Open AccessREPRESENTING RADIATION RISK
Author(s) -
Olga Bloemen
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
the unfamiliar
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2050-778X
DOI - 10.2218/unfamiliar.v3i1.134
Subject(s) - subatomic particle , set (abstract data type) , paragraph , environmental science , computer science , physics , nuclear physics , world wide web , elementary particle , programming language
In lieu of an abstract the first paragraph:Consisting of moving subatomic particles, radioactivity is invisible, has no smell and makes no sound. Its presence can only be detected with Geiger counters and other measuring instruments. Its transformations and symptoms are more real to us: the iconic mushroom cloud of a nuclear bomb, barrels of nuclear waste, cancer increases in exposed populations, or contaminated wastelands. Recognition of radioactive risk, or its denial, depends on those who employ the measuring instruments, assess cancer or toxicity rates, or set safety standards. In a society greatly relying on empirical evidence and technical expertise, it is scientists who have first access to knowledge about radioactivity.