ABSTRACT
Most of the technical standards that are used in the world today have been the brainchild of an international organization known as the International Committee on Radiation Protection (ICRP). In the United States, an organization called the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements was setup in 1929 to mirror the functions of the ICRP at a national level. When the water molecule is struck by radiation, it picks up the energy lost by the radiation in the collision. If the energy gain is sufficient to overcome the bonds holding the molecule together, the molecule will break up into a hydrogen ion (H+) and an (OH-) ion and become what are known as “free radicals” in the process. These free radicals are very reactive and can cause harmful chemical changes in the organic molecules in the cells of living tissue.
