus Symposium. J Environ Radioact. 2016 Jul;158-159:21-9. (PMID: 27058410)