Radioactive material that is taken inside the body where it remains a hazard until it either decays or is eliminated by normal body function is known as?

• A. External hazard
• B. An internal hazard
• C. Environmental hazard
• D. Surface hazard

Answer: (B)

Internal hazards occur when radioactive material is taken into the body and remains inside until it decays or is eliminated by normal bodily processes. Because it sits inside tissues, it continues to irradiate from within, posing a hazard for as long as the material is present. This contrasts with external hazards, which originate outside the body and expose you from the outside, or with environmental hazards that concern contamination of the surroundings, and surface hazards that are on surfaces. The duration of the internal hazard depends on the isotope’s physical half-life and how quickly the body clears it, so the hazard persists until those processes reduce or remove the material.