Radiation Environment in Industrial and Research Facilities

Development of new technologies using ionising radiation and its applications have increased manifold in the industry, medicine, research and agriculture leading to significant societal benefits. In industrial radiography gamma rays, X-rays and neutrons are used to identify the defects in objects, joints, castings, etc. Cargo scanning in sea ports and X-ray baggage scanning at airports/public places are some of the most effective methods adopted for security purposes. Nucleonic gauges are used to measure/monitor/quality control of the online process parameters such as level, composition, density, thickness, etc. in the various industries. In radiotracer techniques, isotopes are widely used in to find out blockages and leaks in buried pipelines. The irradiation of food products using X-rays and gamma rays is an important development in this decade for food preservation, food safety and security. Radiation technology has also been used for sterilisation of medical products, cross-linking of wires, sewage sludge hygienisation etc. X-ray diffraction and X-ray fluorescence are the most suitable methods for qualitative analysis of the materials. Consumer products viz. smoke detectors, fluorescent lamp starters, gaseous tritium Light Sources, etc. are widely used in the public domain to ease the quality of life. In a nutshell, technology using ionising radiations is very useful, safe and economically viable for various industrial and research facilities.