Sources of Radiations

Sources of Radiations

The radiations are produced from the radioactive elements, which are known as
radionuclides or radioactive isotopes, e.g. Uranium. Radium, Thorium, and Carbon-14. These contribute to background radiation. But isotopes of certain metabolically important elements like Carbon-14, Cobalt-60, Calcium 45, Iodine-131, Phosphorus-32, etc. are not ecologically harmful but are used as tracers. The third category of radionuclides comprises of fission products of uranium and certain other elements. These are cesium, strontium, and plutonium etc.