When we talk about “radiation”, this is often shorthand for ionising radiation.
Over the past 70 years, human exposure to ionising radiation has increased because of nuclear weapons explosions and the nuclear industry. Ionising radiation is harmful to humans. It can cause cancers as well as damage to human DNA which can damage the health of future generations.
Key resources
- Energyscience fact sheet, a paper from the energyscience website which describes the various types of ionising radiation and explains how they effect the human body
- MAPW’s fact sheet on the increased risk of leukaemia observed in children living near nuclear power stations
- Prof Al Rowland’s paper on NZ nuclear test veterans’ chromosomal damage