Radioactive Pollutant: Sources, Issues and Remediation

This book sheds light on the global environmental issue and proposes solutions to contamination through multi-disciplinary approaches. Radioactivity occurs naturally. Ionizing radiation has always been a threat to humans and all other living things on earth. While the average global readings could be a suitable benchmark for what must be deemed “normal,” the natural level of radiation exposure varies by around an order of magnitude for different locations of the earth. Regardless of whether this degree of radiation exposure qualifies as innocuous, it cannot be avoided because some diseases may be caused by exposure to naturally occurring radiation. As a result, these natural exposures serve as the foundation for and comparison point for radiation protection principles such as dose limits or limitations. The majority of the ionizing radiation that the world’s population is exposed to comes from natural sources The public receives maximum doses from nuclear sites that are now in normal operation those are typically two orders of magnitude below the background radiation. In industrialized nations, medical uses of radioactivity and ionizing radiation result in mean doses that are comparable to those from natural radiation, but individual doses vary greatly. This edited book brings together a diverse group of researchers to address the challenges posed by global mass poisoning caused by radionuclides. This book contains three sections. First section describes the different sources of radioactive pollutant in the environment. Second section explains the health risk linked to radioactive pollutant. Third section addresses sustainable remediation strategies of radioactive waste and the potential applications of recent biological technology in providing solutions. This book is a valuable resource to students, academics, researchers, and environmental professionals doing field work on management of radioactive waste throughout the world.