Chemical Hazards and Reactions

Types of Radiation

Radiation exists in both natural and man-made forms. There are two general categories of radiation:

Non-ionizing: Radiation that imparts enough energy to remove electrons from one orbital shell to another of higher energy (e.g., microwaves, ultraviolet light)
Ionizing radiation: Radiation that has sufficient energy to remove electrons from an atom (i.e., alpha and beta particles, gamma X-rays).