ABSTRACT
Humans have been using radioactive metals for their benefits, for instance, electricity generation, energy for nuclear power plants, fuel for rockets, and treatment of carcinomas, for a long time. In recent years, there has been an increasing global concern about the ecological and public health issues linked with environmental contamination by toxic radioactive metals. Radioactive metals can be natural or synthetic, and produce alpha (α), beta (β), and gamma (γ) rays. They release ionizing radiation, a form of energy, and when a person comes into contact with this radiation, the energy may be absorbed by the body. Uranium and thorium are major radioactive metals that induce both radiological and chemical toxicity. Human exposure to radiation has increased substantially due to the exponential increase in their industrial, medical, and technological applications. This chapter discusses the radioactive elements and their types, radioactive decay and its types, nuclear disasters in history, the measurement of radioactivity, sources and routes of exposure, pathophysiology, clinical manifestations, mechanisms of toxicity, as well as the management of radioactive metal poisoning.
