Sources of radiation, a reference for radiologic technologists
Since the beginning of time, all living creatures have been, and are still being, exposed to radiation. Nonetheless, most people are not aware of all the natural and man-made sources of radiation in our environment. Natural sources of radiation account for about 50 percent of human exposure, while man-made sources account for the remaining 50 percent. This article discusses various sources of radiation we find both man made and natural.
A worker holding a plutonium button. Plutonium, a man-made substance, was rare. Scraps resulting from production and plutonium recovered from retired nuclear weapons were reprocessed into valuable pure-plutonium metal.