Does nuclear irradiation of chicken feet cause cancer？ Don’t listen to rumors! This knowledge is what you should believe.

　　Irradiated chicken feet do not cause cancer, and iodized salt and white clothes are difficult to prevent radiation … …

　　Don’t listen to rumors! These hard "nuclear" knowledge is the letter.

　　◎ Reporter Tang Fang

　　deny/refute/spike a rumour

　　"Chicken feet with pickled peppers are resistant to storage because of nuclear technology" was listed on the hot search list of Weibo on the eve of New Year’s Day this year. Many netizens are surprised that nuclear technology can be used to store chicken feet. At the same time, they are beginning to worry about the safety of "nuclear radiation chicken feet". Some even say that chicken feet that have been "illuminated" by nuclear may cause cancer.

　　In fact, people have always been worried about nuclear radiation, and the rumors related to this technology have never stopped: living next to a nuclear power plant will be irradiated, and after being exposed to nuclear radiation, there is no cure … … Are these statements true or false? Is nuclear radiation really that terrible?

　　Does nuclear irradiation of chicken feet cause cancer? Truth: Irradiated food is different from nuclear radiation food.

　　With the help of nuclear technology, the pickled chicken feet can only be stored for 3 to 5 days, and the shelf life can be extended to half a year or even longer. However, there are rumors that this kind of irradiated food is radioactive and even carcinogenic. Is this really the case?

　　"Food deterioration is mostly caused by microbial reproduction. Food irradiation technology is based on radiation processing technology and uses radioactive isotopes to emit γ X-rays, electron beams generated by accelerators, and X-rays interrupt the DNA molecular chain of microorganisms, kill pathogenic bacteria, and then extend the storage time of food. " Huang Cheng, director of the operation department of the Irradiation Engineering Technology Center of Sichuan Institute of Atomic Energy, said in an interview with the Science and Technology Daily reporter that the food irradiated once will not be contaminated with radioactive substances, but will improve the safety of food because of the rare use of preservatives. Because irradiation belongs to cold processing, it will hardly affect the temperature of food, so the loss of nutrients in food is relatively small, and the original flavor of food can be preserved to the greatest extent.

　　"Irradiated food is definitely not equal to nuclear radiation food." Peng Guangxiong, a professor at the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences and a researcher at the Institute of High Energy Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, told the Science and Technology Daily reporter that what aroused public sensitivity was food contaminated with radioactive nuclear pollutants, that is, nuclear contaminated food. Because these foods are contaminated with radioactive substances, they will continuously release nuclear radiation, which will cause harm to the human body if eaten carelessly. Irradiation technology is a nuclear application technology, which can be used as an efficient and safe sterilization method for food preservation and epidemic prevention.

　　Can eating iodized salt and iodine tablets prevent nuclear radiation? Truth: the protection against nuclear radiation is extremely limited.

　　After the Fukushima nuclear accident in Japan in 2011, it was determined that the nuclear dust in the air contained radioactive nuclide iodine -131. Subsequently, the phenomenon of looting iodized salt appeared in many places, and it is said that it is not easy to absorb the above radioactive elements when taking more iodine. To this day, some people are still convinced of this statement.

　　In this regard, Peng Guangxiong pointed out that iodine is an essential trace element for human body, and the harm of iodine deficiency and iodine excess should not be underestimated. Iodine -131 is a radioactive isotope of iodine. Accidentally ingesting or contacting it will threaten human health.

　　"Eating iodized salt and iodine tablets can reduce the absorption rate of iodine isotopes, which will have a slight alleviating effect on people living in areas polluted by radioactive iodine." Huang Cheng said that the main component of iodine tablets is potassium iodide compound, which can inhibit the absorption of radioactive iodine by human thyroid, so that radioactive iodine can be excreted, thus protecting the body tissue.

　　However, Peng Guangxiong said that there is no need to plunder or hoard iodized salt. First of all, the iodine content in salt is extremely low, which can’t reach the amount needed to inhibit radioactive iodine, and too much iodine intake is also bad for the body. Furthermore, iodine supplementation has no effect on other radioactive components such as cesium, plutonium and tritium. Therefore, whether and how to supplement iodine should be based on national policies and doctors’ guidance.

　　Living next to a nuclear power plant can lead to high doses of radiation? Truth: The average annual radiation dose is about the same as flying once.

　　Some people believe that the public’s fear of nuclear power plants generally comes from the following three aspects: fear of its low safety and fear of leakage; The waste it produces is afraid that it can’t be treated well; If you live around it, you are afraid of being radiated. Are these worries necessary?

　　"Now the shielding and protection facilities of nuclear power plants are well built. Living near nuclear power plants will not cause radiation hazards." Huang Cheng said that radiation is ubiquitous in human living environment, which is found in the air inhaled by people and the food they eat. The radiation dose of water is about 0.25 mSv/year, and the radiation dose of an X-ray examination is about 0.1 mSv. "The radiation dose received by flying 2000 kilometers by plane is about 0.01 millisieverts, which is also the average amount of radiation received by residents living next to nuclear power plants every year."

　　"Compared with other industrial facilities, the probability of accidents in nuclear power plants is the lowest." Peng Guangxiong said that China’s nuclear power plants are at the forefront of the world in terms of design, management and technology. For example, China’s self-developed "Hualong No.1" nuclear power system adopts the third generation nuclear power technology to meet the latest international safety requirements for nuclear power plants. All these have effectively reduced the possibility of nuclear accidents and their impact on human health and the environment.

　　Wearing white clothes can block nuclear radiation? Truth: Whether nuclear radiation can be prevented depends on three factors, such as distance.

　　Usually, in summer in the sun, we feel cooler in white than in black. This is because the reflectivity of white clothes to visible light is higher, reaching 90%. Some people say that wearing white clothes can also reflect nuclear radiation. Is it true?/You don’t say.

　　"Compared with clothes of other colors, white clothes have no advantage in preventing nuclear radiation." Huang Cheng explained that the three elements of nuclear radiation protection are distance, time and shielding degree, which have nothing to do with color. Clothes of different colors have different absorption capacity for thermal radiation, but basically have no difference in blocking capacity for nuclear radiation.

　　"If you encounter nuclear radiation, you should shorten the radiation time as much as possible, stay away from radioactive sources, and pay special attention to avoiding it. When entering or leaving the nuclear pollution area, you should wear protective clothing and take a shower in time to remove nuclear pollution. " Zhang Chunyin, a popular science expert at the Nuclear Medicine Branch of the Chinese Medical Association, said.

　　After being exposed to nuclear radiation, there is no cure? Truth: There is still hope for survival even after high dose radiation.

　　"There is no cure for nuclear radiation, which is nonsense." Huang Cheng said that the severity of an individual’s exposure to nuclear radiation is related to the type of radiation, the dose, the location and individual differences. People use sievert and millisievert as radiation dose units to measure the damage of radiation to biological tissues.

　　"In daily life, people have received very low doses of radiation." Huang Cheng said that as long as the threshold of deterministic effect is not reached (radiation above this level has a very serious impact on individuals), the human body has almost no clinical symptoms. Even if the threshold of deterministic effect is reached, the timely and correct treatment scheme can save most people’s lives when the radiation dose is less than 1 sievert. Even with higher doses of radiation, there are many successful cases of treatment.

　　Focus

　　People will not be exposed to excessive nuclear radiation in daily life.

　　First of all, let’s understand what nuclear radiation is.

　　Huang Cheng explained that nuclear radiation is a phenomenon that microscopic particle flow is released during the transition of nuclear structure or energy state, accompanied by energy release. With the continuous progress of science and technology, human’s ability to control and utilize energy is constantly improving.

　　At present, nuclear radiation related technologies have been applied to many fields. In agriculture, it is mainly used for radiation breeding, crop preservation, pesticide residue reduction, traceability and so on. It is mainly used in radiation flaw detection, material modification, disinfection and sterilization in industry. Medically, it is mainly used in medical diagnosis, imaging, radiotherapy, radiopharmaceutical production and so on.

　　So, is it possible for people to be exposed to nuclear radiation in their daily lives?

　　In the long-term practice and application, it has been found that a small amount of radiation in a short period of time has little impact on human health, and excessive radioactive rays will do harm to human body, causing illness and death. The longer the radiation time, the greater the radiation dose and the greater the harm.

　　"Ordinary people will not receive large doses of radiation in their daily lives under normal circumstances." Huang Cheng said that for the personnel engaged in radiation work, the radiation application devices in their workplaces are usually marked with striking ionizing radiation signs, and there are physical isolation measures, so that the staff will not be exposed to serious radiation. In addition, people can also find out the radiation dose through radiation detection instruments.