How Safe is Nuclear Science?

Many people have questions about the safety of nuclear science and the laboratories and other facilities where it is studied or applied. Here are answers about safety at NSCL at MSU.

What is Radiation?
Nuclear radiation is the energy that comes out of an atomic nucleus that makes up the center of an atom—the smallest piece of an element. You can't see radiation or smell it, but it's all around us. Heat from the sun is an example of radiation. You can feel the heat—even though you can't see it. But there are other forms of radiation that we cannot even feel—for example X-rays—the ionizing radiation that comes from atoms.

From this point on, we will use "radiation" to mean nuclear radiation.

Is Radiation Dangeous?
Only if you get too much of it. Like sun—too much will give you a sunburn and even more will make you really sick. Radiation comes from everything—the sun, the soil in the ground, bananas, you name it. Radiation is an inescapable fact of life, and some scientists think that small amounts are good. Like salt—a little of it is good for us, but too much can kill us.

Too much radiation can cause changes in the cells in our bodies that can cause injury or illness or even death. When doctors aim radiation at a cancer, they can kill it—this is a widely used procedure in hospitals.

The bad news is we can't see, smell, or taste radiation, even in large amounts that could kill us. That's why we need to be very careful when there is the possibility of radiation.

The good news is that there are machines—detectors—that make it easy to discover even a very tiny amount of radiation long before it gets to dangerous levels.

Is there radiation in the MSU Cycltron?
Yes, but no more than you will find in many hospitals that have big machines that diagnose illnesses—like CAT scans and X-ray machines.

Cyclotrons, like at MSU, aren't nuclear reactors. We don't keep large amounts of radioactive material, like uranium, around for experiments.

Our radioactivity is mostly the beam we generate to do our experiments. The beam is like a lamp. When you turn it off—the radioactivity disappears.

Do we need to worry about it blowing up? What about terrorist attack?
There is no device at NSCL's facility that is prone to exploding. In some ways, our facility is not unlike a large hospital that keeps small quantities of radioactive materials on hand. And there's nothing unusual about what's stored at the NSCL that would make it a target.

Is it safe to go in the cyclotron? Do I have to wear special clothes?
The MSU cyclotron is very safe to be around. In fact, we have more than a thousand school children come through on tours every year.

When a beam of ions is turned on, thick concrete walls protect the experimental area and any people who are present. The level of radiation in the other laboratory areas, in the offices, and near the building is similar to that of the naturally occurring background radiation.

Our employees who work at NSCL every day don't need to wear special protective clothing, and neither do you when you come on a visit.

Who makes sure all the rules are being followed?
There are many organizations—both from MSU and from the government—who keep a close eye on facilities like ours. The following organizations all have a hand in monitoring the safety of our lab and workers.

• The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
• State of Michigan Department of Consumer and Industry Services
• State of Michigan Department of Environmental Quality
• Office of Radiation, Chemical and Biological Safety, Michigan State University
• Michigan State University Department of Police and Public Safety

As is the case with any industrial site with equipment and machinery, most accidents at accelerator laboratories come from ladders, electricity, using cutting tools, and working with metal with sharp edges.