PPRuNe Forums - View Single Post - Radioactive residues due to baggage scans?
Old 3rd February 2002 | 10:47
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152captain
 
Joined: Jan 2002
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From: CYHU
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As was just mentioned: No.

In sufficient quantities however, even x-ray photons can activate materials.

X-ray energies used in medical CT scanners, and diagnostic x-ray units are in the order of 100 keV. I suspect that baggage inspection equipment use similar radiation sources. Radiation may directly or indirectly damage tissue, or inanimate matter, but it does not generally render it radioactive. In order to do so, the energy, exposure time, and exposure rate would have to be increased significanlty (by several orders of magnitude each) and even then, this may only activate heavy metals with lot's of nuclei around. And even if that was the case, the activation, and therefore "radioactive period" would last only a few seconds.

152 . .PS. my day job = medical radiation physicist

[ 03 February 2002: Message edited by: 152captain ]</p>
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